UNCW Announces 2026 Alumni Association Distinguished Award Honorees

UNC Wilmington has announced the newest recipients of the Alumni Association Distinguished Awards, which honor graduates whose exceptional accomplishments, integrity and service have made a lasting impact on the university and broader community.

The awardees will be recognized during Homecoming festivities scheduled for Feb. 9-15, with a formal celebration held as part of the Weekend in Wilmington in June 2026.

This year’s recipients are:

• Trevor Todd ’16, Distinguished Young Alumnus of the Year
• Kerri Allen ’11, ’13M, Distinguished Citizen of the Year
• Edward A. “Ed” Sundy Jr. ’73, Distinguished Alumnus of the Year

“Ed, Trevor, and Kerri remind us of what it truly means to be a Seahawk. They each use their talents to lift others—whether through education, environmental stewardship, or service to communities across our region,” said Lindsay A.T. LeRoy, UNCW Alumni Association executive director. “Their dedication reflects the heart of UNCW’s mission: empowering people to create positive, lasting change. I’m incredibly proud to celebrate alumni whose impact reaches far beyond our campus.”

Trevor Todd ’16, Distinguished Young Alumnus of the Year

Trevor Todd ’16 is currently a third-grade teacher at Castle Hayne Elementary School, having earned numerous accolades for his work. Todd has been awarded both the New Hanover County Schools Elementary Educator of the Year Award for 2020-2021 and the 2020 National University Teacher Award for North Carolina for his contributions in the classroom.

An elementary education major, Todd educates students in all subject areas and remains committed to ensuring his students get the best educational opportunities possible. As a keepsake for his students, Todd’s grandmother, Patsy Miller, handcrafts a bow tie or hair bow for each one so they’ll always have something to remember him by. 
Todd’s Seahawk spirit extends to his mother, LeAnn Todd, who was a graduate from Watson College of Education, having taught in the New Hanover County Schools. Todd credits his mother for being his biggest inspiration for becoming a teacher.

Along with attending UNCW sporting events with his father, Todd is a member of the Clocktower Society and serves as a Watson College of Education representative to the UNCW Alumni Board of Directors and a partnership teacher. His dedication to his alma mater is exhibited through his work with future teachers in the Watson College, inviting them into his own classroom to gain professional experience.

When he’s not in the classroom, Todd volunteers for the Children’s and Youth Ministry at Scotts Hill Baptist Church.  Since 2016, he has served on the North Carolina Azalea Festival’s Parade Committee. Todd’s community engagement has earned him the 2022 Wilmington’s 40 Under 40 Award for the significant impact both inside and outside the classroom.

Kerri Allen ’11, ’13M, Distinguished Citizen of the Year 

Kerri Allen ’11, ’13M is a coastal advocate, scientist and community leader whose work has transformed environmental policy and conservation efforts across North Carolina. As the coastal management program director for the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Allen serves as a powerful voice for coastal communities, ecosystems and water quality. In this role, she works with state and federal agencies, the General Assembly, scientists, businesses and residents to advance policy solutions that protect and restore North Carolina’s coast.

Her leadership includes guiding the Lower Cape Fear River Blueprint, managing conservation easements like the Morris Landing Clean Water Preserve, and spearheading statewide initiatives addressing emerging contaminants, marine debris, living shorelines, and oyster habitat restoration. She recently helped lead the effort that made North Carolina the first state in the nation to ban unencapsulated polystyrene in floating docks.

A two-time UNCW graduate, Allen earned her bachelor’s degree in geosciences with honors and her master’s degree in coastal geology. As a student and a Center for Marine Sciences Fellowship Award recipient, she conducted extensive field research, worked in UNCW’s Coastal Hydrology and Sedimentology Lab and the Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program, and served as a NOAA Hollings Scholar in the Hawai’ian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. Her early career included research in coastal hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and climate education, as well as influential work as education manager at Loggerhead Marinelife Center, where she secured critical grant funding and expanded programming by more than 150 percent.

Allen serves on several advisory boards, including the UNCW Earth and Ocean Sciences Advisory Board, NCSU Institute for Emerging Issues and multiple DEQ river basin committees. Her leadership and impact have been recognized through honors such as the Pelican Award, Bill Petit Award and Wilmington’s 40 Under 40.  
Allen's passion for the water extends into advocacy, including her leadership of We the Water, a 340-mile paddling initiative to raise awareness of water quality and environmental stewardship, generating more than $50,000 for conservation efforts.

Edward A. “Ed” Sundy Jr. ‘73, Distinguished Alumnus of the Year

Edward A. “Ed” Sundy Jr. ’73 is a lifelong Seahawk, community leader and mentor whose decades of dedication to service, leadership and philanthropy exemplify UNCW values. A mathematics major with a business minor, Sundy began working at Reeds Jewelers directly after graduation. Over more than 40 years, he rose through the organization as a manager and leader, ultimately helping launch the company’s first mall store in Myrtle Beach. He earned the prestigious Roberta Zimmer Award in 2015 in recognition of his leadership philosophy and positive impact on colleagues and customers.

Sundy’s commitment to service reaches far beyond his professional work. For more than 30 years, he has devoted himself to disaster response and humanitarian aid across North Carolina and beyond. Following storms such as Hurricanes Matthew and Florence, as well as major flooding events in New Hanover, Pender, Brunswick and Horry counties, Sundy led volunteer teams in cleanup, demolition, rebuilding and long-term recovery efforts.  
His leadership expanded in 2019 when he became site manager for the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church’s Disaster Response Team, coordinating hundreds of volunteers, managing logistics assessing needs and ensuring families could safely return home.  Sundy spent two decades leading youth mission teams in impoverished communities, repairing homes and mentoring young volunteers.

A Seahawk Club member for more than 35 years and a fixture at men’s basketball games, Sundy has cheered alongside his wife, Page Sundy ’74, for decades. He is a member of the Golden Wing Society, the Clocktower Society and has supported UNCW students by hiring them for professional experience during his years at Reeds.