Announcing Leadership North Carolina Class 33

Raleigh, NC – Fifty-six civic and community leaders from across the state have been accepted to form the 2025-2026 class for Leadership North Carolina, the state’s premier leadership deployment program.

Each year, through a rigorous selection process, LNC chooses a class of established and emerging leaders from across the state to participate in its acclaimed Core Program. Leadership North Carolina’s Class 33 is made up of top leaders from the government, business, nonprofit, and education sectors.

Over the course of seven two-and-a-half day sessions Class 33 participants will learn about issues critical to the state through discussions with top officials and professionals, field trips, and experiential learning activities. LNC’s sessions focus on six key areas: economic development, education, environment, government, health and human services, and inclusive leadership. Through LNC’s program, participants gain new insight into North Carolina’s strengths and challenges and explore opportunities for how they will improve and empower their communities and the state as a whole.

LNC sessions are held around the state, highlighting the social, geographic, and economic diversity of North Carolina. The members of Class 33 gathered in Boone last week for their Orientation session at Appalachian State University. The group will meet in Raleigh in November for the Government session and in Greensboro in December for the Education session. The remaining sessions for LNC Class 33 will be held in Durham, New Bern, Charlotte, and Asheville.

LNC Class 33

• Amy C. Allison, Director, NC Outdoor Economy Office, North Carolina Department of Commerce, Buncombe
• Russell Altenburg, Program Director, Education, The Leon Levine Foundation, Mecklenburg
• James Amato, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Catalyst Advisors & Consultants, Wake
• Barbara Augustin, Chief Operating Officer, Techbridge, Durham
• Deborah D. Bailey, Vice President, Economic and Workforce Development & Continuing Education, A-B Tech Community College, Buncombe
• Patrick Brennan, Commissioner, NC Teaching Fellows, Orange
• Meghan Brown, VP, Advancement and Operations, Central Carolina Community College, Lee
• Timothy L. Bryant, CEO/General Manager, Fayetteville Public Works Commission, Cumberland
• Jake Camp, Executive Director, Project Space 411, Wake
• Angela Catina Caraway, Executive Director, The Caraway Foundation, Anson
• Emily S. Chávez, Board Member, Durham Public Schools, Durham
• Kristen Thompson Christman, Director, Center for Youth, Family, and Community Partnerships, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Rockingham
• Sheena J. Cobrand, Associate Vice Chancellor/Deputy General Counsel, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Wake
• Edward Randolph Collins Jr., Dean, College of Engineering, Western Carolina University, Jackson
• Andrea Jordan Crowley, Executive Director, NC Student Success Center, North Carolina Community College System, Wake
• Nathan T. Dollar, Director of Carolina Demography, Carolina Population Center, UNC-CH, Wake
• Louis Duke, Director, Duke Energy Foundation and DukePAC, Duke Energy, Wake
• Brika P. Eklund, Director, Community Development Finance Loan Portfolio Management, First Citizens Bank, Orange
• Saira Estrada, Language Access and Immigrant Integration, City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg
• Lily Farel, Assistant General Counsel, Legal Affairs, SAS Institute Inc., Orange
• Stacey Cole Gerard, Associate Vice President of Continuing Education, Pitt Community College, Pitt
• Crystal German, Executive Vice President, Self-Help, Durham
• Kasey Ginsberg, Vice President/Chief of Staff, Golden LEAF Foundation, Wake
• Christian Grant, Principal (Partner), Deloitte, Wake
• Erik Hall, Director – Plant EPC, DER Fleet & JOR, North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, Wake
• Dontario D. Hardy, Mayor, City of Kinston, Lenoir
• Chris Herndon, North Carolina Chapter Director, Sierra Club, Wake
• Marjorie Hope, Manager, Talent Acquisition, Bloomin’ Brands, Columbus
• Safiyah Jackson, Chief Strategy Officer/VP, The North Carolina Partnership for Children/Smart Start Network, Wake
• Audrey J. Jaeger, Dallas Herring Professor & Executive Director, Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, North Carolina State University, Wake
• Leslie Jenkins, AEVP Marketing, Communications and Outreach, State Employees’ Credit Union, Wake
• Amalia Juchnik, Senior Director: Brand Strategy, Culture Engagement & Executive Visibility, Premier, Inc., Mecklenburg
• Kelsey Lawhead, Vice President, Customer Programs & Strategy, ElectriCities of North Carolina, Inc., Wake
• Renae Robinson Lockhart, Major, Raleigh Police Department, Wake
• Eric L. Marsh, Town Manager, Town of Rolesville, Wake
• Steve Maynard, Certified Mentor, SCORE, Henderson
• Jesse Hamilton McCoy, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law, Wake
• Shakeerah T. McCoy, Director, Rural Health Innovation, North Carolina Healthcare Association, Nash
• Heather McDougall, Strategy & Innovation Officer, City of Raleigh, Wake
• Paige McKinney, President/CEO, Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce, Mecklenburg
• Matthew McLamb, State Geographic Information Officer, State of North Carolina, Wayne
• Pat Millen, President/Co-Founder, E2D, Inc., Mecklenburg
• Kristine Neal, Assistant Vice President Communications, Duke Health, Wake
• Joey Nelson, Regional Director of External Affairs, AT&T, Wake
• Rebecca Smith Pickens, Senior Regional Sales Manager, Pathful, Inc., Wake
• Douglas Rao, Senior Research Scholar, NC Institute for Climate Studies, North Carolina State University, Buncombe
• Lisa A. Rhyne, Government and Community Relations Manager, Piedmont Natural Gas, Mecklenburg
• Christopher Roberts, Vice President, Principal, Raleigh Office Leader, LS3P Associates, Wake
• Matthew Roden, Area Vice President, Advocate Health, Mecklenburg
• Marc Santre, Vice President, Talent Management, Martin Marietta, Wake
• Denise Balfour Simpson, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Mecklenburg
• Heather Christian St.Clair, Executive Director, Chatham County Partnership for Children, Chatham
• Matthew Tilley, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, Mecklenburg
• Elizabeth Townsend, Director, East Region, Government and Community Relations, Duke Energy, Person
• Avera Terry White, Executive Director of Employee Engagement & Experience / Director of Clinical Informatics, Community Care of North Carolina, Durham
• Tracy M. Wright-Gaskins, Principal Corporate Counsel, Cisco Systems, Inc., Durham

Leadership North Carolina’s mission is to inform, develop, and engage committed leaders by broadening their understanding of and involvement in issues and opportunities facing North Carolina. Leadership North Carolina’s Core Program cultivates a network of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences who share a deep commitment to their state. There are more than 1,500 graduates of the program whose continued ties to LNC and to one another provide them with rich opportunities for serving North Carolina.

The Class 33 roster is available here. To find out more about Leadership North Carolina, please visit: www.leadershipnc.org.