Hannah Dawson Gage is a Wilmington businesswoman who built and managed radio stations for 25 years in southeastern North Carolina. She has devoted decades to community service with a specific interest in the role public higher education plays in improving lives. Gage started the region’s first news talk station (980 WAAV), the first FM station to target African American listeners (Coast 97.3) and the first FM station to target women (102.7GNI). Her career in radio taught her the importance of being connected to the community with high quality news and public service that recognizes the needs of different populations and audiences. Her broadcast experience helped shape her work in community service. Gage has devoted more than two decades serving North Carolina’s public university system. She is driven by her fundamental belief that education drives social and economic mobility. Gage served for eight years on the UNC-W Board of Trustees as both a member and as Chair. She played a critical role in the establishment of UNC-W’s Marine Science Center. She worked with Wilmington businessman Bob Warwick to successfully change the state’s funding formula for UNCW which resulted in an annual increase of $7 million dollars.

Following Gage’s service on the UNCW Board, she was subsequently appointed by the North Carolina Senate to the UNC Board of Governors, where she served for twelve years followed by a four-year emeritus term. In 2008, Gage was elected and became the first woman to Chair the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. She was re-elected for a second two-year term as Chair in 2010. Her election and re-election were unique because she had the unanimous support of both Democrats and Republicans. The UNC BOG oversees 16 public universities, the UNC School of Science and Math, UNC Health Care, and UNC TV. It is also the state’s largest producer of teachers and Bachelor of Science nurses. Through her service on the BOG, Gage developed a deep understanding of the importance of the teacher and nursing pipeline and the need for public universities to work hand in hand with the community college system.

Gage is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and St. Mary’s High School in Raleigh. Following graduation, she began a career in communications, working in radio, print and television news before moving to Wilmington in 1981, where she began her career in radio management. Gage served as Vice Chair of the newly formed $1.2 billion-dollar New Hanover Community Endowment Board. The NHCE was created following the sale of New Hanover Regional Hospital. Gage served as Chair of the WUNC Radio Board from 2015-2021. She has served as Chair of the Wachovia/Wells Fargo Board, the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust Board, the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce Board, the North Carolina Association of Broadcaster’s Board, and the BESTNC Board. She’s a former member of the Wilmington Rotary Club.

In 2012, Gage was awarded the state’s highest honor for service from the Governor, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Gage has been inducted into the North Carolina Association of Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame. She has been awarded the American Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal for her contribution to the advertising and marketing industry. She has received the YWCA’s Woman of Achievement Award and the Outstanding Alumni Award from St. Mary’s High School in Raleigh in 2011. She was also awarded an honorary Doctoral Degree from UNCW for her service to public education. Gage has been married for 38 years to William Frank Gage, a registered architect in Wilmington. They raised two sons, Dawson Gage and Stedman English Gage, who died in 2013.