Meet Our Leadership

Finding Inspiration in Every Turn

Limbitless Foundation is guided by a dedicated group of leaders, athletes, advocates, professionals, and community members who believe that a life-changing physical challenge should never limit what someone can become. Each member of our Board brings unique experiences, perspectives, and expertise to help advance the mission of Limbitless and strengthen the support available to adaptive individuals and their families.

Together, our Board is committed to building a community rooted in hope, faith, resilience, and opportunity. Their collective experience helps Limbitless create meaningful connections, develop resources, and pursue a vision where no one has to navigate the road forward alone.

Mark Alexander

Executive Director

Alexander joins the Limbitless Foundation after a successful career spanning more than two decades in sales, business development, media, marketing, and community engagement. Most recently, he served as Sales Manager for Pirate Media Group/Pirate Radio, where he developed strong relationships throughout Eastern North Carolina and the ECU community. Prior to joining Pirate Radio, Alexander spent more than seven years with Truist as a Commercial Merchant Sales Consultant. He began his career, after graduating from ECU in 2004, as the Director of Development and Major Gifts Officer on the ECU Health Sciences campus, spending nearly ten years in these roles.
As Executive Director, Alexander will oversee the Foundation’s day-to-day operations while leading fundraising, community partnerships, strategic growth, and efforts to expand the organization’s reach and impact.
“I’m incredibly honored to have the opportunity to lead the Limbitless Foundation,” Alexander said. “What Parker Byrd, Trooper Wright and this organization represent is much bigger than any one person. We have an opportunity to build something that can truly change lives by helping people overcome barriers, pursue their passions, and continue doing the things they love, without limits.”
Alexander’s relationship with Limbitless Foundation co-founder Parker Byrd began through his work at Pirate Radio and grew as he learned more about Byrd’s journey following the accident that resulted in the loss of his leg. Byrd’s perseverance and determination to return to baseball and become the first NCAA Division I baseball player to compete with a prosthetic leg helped inspire the mission behind the Foundation.
“One of my biggest goals is to make sure people facing physical challenges know they don’t have to give up the things that bring them joy,” Alexander said. “Whether that’s playing a sport, enjoying the outdoors, pursuing a career, or simply getting back to doing something they love, we want to help remove the barriers standing in their way. We want people to Live Without Limits.”
Under Alexander’s leadership, the Limbitless Foundation will focus on building partnerships with healthcare organizations, businesses, community leaders, athletic organizations, foundations, and donors while developing programs and resources to directly support individuals and families.

Board Members

Blake Hardegree

Blake Hardegree is the founder of H-Degree, a mental performance coaching brand that helps executives, business leaders, and teams build the mindset and habits required to perform under pressure.

Drawing on more than a decade as a Division I college baseball coach and Director of Operations at programs including Northwest Missouri State, Samford, and East Carolina University, Blake translates the discipline of elite athletics into practical tools for the workplace.

Through H-Degree's signature Identify–Rewire–Execute method, he built a 30-day mental performance program for working professionals and has delivered keynotes to organizations such as a C12 group of Christian CEOs and ECU Health, coaching leaders on consistency, communication, and resilience. Based in Greenville, NC,

Blake is a father, a former college catcher, team captain, and a sought-after speaker/coach known for turning mental performance into a repeatable, teachable skill... experience he's excited to bring to the foundation's board.

Cleere Reeves

Cleere Cherry Reaves is an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and faith-based encourager from Greenville, North Carolina.

She is the founder and creator of Cleerely Stated, a Christian lifestyle brand that began as a blog and has grown into a nationally available line of inspirational products.

Cleere is also the host of the Let’s Be Cleere podcast and the author of several devotionals and books, including Be Still, Focus, Radiate, and Revive. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Cleere is passionate about helping people see themselves, their circumstances, and the world around them through the eyes of Jesus.

She and her husband, Will, live in Greenville with their son, Sledge.

David Vaughn

David Vaughn is a Greenville, North Carolina businessman and the owner of East Coast Grading & Utilities, LLC, a company specializing in grading, site preparation, earthwork, and utility construction. Through his work in the construction industry, David has built experience serving the development and infrastructure needs of Greenville and communities throughout North Carolina.

As a local business owner, David brings an entrepreneurial perspective, practical leadership experience, and a strong understanding of the Eastern North Carolina community. His experience building and operating a locally based company gives him valuable insight into business development, project management, and community relationships.

David created the Sarah Vaughn Field of Dreams in Greenville, a handicap accessible baseball complex designed to accommodate children with special needs. The Sarah Vaughn Field of Dreams is named for his daughter who passed away in 2016. "My daughter's name may be on the scoreboard, but it took the whole community to pull this off," said Vaughn. "This is a special field for special people, but not just the players; it's the special people in this community too."

Brie Godwin

Brie Godwin is a proud East Carolina University alumna, having earned both her undergraduate degree in Health and Human Performance and her master’s degree in Sport Management from ECU.

During her time as a student-athlete, Brie competed as a Pole Vaulter and Hurdler for the ECU Track and Field team, where she served as team captain and was an active member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. Following graduate school, Brie gained valuable experience working with the University of Miami Athletic Department, the Miami HEAT, the Florida Panthers, and in various roles with ESPN.

She later returned to ECU as an Assistant Track and Field coach, where she spent nine successful years developing NCAA All-Americans, conference champions, and school record holders. Brie then continued her coaching career at Penn State University, where she spent four years and led the program’s first male pole vaulter to qualify for the NCAA Championships. She was selected for the USTFCCCA Female Coaching Mentorship Program and was honored with the “Mentorship Trailblazer” Award.

Brie recently married Cliff Godwin, the current head baseball coach at East Carolina University, and is thrilled to be back in Greenville. The couple married in December and are excited to begin this new chapter of their lives together. Brie and Cliff are true Pirates and are so grateful for this opportunity to play a role in helping the Limbitless Foundation.

Jared Plummer

Jared Plummer has more than two decades of experience in orthopedics, collegiate athletics, sports medicine, and community engagement. For the past 14 years, Jared has served as a manufacturer’s representative for DonJoy Orthopedics in Eastern North Carolina.

Prior to that, he spent more than a decade working in collegiate athletics, primarily with football and baseball, serving as an athletic trainer at Ole Miss, the University of Maryland, Florida Atlantic University, and Southeastern Louisiana University.

A 2004 graduate of East Carolina, Jared remains deeply connected to his alma mater. He currently serves on the ECU Board of Visitors and as Vice Chair of the Kinesiology Department’s Advisory Board.

An Eastern North Carolina native, Jared lives in Winterville with his wife, Bryn, their 7-year-old son, Bennett, and their 5-year-old daughter, Rhett.

Jared’s connection to Limbitless began in the early days following Parker Byrd’s injury. As a passionate Pirate Baseball fan and someone who works in the orthopedic industry, Jared recognized an opportunity to rally the community around Parker and his family. While Parker was still in the hospital, Jared reached out to Parker’s father, Jeff, to ask if he would be comfortable with Jared beginning a grassroots fundraising effort on Parker’s behalf.

What began as an effort to support a fellow Pirate quickly developed into a lasting friendship. In the days, weeks, and months that followed, Jared and Jeff developed a close relationship that extended to the entire Byrd family. That experience gave Jared a firsthand understanding of the challenges patients and families face as they navigate life after a life-changing injury.

As a member of the Limbitless Foundation’s Board of Directors, Jared is most looking forward to helping develop tools, resources, and support systems that allow patients and their families to successfully navigate their new normal. Above all, he hopes to help ensure that every patient understands that a life-changing injury does not have to mean a life of limitations.

Taylor Duck

Taylor Bell Duck, MPA is an oncology professional, cancer advocate, and community leader with more than 17 years of experience in healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry. A proud East Carolina University Pirate, Taylor played Division I collegiate soccer for ECU before her lifelong dream was unexpectedly cut short by a lung cancer diagnosis at the age of 21.

While her diagnosis changed the trajectory of her life, it also gave her a new sense of purpose. Her experience propelled her into a lifetime of advocacy, awareness, public speaking, and fundraising, fueling a passion for using her voice and personal experience to help others facing similar journeys. What began as an unexpected chapter in her life has become one of her greatest sources of purpose and passion.

Today, Taylor serves as an Oncology Specialty Representative with Merck, working alongside healthcare professionals to advance cancer care and improve outcomes for patients. She holds a Master of Public Administration with an interest in Health Policy and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from East Carolina University. Taylor has a deep commitment to her community and has served on several boards, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Coastal Plain, ECU Health Foundation, Greenville Chamber of Commerce, and several national and local lung cancer nonprofit organizations. She is passionate about bringing people together, building meaningful relationships, and using her personal and professional experiences to make a positive impact.

Taylor and her husband, Robert, are proud to call eastern North Carolina home, where they are raising their two daughters, Dottie and Millie. Outside of work and community involvement, you can often find their family at the coast and enjoying time together on their boat.

Taylor believes that sometimes the chapters we never would have chosen for ourselves can ultimately become the ones that give us the greatest sense of purpose.