Governor McCrory Announces Appointments | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Raleigh, N.C.     The Office of Governor Pat McCrory announced the following appointments today:


    Jerry Laws (Yancey County) - Laws is a retired Transportation Sergeant for the Department of Corrections. Additionally, he served for 20 years on the Yancey County Rescue Squad (including 12 years as Captain), and is a former member of the Burnsville Fire Department.

    The purpose of the board is to adopt a State Fire Education & Training Plan, assist and participate with State and local fire prevention to improve fire prevention, work with State and local rescue agencies to improve rescue services in the State, increase professional skills of fire protection, encourage public support for fire prevention and control and to accept gifts, funds, bequests, etc.


    Carla G. Harper (Guilford County) - Harper is a content marketing manager for Progressive Business Media. She previously worked as a Program Manager and Writer for the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities and also recently published her first novel, titled Worthy. This is a reappointment.

    Wood J. Farless (Chowan County) - Farless is a tobacco farmer who recently moved from Merry Hill to Edenton. He developed a hydraulics system to reduce the transport width of his tractors for highway transport. This is a reappointment.

    Katie E. Mills (Wake County) - Mills is assistant general counsel at NCDEQ. She is a graduate of N.C. Central University School of Law. Mills was a National Young Agriculture Spokesperson for the National Watermelon Association in 2010. This is a reappointment.

    The commission informs the General Assembly on the influence of agriculture, forestry and seafood in regard to the economy of the state. It also develops alternatives for increasing public awareness and conducts studies to identify problems concerning future growth and development of the industry.


    Frederick Beaujeu-Dufour (Sampson County) - Beaujeu-Dufour manages 7,500+ acres of timber and wildlife. He has worked closely with both the N.C. Wildlife Commission and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Beaujeu-Dufour received an MBA from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Business. This is a reappointment.

    The Clean Water Management Trust Fund is established as a special revenue fund to be administered by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.


    Heather Grant (Wilkes County) - Grant served as an officer in the Army Nurse Corp until September 2012 when she was honorably discharged. During her military service, she worked as a Labor, Delivery and Postpartum staff nurse and as Branch Chief of Behavioral Health Care Coordination. After an injury, which limited her ability to function as a staff nurse, she was placed with the newly developed Behavioral Health Care Coordination mission. Her primary job was to oversee the implementation of Behavioral Health care for Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who were unable to receive care at a military healthcare facility. Grant has a six year old son who has autism. This is a reappointment.

    Timothy Montgomery (Guilford County) - Montgomery is Head of School for The Piedmont School in High Point, N.C. Prior to coming to The Piedmont School, Montgomery was at Noble Academy in Greensboro for 13 and a half years. During his last seven years there, he served as Assistant Head of School and Director of Enrollment. He is certified in history and social studies grades 6-12 and also has his North Carolina Principal licensure. He is the past president of the Triad Association of Non Public Schools and served on their Board for four years. This is a reappointment.

    The purpose of the board is to advise the State Board of Education of unmet needs in the education of children with special needs, comment publicly on rules and regulations proposed by the board regarding special education and related services, and develop and report data as required.


    Dr. Thurmond E. Siceloff, DPM (Forsyth County) - Dr. Siceloff works in Winston-Salem, N.C. and specializes in Podiatric Medicine. Dr. Siceloff is affiliated with Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center and Novant Health Medical Park Hospital. He practices at Foot Ankle Associates of the Triad.

    The board is responsible for licensing podiatrists in North Carolina.


    Holly Foster (Yadkin County) - Foster has been a self-employed licensed massage therapist for more than 10 years. Foster attended the Southeastern School of Neuromuscular and Massage Therapy in Charlotte. This is a reappointment.

    Dr. Timothy Taft (Orange County) - Dr. Taft is UNC Team Physician and Orthopaedics surgeon. Dr. Taft, a native of St. Louis, MO, received his BA degree from Princeton University in 1964 and his MD from the University of Missouri in 1969. He completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery at Carolina in 1974 and has been the orthopaedic surgeon for the Tar Heels since that time. Dr. Taft is the Max Novich Distinguished Professor of Sports Medicine at the UNC Medical School. He is on the sports medicine advisory committee for the N.C. Medical Society, the N.C. High School Athletic Association and Special Olympics North Carolina.

    Dianne Layden (Perquimans County) - Layden is a retired quality assurance analyst from Albemarle Hospital. She is a member of Friends of the Tri-county Animal Shelter and the Hertford Small Town Economic Prosperity group. She is a member of the N.C. Human Trafficking Commission, the Human Trafficking Task Force and the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards. Layden attended College of the Albemarle, UNC-Greensboro and East Carolina University. This is a reappointment.

    The purpose of the board is to safeguard the public's health, safety, and welfare against unqualified or incompetent practitioners and to evaluate qualifications of applicants for licensure.


    Mary Majebe (Buncombe County) - Majebe is the founder and director of Chinese Acupuncture and Herbology Clinic in Asheville. The clinic has been in operation since 1985. Majebe is also the president of the Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts in Asheville. She will be filling the role of a licensed acupuncturist. This is a reappointment.

    JudyKay Jefferson (Wake County) - Jefferson is the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Administration. She was formerly employed with NewPath Strategy Consultants where she assisted public entities in facility management and document strategy. In 2005, Jefferson joined Fisher Construction where she oversaw the day to day operations of minority owned commercial construction and transportation.

    The board has the responsibility to deny, issue, suspend, and revoke acupuncture licenses, establish requirements for acupuncture schools, and authorize continuing education programs for licensure.


    Donnie Dove (Mecklenburg County) - Dove is an ASL Lab & Instructor Assistant. He is a native user of American Sign Language. He has been an active member of the Deaf Community in Charlotte where he has offered his leadership and organizational skills for a number of events within the Charlotte Association of the Deaf (FAED), Carolina Athletic Association of the Deaf (CAAD), and North Carolina Association of the Deaf (NCAD). He is a graduate of the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind, and he attended the National Technical Institute for the Deaf for a year.

    The purpose of the board is to examine and determine the qualifications and fitness of applicants for licensure, renewal of licensure and reciprocal licensure.


    Dr. Judy S. Kinney (Guilford County) - Dr. Kinney is a psychologist with a specialty in pediatric psychology. She has provided comprehensive and culturally sensitive psychological services to children, adolescents, and their families for over 20 years. Currently she is a lecturer and internship coordinator for the Recreation Therapy Program at UNC Wilmington's School of Health and Applied Human Sciences. Her responsibilities include teaching 12 credits per semester, coordinating clinical internships, advising 50 majors, and serving on school or college committees. She received her Ph.D in Educational Psychology from Temple University.

    The board's duties are to review credentials of therapeutic recreation professionals who practice in North Carolina.

• Contact: McCrory Communications
•     govpress@nc.gov