NASBA Center For Public Trust 
Nathan T. Garrett received the NASBA Center for the Public Trust (CPT) Being A Difference Award for his unprecedented dedication and ethical leadership in the business, education, minority and not for profit communities on Tuesday, May 13, 2008.
“At the NASBA CPT, we take pride in honoring leaders for their outstanding accomplishments,” Alfonzo Alexander, Vice President of Development for NASBA CPT said. “Nathan Garrett is a significant example of being a difference, which is greater than making a difference.”
Mr. Garrett, a longtime certified public accountant (CPA), attorney and community leader in Durham, North Carolina has been the owner or partner of various CPA firms since 1962. After an extraordinary career, he retired as partner of Cherry Bekaert and Holland, LLP in 1999.
He is founder and former executive director of the Foundation for Community Development (FDC). The FCD, originally formed as part of the North Carolina Fund, was created in 1963 to “break the cycle of poverty” that was plaguing many of North Carolina’s residents.
Additionally, Mr. Garrett contributes to his community in various capacities. He is chairman emeritus for North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance and a trustee emeritus for Duke University. He previously served as a Durham County Commissioner, president of the North Carolina Association for Minority Businesses and chairman for the board of trustees at Fayetteville State University.
On a national scale, Mr. Garrett served as chairman for the Minority Development Advisory Committee to the US Secretary of Commerce, chair of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and president of the National Association of Minority CPA Firms.
Mr. Garrett is a nationally published writer and informative speaker on social and technical topics. He taught accounting and law classes as a tenured faculty member at the North Carolina Central University School of Business.
Mr. Garrett earned his A.B. in psychology from Yale University, completed post graduate work in accounting and business at Wayne State University and received his law degree from North Carolina Central University.
He and his wife, Wanda, reside in Durham, North Carolina and have three children, seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.