NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Former New Hanover County District Attorney and founder of the New Hanover Community Justice Center will be stepping down from his CEO role at the end of the year. Ben David announced his replacement, Valerie Pearce, will take over in January 2027.
Pearce will be the second CEO of the CJC, which co-locates law enforcement and victim services under a single roof to help people facing abusive situations. Pearce has more than 30 years of law experience, working as a prosecutor in multiple counties.
“She spent her career fighting for victims, of all types of violence, in three different prosecutors’ offices around this state, from Robeson County, to Greenville, and then over in my brother’s district most recently,” David told New Hanover County commissioners at their agenda review meeting on Thursday.
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Aside from practicing criminal law, family law, child welfare, special education, mental health, juvenile delinquency, and victim advocacy, Pearce served as chief assistant district attorney in Bladen County. North Carolina’s 15th Prosecutorial District is overseen by Ben David’s twin brother, Jon, also retiring at the end of the year.
Ben David told Port City Daily earlier this year he always planned to leave his CJC post when the initial New Hanover Community Endowment grant supporting the CJC ended in December 2026.
The hiring process for the CJC’s new CEO was conducted by a panel of leaders, including input from board members, the Wilmington Police Department Chief Ryan Zuidema, Sheriff Ed McMahon and District Attorney Jason Smith, as well as nonprofit leaders.
“She won the job over several qualified candidates and was a unanimous choice to lead the CJC into the future,” David said, when Port City Daily asked how many people were considered for the position.
He told commissioners her work in both the legal and nonprofit sectors is integral to balancing the job and collaborating with everyone from law enforcement to judges to community partners.
“She also has also run a women and children’s center in Charlotte for seven years in the nonprofit space,” David said.
David opened the Community Justice Center in 2024, after he announced his retirement as the New Hanover and Pender counties district attorney in 2023. The CJC is based on the family justice center concept, pioneered by President George H. Bush. The national initiative provides victims easier access to various services, whether through counseling, crisis intervention, or obtaining a domestic violence protective order. The goal is to prevent victims from having to relive their trauma and retell their stories multiple times, with resources available in one place.
“There is great support among justice officials, law enforcement and nonprofits to create a trauma-informed center that holds offenders accountable in violent crime cases and is also collaborative and focused on building resilience for survivors and their families,” David told Port City Daily. “Building the CJC has relied on many past relationships but forming new ones as well. Our physical space is award-winning, but the people make the place.”
Partners include Domestic Violence Shelter and Services, Rape Crisis Center of Coastal Horizons, The Carousel Center, UNCW Care, Legal Aid, the district attorney’s office, police department, sheriff’s office and others.
Pearce said one of her goals is to focus on growing collaborations across multiple areas of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, human trafficking, elder abuse, and youth violence prevention.
“We know that there is a correlation between childhood trauma and future risk of violence to others and for further victimization,” Pearce said. “Our ultimate goal is to provide hope, healing, and justice after traumatic events.”
She told Port City Daily another first priority is to ensure continuous messaging reaches the community about CJC’s services: “I don’t want anyone to fall through the cracks. I want people to know that there is a resource. All they have to do is call or stop by and we will get them connected.”
Pearce also plans to start a Survivor Voices support group and a “Speaker’s Bureau” — a platform for survivors who are ready to share their stories.
She has been touring the county with David in recent weeks, meeting stakeholders as she prepares to lead the center into its next phase. To commissioners Thursday, Pearce expressed gratitude for the county’s support.
New Hanover County provided $300,000 this fiscal year for CJC operating needs. David told commissioners the county’s buy-in has been important to The Endowment’s ongoing financial assistance as well. The more-than $1.-billion Endowment is funded from the sale of the county hospital to Novant Health in 2021, and the foundation’s strategic plan aligns with the county in areas of social and health equity, education, community safety, and community development.
In 2023, The Endowment provided the CJC with $3.4 million to start its operations and $1.5 million to The Harrelson Center for its rent at CJC’s Fourth Street location. Just two weeks ago, CJC received $3.05 million more from The Endowment, to “sustain and expand its services” over three years.
This is in addition to $60,000 The Endowment paid from its operating budget over the summer to work with the creators of the national model, the Alliance for Hope International, to assess the CJC’s progress, impact and best practices. The CJC didn’t go through a normal grant process for this additional money, rather The Endowment paid for it as a vendor contract. Alliance for Hope convened a two-day event with 100 community members participating in the role CJC serves in the future.
Pearce stressed to commissioners on Thursday the importance of the whole community making CJC successful.
“I’m looking forward to a vision of the future, where we are partners and we are working together and coming together as a community, to address the needs of the victims and survivors,” she said.
David also applauded commissioners for the board’s nonpartisan support.
“My goal as CEO has been to ensure continuity both financially and with the right people in place well beyond that time,” David told Port City Daily. “The CJC is now set up for several years to come on both fronts.”
Upon asking what his next move will be, David deferred the announcement to another time. However, he previously said in 2024 he had not abandoned plans to enter the private sector, but whether that could be with his brother, David, he didn’t say Friday.
When Jon David steps down as district attorney in Bladen, Brunswick, and Columbus counties this year, J.K. Somers will take over. Both David brothers served more than a decade as DA in their districts, with Jon in the role for 16 years and Ben for 20.
Before his time is up, Ben David will speak about the CJC at Wilmington Business Journal’s Power Breakfast on Dec. 10. More about its services can be found here.
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