Today we’d like to introduce you to Colin Wells.
Hi Colin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in Plano, Texas, but I primarily grew up in Timberlake, North Carolina, a small rural town in Person County just north of Durham. Growing up in a smaller community really shaped a lot of who I am and gave me an appreciation for relationships, community, and serving people in practical ways.
I went to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where I studied Communications. One of the most formative parts of my college experience was being in the Marching Band. I had the opportunity to travel with the football and basketball teams, and honestly, some of the best experiences and friendships of my life came from that season.
At that point in life, I fully expected to move into a more traditional corporate career path. I had been a Christian since childhood, but toward the end of college my faith really became much more personal and foundational to who I was. Through a series of open doors and opportunities, I ended up spending a year doing campus ministry at UNC, which completely shifted the trajectory of my life and career.
After that, I joined the staff of a local multisite church where I eventually became the Creative Director. During that season, I had the opportunity to help lead communication, media, strategy, and creative initiatives while also watching firsthand how the local church can impact people’s lives when it’s healthy and focused on its mission.
Eventually, I stepped out of that role to help lead and support several nonprofits, including Carolina Care Center. I’ve served as Executive Director since June of 2024, and I genuinely feel like I’m right in the center of my calling. What excites me most is helping organizations and churches work together to create an exponentially greater impact than any one group could accomplish alone. I love being part of work that ultimately helps more churches help more people.
Today, I live in Garner with my wife, Mckenzie, and our dog, Mondo. We’re also excited to be expecting our first child this September, which has made this season of life especially meaningful and exciting for us.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a completely smooth road, but I can honestly say that through all of it, I’ve always had a deep sense of peace that I’m where I’m supposed to be and doing what I’m called to do.
Nonprofit work is incredibly rewarding, but it also comes with constant challenges. One of the biggest realities is that you are always thinking about sustainability and making sure the funding is there to continue serving people well and growing the mission responsibly. You can have incredible vision and passion, but you still have to build systems, develop partnerships, and create long-term stability.
Another challenge is bringing together so many different people, churches, organizations, donors, volunteers, and staff around a shared mission. Everyone cares deeply, which is a great thing, but leadership often means helping unify that passion and momentum in a way that allows everyone to move together effectively.
I’ve also learned that impact work can be emotionally heavy at times. At Carolina Care Center, we regularly work alongside people walking through difficult situations and seasons of crisis. That gives the work a real weight to it, but it also makes it deeply meaningful.
At the same time, those challenges have probably shaped me more than the smooth seasons ever could have. They’ve taught me leadership, patience, trust, and the importance of staying mission-focused even when things get difficult.
As you know, we’re big fans of Carolina Care Center. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Carolina Care Center exists to help more churches help more people. At our core, we believe the local church is one of the greatest sources of hope and transformation in a community, and our role is to come alongside churches and help them care for people in practical, meaningful ways.
We work in several key areas including care ministries, counseling, prison ministry, and community outreach initiatives. A large part of what we do is helping connect churches to real needs in their communities while also equipping them with the systems, partnerships, and support needed to respond well.
One of the things that really sets Carolina Care Center apart is that we are deeply collaborative. We are not trying to build our own isolated brand or platform. Our mission is built around strengthening and mobilizing churches, nonprofits, businesses, and community leaders together. We’ve seen firsthand that when organizations stop competing and start collaborating, the impact can become exponential.
I also think we are known for being practical and action-oriented. We care deeply about vision and compassion, but we also focus heavily on execution. Whether that’s responding to tangible family needs, providing counseling resources, supporting foster and adoptive families, serving individuals impacted by incarceration, or helping churches engage their communities more effectively, we want to create systems that lead to real and sustainable impact.
Brand-wise, what I’m probably most proud of is that people increasingly associate Carolina Care Center with trust, collaboration, and genuine care for people. We want churches and community partners to know that we are for them, not competing with them.
More than anything, I would want readers to know that Carolina Care Center is about people. Behind every program, partnership, or initiative are real individuals and families whose lives matter deeply. If we can help churches become healthier, more engaged, and better equipped to serve their communities, then entire communities benefit from that.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
North Carolina really feels like home to me, and I genuinely love the Triangle as a whole. I’ve had the opportunity to live in several different parts of it over the years, from Chapel Hill during college, to Durham for several years afterward, and now living in Garner while working in Raleigh. Each area has its own personality, but together they create such a unique place to live and work.
One of the things I love most is the balance North Carolina offers. You have access to so many of the benefits of a major metropolitan area like opportunity, growth, great food, sports, arts, and culture, while still feeling connected to community and not overwhelmed by the pace of a massive city.
I also love the people and the growth happening here. It’s exciting to live in a place that so many people from around the country are being drawn to. There’s a real sense of momentum and possibility in the Triangle right now.
And honestly, I love the geography and lifestyle too. Being just a few hours from both the mountains and the coast is hard to beat, and overall I think North Carolina offers an incredible quality of life.
As far as what I like least… definitely the pollen. Every spring, North Carolina basically looks like it lost a fight with a giant yellow highlighter. Your car changes colors overnight, everyone suddenly develops seasonal allergies they didn’t know they had, and you can practically see the pollen floating through the air. I’m convinced people who move here think there’s some sort of environmental disaster happening their first spring.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://carolinacarecenter.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinacarecenter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarolinaCareCenter
