Lead for North Carolina at the UNC School of Government

Lead for North Carolina at the UNC School of Government is a paid, full-time fellowship program in local government for recent college graduates. We are looking for community change agents to work on transformative community projects. Projects include hurricane recovery and resiliency, economic development, citizen engagement initiatives, affordable housing, public health, and more! Complete the LFNC Fellow Application here: leadfornc.com/apply

Today marks my last day serving with the Town of Cary as a Lead for North Carolina Fellow. In the last year here, I have learned so much about local government and what it takes to serve the community I’ve been a part of. All of this has helped me grow in my personal and professional life. Now more than ever, I remain committed to public service. I want to first thank Lead for North Carolina at the UNC School of Government and all the staff for choosing me to participate in this incredible program. Thank you to Liam Hysjulien and G. Dylan Russell for all of your support and trainings that you gave throughout the year. You all were very willing to provide assistance or be a listening ear when I needed it. Next, I want to thank all the amazing people in the Town Manager’s Office in Cary. Special thanks to Stacey Teachey, Kerry Harville, Mary McKay, and Heather Hennessey Whelehan for supporting me and always serving as a resource. You all are the embodiment of Cary’s People First value. Finally, thank you to all the people that I’ve met over the year in Cary, through Lead for North Carolina, and through LeaderCorps. You guys made this experience worthwhile. So what’s next for me? I will be pursuing my Masters in Public Administration at George Washington University. I am very excited to join The George Washington University Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration family, and I look forward to being on campus in August!

Today marks my last day serving Person County, NC Government as a fellow with Lead for North Carolina at the UNC School of Government. In my two years here, I have learned an immeasurable amount about local government, public service, and rural life, which has helped me grow tremendously as a professional and as a person. I owe this growth to the incredible people who supported me during my fellowship. First, thank you to all the amazing staff and faculty at UNC School of Government, especially G. Dylan Russell and Liam Hysjulien, for facilitating this program with exceptional ability and thoughtfulness. Next, thank you to all my colleagues and department heads I had the pleasure of working with and reporting to, especially Katherine Cathey and Brian D. Hart, MLIS, MPA, our County Manager and Assistant County Manager respectively. They are all model public servants and helped show me what effective, intelligent, and selfless leadership looks like. Finally, thank you to my friends and family who have supported me so much throughout my fellowship - I truly wouldn't be where I am today without you. While I'm sad to be leaving Person County, I'm also looking forward to what lies ahead. I'm excited to announce that I'll be beginning law school at Georgetown University Law Center in the fall! Thank you so much to everyone who supported me throughout the application process, especially Amanda Brumfield and Honors Carolina, my professors who wrote me letters of recommendation, and my friends and family. I'm looking forward to being on campus in the fall and becoming a #HoyaLawya!

I'm happy to share that after a wonderful year as the Town of Apex’s Lead for North Carolina Fellow, I will be joining Team Apex full-time as a Recreation Program Specialist! In this role, I will continue overseeing the Town's Specialized Recreation and Inclusion Programs. I'm excited to further enhance our program offerings and grow our community. Thank you to the Lead for North Carolina at the UNC School of Government team, especially G. Dylan Russell and Liam Hysjulien, for their support throughout this program. I would also like to thank my colleagues in Apex who helped make this an incredible year. I am so excited to continue working in the "Peak of Good Living" starting on July 8th.

After nearly a year working with Central Pines Regional Council as an Americorps Lead for North Carolina Fellow, I am thrilled to announce I will be starting a new full-time position with Central Pines on August 1st, 2024! As their newest community development planner, I will be bridging gaps in digital equity and providing planning technical assistance to our local government members. I want to thank Executive Director Lee Worsley for working with me this last year in assisting the Town of Micro, NC and on various projects for the regional council. He and the team at CPRC have provided an invaluable fellowship experience in local government. I am proud and thankful to be given the opportunity to continue to build on that experience with an outstanding organization. Also, shout out to the team at Lead for North Carolina at the UNC School of Government, especially G. Dylan Russell and Liam Hysjulien, for providing a network of support and learning over the last year. The program has truly put me in a place to succeed and make an impact on our local communities.

Excited to share that I will be joining the Lead for North Carolina at the UNC School of Government cohort of 2024-2025! 🎉 As part of this incredible program, young leaders like myself are dedicated to strengthening our public institutions and transforming local communities across North Carolina. I am thrilled to announce that I will be working in Apex, NC, focusing on enhancing the town's Language Access Plan and other accessibility efforts. To learn more about Lead for North Carolina and its mission, visit Lead for North Carolina at https://lfnc.sog.unc.edu/

On Tuesday, June 18th, the Marion City Council unanimously approved a Language Access Plan. The Language Access Plan outlines how the Town will interact with community members who speak languages other than English, about 20% of the Town's population. Over the past year, staff from the City of Marion and Centro Unido Latino Americano participated in monthly workshops with the Building Integrated Communities team to develop the Language Access Plan. El martes, 18 de junio, el Consejo Municipal de Marion aprobó el Plan de Acceso Lingüístico por unanimidad. El Plan de Acceso Lingüístico describe cómo el municipio interactuará con miembros de la comunidad que hablan idiomas además de inglés, cerca del 20% de la población. Durante el año pasado, el personal de la Ciudad de Marion y del Centro Unido Latino Americano participaron en talleres cada mes con el equipo de Construyendo Comunidades Integradas para desarrollar el plan. Margarita Ramirez, Vance McNees, Laura Zapater Urrea, Sarah Dhunjishaw

Last month I graduated from North Carolina State University with a BA in Political Science and Minor in Science, Technology, & Society. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me through my undergraduate journey - family, friends, professors, peers, and members of The Caldwell Fellows program. In regards to my post graduate plans, I am excited to be a member of Lead for North Carolina at the UNC School of Government. I will be joining a cohort of young leaders working to strengthen our public institutions and help transform our local communities across North Carolina. In August, I will begin working with the Town of Morrisville as their Language Access Plan Coordinator, focusing on making government services more accessible to bilingual and non - English speakers in Morrisville. I am thrilled to be a member of this program and looking forward to learning more about Public Service. Find out more about Lead for North Carolina at https://lfnc.sog.unc.edu/

I am thrilled to be an incoming member of the Lead for North Carolina at the UNC School of Government cohort! This is a program for young leaders working to strengthen our public institutions and help transform our local communities across North Carolina. I will be in Pikeville, NC, working on projects such as ordinance reviews, promoting platforms for local transparency, and developing a new town vision. Find out more about Lead for North Carolina at https://lfnc.sog.unc.edu/