Member Spotlight: Cheryl F. Stallings, PhD

Name:  Cheryl F. Stallings, PhD

License #: 2784

Bio: 

Cheryl is from northeastern North Carolina, and grew up on a family farm. Growing up in a rural, blue-collar community taught her the importance of hard work, faith, and being in service to one’s community.

After high school, Cheryl attended North Carolina State and earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology, followed by earning her master’s degree in psychology (and certificate of advanced study) in School Psychology at East Carolina University. A few years later, she returned to NC State and earned her doctorate degree in Psychology with a minor in Educational Administration.

Cheryl worked in a number of public school districts in North Carolina (including Wake County) as a school psychologist, before joining a mental health practice in Raleigh in 2000. The practice primarily serves children, adolescents, families, and young adults. She is also co-owner of the practice. Additionally, Cheryl managed the care for her brother with disabilities for 13 years, up through his recent passing in November, 2023.

Cheryl’s work providing direct services to youth and families frequently reminds her of the importance of sound public policy. This is what led her to run for public office. Cheryl first served on the Apex Town Council (elected in 2019), and then later ran for and was elected to the Wake County Board of Commissioners in 2022. Her personal mantra is “Public Service for the Public Good”, and this value undergirds her work and decision-making on the Wake County Board of Commissioners.

Cheryl is married to husband, Mark, and they have one adult son (Charlie) who lives and works in Raleigh (and is also planning a wedding for this upcoming October in Raleigh).

1)      What attracted you to the field of psychology? “Well, I have always been intrigued by what makes people do what they do. I have been curious about that since I was a child. I grew up on a farm, and my dad always wanted me to be a vet, and for me to pursue agriculture, but there was a part of me that knew that I was probably going to be more in the people profession, so I sort of held both of those as I went into college. I went to NC State, the agricultural university, and I took both animal science and psychology classes, and psychology won. One of my friends in high school often called me ‘Dear Abby’. She said, ‘You're the one we always go to when we’ve got a problem, and we need somebody to help solve it. I think part of it's just an innate skill set, and always a curiosity about why people do the things that they do and why they behave the way they do.”

2)      What do you enjoy most about your work? “The invitation into people’s lives. I think it's such a privilege and I try to stay humble with that. I get to meet some really neat kids and families, and I know they're faced with challenges, but I feel so privileged to be a partner in their journey, and to help them with whatever issue they're facing is such an honor. I really enjoy that. I've been doing this for over 20 years, and I mostly work with children, families, teenagers, and young adults, and getting to work with them over time, it's just a real treat to see how things change over time.”

3)      What advice would you give someone who is considering getting a degree in psychology? “You've got to be persistent with graduate school and be well informed about the amount of time and finances that it takes to become a psychologist. When I was coming through, college was a lot more affordable than it is now, so I think it's really important to know how much time, money, and personal investment it's going to take. I didn't have some of those challenges that I think our upcoming generations of psychologists will face when it comes to all of that.”

4)      When you are not working, what do you enjoy doing? “I run a lot. It helps me decompress. I also like to garden. Having grown up on a farm I've always had an appreciation of being outdoors and nature, so gardening, being outdoors, and in nature also helps me decompress and stay grounded. I'm also pretty active in my church which also helps me stay grounded. I also enjoy spending time with family and friends, and spending time at the beach and my family farm.”

5)      What is something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know? “I am a Wake County Commissioner. I first ran for office in 2022, so I'm just into my second year as a commissioner. Prior to that I served on the Apex Town Council in municipal government. I'm also an organ donor. I had a brother who had a lot of health problems as a result of a car accident several years ago. He needed a kidney transplant, so in 2017, I donated one of my kidneys to him.”

6)      If you were not a psychologist, what would you do? “I've recently been thinking about that. I think I would always be in public policy work. I really do like being an elected official. As a psychologist doing direct services work, you understand the importance of public policy work, especially for children and families, which is one of the reasons I ran for public office. So maybe I would have studied history and political science, maybe law. But I think it would eventually circle back to being an elected office and doing public policy work.”

7)      What is the next place on your travel bucket list? “I have not actually traveled a lot, partly because I've had a lot of family responsibilities with aging parents and the brother that I spoke of. I managed his care for years. Unfortunately, he passed away a few months ago. So, I haven't traveled much out of the United States. Now that some of those responsibilities have lessened, I've been thinking about it and probably Europe is where we'll head next.”

8)      What are you currently reading or listening to? “This answer is going to be boring. I mostly read government policy, history, and current events, and I listen to a lot of NPR podcasts. A lot of what I listen to is to help me digest public and political policy.”

9)      What is your favorite word and why? “‘Hope.’ I think in that the work that we do as psychologists, we always have to have hope. And even as an elected official it's always important to have hope. Hope in us as individuals and collectively, so that we can build safe and healthy communities for everyone.”

10)  What is your least favorite word and why? “There's not a particular word, but I think categories of words. Demeaning words, slurs, words that put down women. Many people think we're in a place in which we’re really polarized and divided, and words really matter. I think it's so important that we be civil and respectful.”