Paulette J. Evans is from Georgetown, South Carolina, a small coastal town between Myrtle Beach and Charleston, where both of her parents were born and raised. After they both graduated from South Carolina State University, her father, who used the GI Bill after serving in the Air Force for four years as the Lead Jet Engine Mechanic, worked as an electrician for 33 years and her mother taught Math for 36 years. Combining what she learned from both of them, she majored in Electrical Engineering, minoring in Mathematical Sciences, at Clemson University. Since completing her undergraduate degree, Paulette has also studied business administration and performance improvement. She currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina and identifies as a change management expert who uses proven techniques to solve problems at work, at home, and everywhere in between. Because of her passion to leave a space or place better than when she arrived, Paulette founded Evans Efficiency Experts, a process engineering consulting firm focused on helping people and organizations solve complex problems, implement lasting changes, and increase productivity in their lives.
In 2022, Paulette was featured as one of 25 Coaches and Masterminds to KNOW and Support and one of seven CEOs of Black Women-Owned Businesses to KNOW on the KNOW Women Global Platform; she also won the 2019-2020 Junior League of Raleigh Foundation Award for her outstanding performance as a servant leader in an in-League placement. In 2017, Paulette was recognized as one of 40 Leaders Under 40 by the Triad Business Journal, and she was featured in the Clemson World Magazine as a “Tiger on the Move.” Paulette also has a passion for empowering women to be strong, self-reliant, and successful in all their endeavors, so she spends any free time she has volunteering for organizations that have this same focus; she currently serves as President of the Junior League of Raleigh and President of the NC Triangle Chapter of Ellevate Network.
One of Paulette’s most memorable life experiences occurred in 2001. While a student at Clemson University, she led a project requiring a team to research, design, and install a water purification system at a clinic in Hluvukani, an underdeveloped village in South Africa, just outside Johannesburg. The establishment had not had clean water in over five years, so this project was literally a matter of life or death, and she traveled approximately 8,500 miles to share her blood, sweat, and tears with a group of people who were in need. To this day, Paulette looks back on this experience as the sole reason why she loves volunteering. During any free time, Paulette loves traveling, creating new recipes in the kitchen, relaxing at the spa, and spending time with her husband of 20 years, JJ Evans, and their Goldendoodle puppy, Tiger.