Governor Cooper Announces Appointments and Nominations to State Boards and Commissions | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH: Today, Governor Roy Cooper announced appointments and nominations to boards and commissions.

    Gov. Cooper has nominated the following individual to the North Carolina Teachers` and State Employees` Retirement System Board of Trustees:

• Mary McCray of Charlotte as a retired teacher. McCray was a classroom teacher for 35 years. She was also previously on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education and was the longest-serving chair of their board's history.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina State Banking Commission:

• Clay H. Jackson of Fuquay Varina as a public member. Jackson is a Principal of Jackson, Hill & Chapman Private Wealth Management Group with Merrill Lynch. Jackson has more than 20 years of experience in the financial industry. Jackson was also previously the president of the SAFEchild Board of Directors.
• Elizabeth Hammond of Fuquay Varina as a consumer finance licensee. Hammond is the Vice President of Government Affairs for Mariner Finance, where she works on legislative issues and regulatory actions at the federal level and across 28 states. She spent more than 28 years as a Financial Regulator in the North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks before joining Mariner Finance last year.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Advisory Committee on Cancer Coordination and Control:

• Kimberly McDonald of Raleigh as a Department of Health and Human Services Representative. McDonald is the Chief of Chronic Disease and Injury for the department, where she provides leadership and oversight for 85 medical professionals focused on chronic disease and injury prevention efforts in North Carolina.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges:

• David E. Price of Chapel Hill as a member at-large. Congressman Price served 17 terms as a member of the United States Congress, where he represented Orange, Wake, and Durham counties, before retiring in January of this year. Prior to being elected to Congress, Price was a Professor of Political Science at Duke University, and following his retirement has now returned to teach Public Policy at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Governor's Crime Commission:

• Courtney Banks-McLaughlin of Fayetteville as a municipal government official. Banks-McLaughlin is the District 8 representative on the Fayetteville City Council, a role she has held since she was first elected in 2019.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Domestic Violence Commission:

• Steven Earl Hollowell of Bayboro as the Clerk of Superior Court representative. Hollowell is the Pamlico County Clerk of Superior Court.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the North Carolina Emergency Response Commission:

• Tyree Davis of Halifax as a Sheriff representative. Davis was elected Sheriff of Halifax County after nearly 20 years of experience in law enforcement and public service.
• Brent Walter Fisher of Nashville as the representative of emergency managers. Fisher is the Assistant Director of the Nash County Emergency Services Fire-Rescue and Emergency Management Division. Fisher was previously the Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator and Deputy Fire Marshal for Nash County.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual as chair of the Global Transpark Authority:

• C. Thomas Hendrickson of Zebulon as chair. Hendrickson is the co-founder and former chairman of Triangle Environmental, Inc. He also is the founding chairman of North State Bank. Hendrickson has served on the Global Transpark Authority since 2017.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Governor's Advisory Committee on Performance Management:

• Kristin Walker of Raleigh as the State Budget Director. Walker was appointed the State Budget Director for the Office of State Budget Management in November of 2022 after serving as the Chief Deputy Budget Director for the state since 2017.
• Vickie Sawyer of Mooresville as a North Carolina State Senator. Sawyer is in her 4th term in the State Senate, where she represents parts of Iredell and Mecklenburg counties and chairs multiple committees.
• Dr. Cardra E. Burns of Raleigh as the Department of Health and Human Services representative. Burns is the Department's Deputy Secretary for Operational Excellence, where she oversees a variety of subjects, including performance management.
• ·Dr. Julie A. Edmunds of Durham as the education representative. Edmunds is the Director of the Early College Research Center. Edmunds is also the Program Director for Secondary School Reform at the SERVE Center and an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
• Carol Burroughs of Raleigh as the Department of Information Technology representative. Burroughs is the Chief Data Officer for the North Carolina Department of Information Technology. Burroughs was previously the State's Analytics Director.
• Barbara Gibson of Raleigh as the Office of State Human Resources representative. Gibson has been the Director of the Office of State Human Resources since 2017. Gibson previously led the Department of Justice's Human Resources Office for sixteen years.
• Dr. Nicole James Lucas of Fayetteville as the Performance Management Expert. Lucas is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Planning at Fayetteville State University. Lucas also previously chaired the university's Sociology and Interdisciplinary Studies Department.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Pesticide Board:

• David Lipton of Raleigh as the State Health Director's Designee. Lipton is an Industrial Hygiene Consultant for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Lipton has more than 30 years of experience in the hygiene field.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Physical Therapy Examiners:

• Renuka Kasula of Cary as a public member. Kasula is the CEO and Co-founder of ReLi Med Solutions in Cary. Kasula has more than 20 years of experience working on technology for the health industry.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology, and Innovation:

• James Vinson Hunter of Raleigh as the representative of private industry. Hunter is the Vice President of Government Relations at RTI International. Prior to joining RTI in 2017, Hunter worked for North Carolina Congressman David Price as his Legislative Director.

    Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Turnpike Authority:

• Julie Eiselt of Charlotte as a member at-large. Eiselt was a Charlotte City Councilor for seven years before retiring at the end of 2022. Eiselt was also Mayor Pro-Tem the last five years she was in office. She was previously a member of the North Carolina Banking Commission.

    Contact: Sam Chan

    Phone: (919) 814-2100  •      Email: govpress@nc.gov