Name: Adam Bernstein
Leadership Charlotte (LC) Class: 20
Title/Company: Senior Vice President, General Manager – Charlotte/Chernoff Newman, LLC
Hometown: Charlotte
Education: Queens University of Charlotte – Master of Arts in Communication
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Bachelor of Arts in Journalism/English
Current personal or leadership goals:
- Be intentional about where and how to engage; don’t be afraid to say “no.”
- Listen before opening your mouth. Someone else probably has the same or a better thought.
- (From kindergarten): Leave it better than you found it.
What advice that you would you give to current Leadership Charlotte participants?
Try a meditation app (like Chopra).
What’s a lesson that you learned through LC that has stuck with you and why?
Having a holistic understanding of your community, i.e. its history, diversity and how it works, and the relationships you form, will make you a more effective leader and well-rounded person.
Favorite way to spend a weekend in Charlotte:
Playing tennis, cycling on a greenway, a reasonable amount of yardwork, and hanging out with my spouse, children and grandchildren.
Favorite nonprofit or community organization in Charlotte and why:
Stand For Animals – low-cost, high volume spay/neuter and veterinary care clinic. Because it is relentlessly mission-driven, innovative, efficient and passionate; always pushing the envelope; and its leader – my older sister – is fearless (yeah, I’m biased).
Greatest personal accomplishment and why:
Earning a master’s degree. It was a huge challenge during a difficult period in my life, with the death of my parents and a medical issue. But I survived and am a better practitioner and stronger person as a result.
What do you hope to be doing (differently) in five years?
Teaching.
What are you doing in the community these days?
On the board of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Foundation; continuing long-term involvement in local Jewish affairs on the board of the Foundation for Shalom Park and the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte’s allocations committee.