Contact Your Council Member

Barbara Hanes Burke

Democrat, Northeast Ward
101 N. Main Street 
Winston-Salem, NC 27101 
Phone: 336-771-5172 (Work)

Email Barbara H. Burke (bhburke@cityofws.org)

About Council Member Barbara Hanes Burke

Message from Your Council Member

It is my highest honor to serve as the representative for the people of my beloved Northeast Ward and the City of Winston-Salem.  As your Council Member, I will serve with passion, care, attention and integrity.  I invite you to contribute your ideas for the betterment of our community and be assured we will uplift it by working together.

Professional Experience

• Former Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools Administrator and Teacher
• Former Winston Salem State University Adjunct Instructor
• Former Forsyth Technical Community College Adjunct Instructor

Community Service

• Board Member - Diversity Woman Media
• Board Member - NC State Employees Credit Union
• Former Board Member and Vice Chair of the WSFCS Board of Education
• Member - Black Political Awareness League
• Member - NAACP
• Member - Minister's Conference and Vicinity
• Co-Chair - Minister's Conference and Vicinity's Education Committee
• Member - Forsyth County School Justice Partnership Committee
• Founder - NEXT Step College and Career Connections
• Member - Public Safety Committee
• Vice-Chair - Public Works Committee

Personal

• Native of Winston-Salem
• Married to Senior Resident Superior Court Judge L. Todd Burke. Together, they have four adult children.

Hobbies

• Reading
• Biking
• Hiking
• Fitness exercise
• Traveling
• Spending time with family and friends

On Wednesday, May 25 Northeast Ward Council Member Barbara Hanes Burke hosted a strategy-focused town hall meeting to discuss gun violence in our city. This is a summary of strategies that were suggested from that meeting.

• Immediate Impact Strategies  

  • Engaging conversation with "boots on the ground" community.
  • Utilizing Crime Stoppers  and report crimes 
    • Text-a-Tip
      • (336) 276-1717 
      • (336)727-2800 
      • (336)728-3904 Spanish  
  • Utilizing and creating intercommunity locations for police to do reports/passive patrol  
  • Police Athletic League in Partnership WR Anderson, Jr. Community Center (Basketball and T Ball) free for youth
    • For more information call Bryant McCorkle  336-650-7684; email Bryant McCorkle; or Dr. Pam Peoples-Joyner. 
  • Utilize Recreation and Parks Youth Programs
  • WS/FC School System Youth Summer Programs and School Feeding Sites.

• Long-term Strategies

  • WS/FC School System student Town Hall meetings (student elected topics) involvement

• No Cost Strategies

  • Community Responsibility "we're all in this together"
  • Parental Involvement
  • Youth Citizens Police Academy  

• Funded Youth Programs

  • JCPC Brochure 2021 (PDF)
  • JCPC Programs 2021-2022 (PDF)
  • Funding Required Strategies
  • School Resource Officers (SRO) in every school
  • Additional recreation center in the Northeast Ward
  • Police district in the Northeast Ward
  • Forsyth County Sheriff Office Summer saturation patrol
  • Enhance community patrol in high-crime neighborhoods agent
    
    View the Town Hall Meetings 
    
    Strategy Focused Town Hall Discussion on Gun Violence May 25 2022
  
  

Update Meeting on Strategies to Address Gun Violence August 10, 2022

North East Ward Violence Meeting in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. February 7, 2023

The Burke Briefing: City of Winston-Salem Sanitation Services

The Burke Briefing – Community Agency Funding

Northeast Ward is generally bounded by Patterson Avenue on the west, the city limits on the north, and Fourteenth Street, Sixteenth Street, Bowen Boulevard and New Walkertown Road.

The Northeast Ward has long been an important part of Winston-Salem, from the 1920s when Miller Municipal Field connected our City to the nascent air-transportation system, up through today, as home to some of the City’s biggest employers.

The Northeast Ward is represented by Council Member Barbara Hanes Burke.

Aerospace

The area around Smith Reynolds airport has long been one of the economic engines of the Northeast Ward. Once home to Piedmont Airlines, these facilities are now used by private aircraft repair companies. The airline industry connection endures at BE Aerospace which designs and manufactures seat and other components for commercial airlines around the world.

Other Facilities

Several County government-related facilities are in this same area of Northeast Ward...including the Agricultural Extension Service and the Communications Center for County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Units. On Lansing Drive is the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School bus garage. The Richard Linville General Services Facility for County vehicles is on North Liberty Street.

Just south of the airport, the new Airport Business Park will serve businesses that need quick access to air transportation. A new indoor firearms training range for the police and sheriff’s department will also be here.

The North Liberty Street corridor that leads to the airport area is being cleaned up through the efforts of the Liberty Community Development Corporation and business owners taking advantage of a city program designed to revitalize urban commercial areas.

Shopping & Restaurants

On University Parkway, signs of a healthy Northeast Ward are evident in the success of the retailing nexus that serves not only city residents but Forsyth. and Stokes County. It includes several blocks of restaurants and retail stores along University Parkway and newer retail development along Hanes Mill Road. Closer in, Northside Shopping Center, one of the City’s first shopping centers, continues to thrive.

Employers

Some of the City’s largest employers are headquartered in the Northeast Ward, including Hanes Brands, which has a corporate campus on Hanes Mill Road. Amarr Garage doors also has its corporate offices here.

Neighborhoods

Quiet neighborhoods of well-kept homes and yards abound in Northeast Ward in such neighborhoods as:

• Carver Lake Estates
• Ebony Hills
• North Hampton
• North Woods Estates
• St. Andrews Place

A partnership between the City and residents created LaDeara Crest Estates along 25th Street, reclaiming an area once known for crime and run-down houses. Burke Village, off Cleveland Avenue, is the result of another cooperative effort between the City and private enterprise, as well as these homes in the 17th and 18th Street area.

Many area residents benefit from the Black-Phillips-Smith Neighborhood Government Service Center on North Patterson Avenue. This multi-purpose facility provides government information to the public, hosts a wide variety of citizen-related programs, and serves as a location for payment of most city services.

Education

Northeast Ward has a multitude of educational facilities. The ward is home to three elementary schools, three middle schools, North Forsyth and Carver High Schools and Forsyth Technical Community College-Mazie Woodruff Center and Carver School Road Branch Library on Carver School Road.

The new Atkins Academic and Technology High School can be found on Old Greensboro Road. This unique high school houses three separate magnet programs in Biotechnology, Engineering, and Computer Technology, where students can explore their interest before they enroll in college.

Recreation

For recreation, there’s Blum Park, the Jerry King Park located next to the Mineral Springs pool, the Helen Nichols Park...adjacent to the very busy Carl H. Russell Recreation Center and Crawford Park. Many people use the par course at Bowen Park. Oak Summit Park and Sara Lee Soccer Complex is popular for soccer and is maintained by the City Recreation and Parks Department.

All this is the Northeast Ward....where efficient planning and development enhances the past....with an eye toward a bright tomorrow.

Meetings

City Council Meetings

• 6 p.m.
• 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month (except holidays)
• City Hall
  101 N Main Street
  Room 230
  Winston-Salem, NC 27101

City Council Committee Meetings

• 2nd Monday and Tuesday of each month
• City Hall
  101 N Main Street
  Room 239
  Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Agendas & Minutes

Agendas are available prior to the meetings. Minutes are available following approval.

View Most Recent Agendas and Minutes

Representative Council Member

Council Member Barbara Hanes Burke

Meeting Details

Bryce Stuart Municipal Building
100 E First Street
5th Floor Public Meeting Room
Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Community Assistance Liaison

Melvin Aikens, Jr.

Community Assistance Liaison, Northeast Ward
Melvina@cityofws.org
Phone: 336-300-6335
Alternative Phone: 336-734-1355

Additional Information

A Community Assistance Liaison is assigned to each ward and is available to help citizens solve problems and get answers. Read more about the Community Assistance Liaisons.