John Bryson is a graduate of NC Agricultural and Technical State University and career banker, recently retired after forty-one years in the banking industry. He was last employed with PNC Bank as Vice President, Development Advisor and Relationship Manager for the states of North and South Carolina. While serving in this role, Bryson identified lending and investment opportunities around Economic Development, Affordable Housing, Community Revitalization and Stabilization.
While employed with PNC Bank in community development, Bryson focused on: affordable housing; economic development; community services; and revitalization or stabilization.
Bryson’s other career positions have included roles in Retail and Commercial banking as well as Insurance and Investments at both RBC Bank and Wachovia Bank. While working at RBC, Mr. Bryson managed the community development lending efforts within the bank’s retail footprint and supported business development as a resource and referral source. He had a working knowledge of the various funding programs for CD projects, including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs for North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama, and the Federal Home Loan Bank AHP Program for the Atlanta District as well as other federal, state, and local programs. He is also certified by the National Development Council as a Housing Development Finance Professional.
Bryson continues to serve on the boards of various organizations in the Triangle area. He previously served as chair of the DHIC (Regional Affordable Housing Developer) Board, chair of the Durham Community Land Trustees, Inc., and member of the boards of the Museum of Durham History, Inc., Duke Fuqua School of Business Minority Business Consulting Program, and the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People.
Likewise, Bryson currently serves as a member of North Carolina Central University’s School of Education Dean’s Advisory Board, Mt. Zion Christian Church, Inc, Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, and Partners for Educational Freedom in North Carolina.
Mr. Bryson and his wife, Deborah, are the owners of the first African American Montessori school in North Carolina. The Bysons own four multicultural internationally Christian Montessori schools.