On October 12, 2017, the University’s Distinguished Alumni Award was bestowed on triple Tar Heel and Carolina MPA grad Richard Stevens. The award is presented annually to alumni of UNC-Chapel Hill who “have made an outstanding contribution to humanity in any walk of life.” We congratulate Stevens ’70, JD ’74, MPA ’78, who has dedicated his life to the improvement of his home state and his alma mater, on receiving this prestigious award.
From UNC’s website on University Day:
RICHARD Y. STEVENS UNC-CHAPEL HILL DEGREE: B.A. 1970, M.P.A, J.D. 1974
Richard Stevens is an Attorney with the Smith Anderson Law Firm in Raleigh. He received his BA degree in Political Science in 1970, his Juris Doctor degree in 1974, and his Master of Public Administration degree in 1978, all from UNC. He served on the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees from 1995-2003, and the Board of Visitors from 1991-1995. He was Chair of the Board of Trustees from 1997-1999. He served five terms in the North Carolina Senate from 2003 to 2012. In the Senate he co-chaired the Education/Higher Education Committee and the Appropriations Committee. Prior to his service in the Senate he was the County Manager of Wake County, North Carolina from 1984-2000. In addition he has worked as a management consultant providing assistance with strategic planning, business objectives, marketing and organizational development for private sector clients.
At UNC, Stevens chaired the UNC-Chapel Hill Endowment Fund and the UNC-Chapel Hill Foundation, Inc. from 1997-1999 and chaired the Chancellor Search Committee in 1999-2000. He was Chair of the UNC General Alumni Association from 2000-2001, Chair of the Board of Visitors for the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Hospital from 2014-2016, and Chair of The Carolina Club from 1994-1997 and 2002-2011. Nationally, he was Chair of the Council of Board Chairs of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges from 1999-2000.
Stevens received the Distinguished Service Medal from the UNC General Alumni Association in 1994, the Distinguished Public Service Award from the UNC MPA Alumni Association in 1997, the National Public Service Award from the American Society for Public Administration and the National Academy of Public Administration in 2000, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2000, the Public Leader in Technology Award from the North Carolina Technology Association in 2004 and again in 2012, the John L. Sanders Student Advocate Award from the UNC Association of Student Governments in 2005, the William Richardson Davie Award from UNC in 2010, and the Award for Distinguished Public Service from the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce in 2017. Both the UNC School of Law and the UNC School of Government have scholarships named for Stevens.
He is a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Order of the Grail-Valkyries, the Order of the Old Well, the Society of Janus, and the Bell Tower Society as well as Chi Psi Fraternity.
He is married to Jere Gilmore Stevens and they have two adult children.
In May of this year, four Carolina MPA students presented their research at a national conference hosted by Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL), a national organization founded by Carolina MPA alumni Kirsten and Kent Wyatt. The students’ presentation was a unique example of exciting research being done in the classroom and being presented on a larger stage, due in part to a strong relationship between the program and alumni.
Kirsten Wyatt ’02 shared some of her thoughts about how these students both excelled in their presentation and set the example for similar research in other states to support ELGL’s Diversity Dashboard.
Q: Why did you choose Detroit for the ELGL Conference this year?
A: For the previous four years, we’ve always had our conference in Portland, which is where ELGL is based, and we started the organization while living out here. But as we grew and truly became a nationwide organization, we realized that moving the conference around the country was important to make sure that we were able to reach all of our members. What we also realized is that celebrating cities and celebrating local government is core to what we do. And so picking a city based on its character was our top priority. We looked for a city with story and Detroit’s story is something that is so important and so memorable. Especially as we head into this century as cities start to look at how to adjust and adapt and become 21st century cities, we knew we would get a lot of great stories and lessons out of Detroit.
Q: Why did you invite Carolina MPA students to present?
A: Each year, student teams want projects from real world partners to work on. So ELGL submitted a project proposal and four students selected the ELGL project for their semester-long work experience. The project is called the Diversity Dashboard and it’s our effort to collect real data across all forms of local government on the race and gender of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the Assistant Chief Administrator Officer. We submitted this project idea to the students and it had a component related to data collection, manipulation, and management; but it also had a component related to research and background and perspective. So we were really pleased the students picked our project and we had four students who back in January signed on and starting leading with ELGL to put this project together.
Over the course of the semester, to say that I was impressed would be an understatement. These students knocked this project out of the park. Not only did they immediately grasp the importance in the local government community of gathering this data, but they approached it with such strong understanding of data analysis and keeping the integrity of the data and that the process could be something that could be replicated throughout the entire nation. On top of that, they were just completely poised, they were so polished, and they were so passionate about their work. Not only did they have a great story to tell, but they told it really well. They had a final product that is something anyone in the country could pick up and use similar data in their states.
Q: How was their presentation received at the conference?
A: They walked in there and just nailed it. You would think they were sitting in the School of Government, presenting to their cohort. They absolutely walked onto the stage and presented with such poise that could have easily not been there, but demonstrated the caliber of students that the [Carolina] MPA program is attracting.
Q: How does your Carolina MPA inform your work at ELGL?
A: At the start, I think the cohort approach of the MPA program was a huge driving factor in Kent and I deciding to start an organization where people freely shared information and ideas about local government service. For us, really understanding the power of a close network helped us when we were working in local government. It helped us be better at our jobs, it helped us get information faster, it helped us cut through bureaucracy, and it helped us with information sharing.
We realized we have this great network made possible through our MPA cohort, and so we started thinking when we moved to Oregon, “How do we build a similar network where people feel that support, that camaraderie, and that information sharing?” I feel like that at every step of the way, that principle of building a network of people that you can depend on has really driven what we’ve tried to create in every state that we’re in for ELGL. I think too, Kent and I were both bit with the local government bug, we were really passionate and really excited about the work that happens at the local level and I think that was really fostered by the School of Government. For us, it’s about building that strong network, and always having really good resources, information, and training available to our network. I think we can tie that directly back to everything we learned in the School of Government in the MPA program.
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UNC MPA alumni and other local government leaders interested in the students’ research can see the students present again at the #ELGLPopup in Charlotte, NC on September 22. For more information or to register, visit elgl.org/elglpopups.
Additionally, learn more about ELGL’s Diversity Dashboard and Carolina MPA students research at ELGL’s blog:
This is a regular feature in our print newsletter, IMPACT. We often have more good news to report than we have room for in print, however, so we’re posting the full list of alumni updates here. These items appeared in the Fall 2019 issue.
Rebecca Baas ‘17 is a senior operations analyst at the Center for Child Health and Policy, Rainbow Babies, and Children’s Hospital, in Cleveland, OH.
Samantha Bauer ’18 is community education coordinator for the Town of Chapel Hill’s Public Works Stormwater Management Division.
Elizabeth Self Biser ’17 is vice president for public affairs at The Recycling Partnership in Raleigh, NC.
Ann Bowen ’08 is assistant director of donor relations at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA.
Patricia Bradley ‘16 is assistant vice president at the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity of Towson University in MD.
Jane Brasier ‘80 is vice president for Business Development at Clark Nexsen in Raleigh.
Kevin Bryant ‘09 is principal at Edgility Consulting in New York City.
Cheryl Bryant-Shanks ‘82 is chief human resources officer at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, NC.
Maria Chiochios ‘16 is assistant librarian at the University of Texas at Austin.
Brittany Clark ‘15 works for Dude Solutions in Cary, NC.
Philip Cordero ‘15 is administrator for the Town of Youngsville, NC.
Carla Davis-Castro ‘14 is research librarian for the Congressional Research Service in Washington, DC.
Alison Rae Dean ‘02 is volunteer coordinator at Audio-Reader at the University of Kansas.
Max Dickson ‘19 is assistant professor of military science at the University of Kentucky’s U.S. Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in Lexington.
Lawrence DiRe ‘99 is the manager of the Town of Cape Charles, VA.
Nicholas Dula ‘06 is a program development administrator for the City of Raleigh’s Housing and Neighborhoods Department.
Benjamin Durant ‘88 is senior policy advisor for the Office of the President at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC.
Sabrina Willard Ferguson ’17 is a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Los Angeles Division.
Joshua Fernandez ‘19 is a budget analyst in the Alamance County Finance Department in Graham, NC.
Lena Geraghty ‘15 is director for innovation and performance management for the City of Portland, ME.
Matthew Gladdek ’12 is executive director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership.
Deborah Goldberg ’02 is a management analyst for the Office of Management and Budget of Mecklenburg County, NC.
William Hagerty ‘17 is an airport operations specialist at Paine Field- Snohomish County Airport in Everett, WA.
Anna Hawksworth ’18 is a budget analyst for the Town of Chapel Hill.
Laura Hogshead ‘00 is chief operating officer at the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency in Raleigh.
Katherine Hughes ’16 is emergency management coordinator for Guilford County Emergency Services.
Matthew Hughes ‘18 is accounting and human resources manager with Forward Cities in Durham, NC.
Allison Hutchins ’13 is an organizational development manager for the Town of Cary.
Jason Hyatt ‘18 is director of York County Library in NC.
Jennifer Jones ‘02 is a business support specialist for customer experience at Colorado Springs Utilities in CO.
Ashley Kazouh ’19 is a policy analyst at Public School Forum of North Carolina in Raleigh.
Minal Khan ’12 is PFAS program assistant at the UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Public Health Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering.
Kelly Kleinkort ’15 is director of corporate engagement at Catalyst Inc., in Houston, TX.
Mira Kline ‘07 is a consular affairs associate for the U.S. Department of State in Tel Aviv, Israel.
James Klingler ‘19 is finance chief at the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency in Raleigh.
Erin Schwie Langston ‘03 is executive director of strategic initiatives at Academic Benchmarking Consortium in Chapel Hill.
Lee Anne Lawrence ‘18 is an attorney at the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency in Raleigh.
Henrietta Locklear ‘02 is vice president at Raftelis Financial Consultants in Memphis, TN.
Claire Long ’12 is an employee/labor relations specialist at National Institutes of Health in Research Triangle Park, NC; she also married Nick Haynes.
Gregory Mavraganis ‘07 is a solution strategist at Cerner Corporation in Malvern, PA.
Peggy Merriss ‘82 is principal at Merriss Management and Leadership Consulting in Decatur, GA.
Barron Monroe ‘09 is manager of Anson County, NC.
Tara Nattress ’18 is an associate at Fountain Works in Raleigh.
Caley Trujillo Patten ‘16 is a business analyst for the Gwinnett County Office of Strategy and Performance in GA.
Ebony Perkins ’13 is manager of investor and community relations at Self-Help in Durham.
Corey Petersohn ‘16 is a budget and management analyst for the Town of Holly Springs, NC.
Joseph Pierce ‘18 is assistant manager of Iredell County, NC.
Camilla Posthill ’18 is grant and administrative and communications coordinator for the National Farmers Union in Washington, DC.
Justin Powell ‘01 is deputy secretary for finance and administration with the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
Timothy Reavis ‘13 is assistant planning director for the City of Little Rock, AK.
Ryan Regan ’14 is director of business and economic development for the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce in NC.
Catherine Renbarger ‘08 is manager at Withers Ravenel in Cary.
Timothy Shober ‘19 is community engagement and outreach coordinator at Latino Community Credit Union in Durham.
Audrey Shore ’16 is membership manager at the Carolina Theatre in Durham.
Jessie Springer ‘04 is Medicaid technology and business operations unit manager at the Wyoming Department of Health.
Fagan Stackhouse ‘71 is director of human resources for the City of Raleigh.
Emily Stallings ’19 is development associate at Carolina Small Business Development Fund in Raleigh.
Charles Stevens ‘16 is program manager of Amazon’s Global Pathways Program in Seattle, WA.
Ivette Tapia ‘17 is a data analyst and consultant at Arkatecture in Portland, ME.
Katherine Thompson ‘15 is executive director at South Enotah Child Advocacy Center in Cleveland, GA.
Dustin Tripp ’15 is assistant manager for the Town of Knightdale, NC.
Brian Underhill ‘01 is chief legislative analyst for the Florida Senate’s Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.
Tanya Walton ‘05 is access and success initiatives manager for the UNC System Office’s Division of Strategy and Policy in NC.
Paige Waltz ’16 is digital director for the Office of Senator Mitt Romney in Washington, DC.
Kent Wyatt ‘02 is communications manager for the City of Tigard, OR.
This story was written by Kathryn Paquet and appeared in the Summer 2020 edition of the iMPAct Alumni Newsletter
For Carolina MPA students, the professional work experience (PWE) offers an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the government or nonprofit sectors. Since enrolling in the program, MPA online student Adrienne Augustus ’20 knew she wanted to intern with a nonprofit—she just didn’t realize it would be her own.
In the fall of 2019, Augustus fulfilled her PWE requirement by founding A Beautiful Mind Foundation, a 501(c)(3) grantmaking organization based in Hyattsville, Maryland, that aims to fund mental healthcare initiatives in communities of color.
She came up with the idea for the organization early on in her graduate school career, when she interviewed a few individuals who had started their own private foundation.
“I wanted to create my own organization because I didn’t want to be constrained by pre-established operating structures that didn’t wholly align with my beliefs and goals,” Augustus said. Originally, however, she aimed to achieve this goal after obtaining her MPA.
“I thought I would be working full-time for another organization and be able to set up this nonprofit and run it on the side,” she said. But a time crunch to find a PWE led her to a pivotal conversation with Susan Austin, former Carolina MPA associate director of alumni relations and professional work experience.
“Susan talked with me about my career goals,” Augustus said. “She really listened to my personal and professional needs. I told her I planned to start the foundation after I graduated, but she looked at my situation and thought way outside of the box. She said, ‘Well, why don’t you use your PWE to start the foundation?’”
“At first I thought, ‘What is she talking about?’” Augustus continued. “Now I say, thank God for Susan and her thoughtful wisdom. She could have tried to force me into a role that didn’t fit my years of work experience and long-term goals, but instead she created a wonderful opportunity for me.”
The mission of A Beautiful Mind Foundation is twofold: first, to affect positive change in mental health treatment in racially diverse communities; and second, to narrow the prison pipeline by helping people of color identify the early symptoms of mental illness before they lead to a crisis
The organization’s work is close to Augustus. Around age 11, she began dealing with depression, despite not receiving the diagnosis until a decade later.
“I had to get myself help in my early 20s, because my family didn’t understand,” she explained. As she sought treatment for herself, Augustus began to realize how deep the stigma surrounding mental illness ran in her community.
During her young adult years, Augustus lost two close friends, both young African American men, to struggles with mental illness. These losses, coupled with her own experiences, underscored to her that while mental illness affects individuals across demographic lines, it presents unique struggles for people of color. If they successfully navigate past the stigma to receive the help they need, Augustus said, they often face a second challenge: finding practitioners who understand their experiences.
“It was not easy finding a therapist who looked like me,” she explained. “And it’s not because I have to go to a black female, but because my experience with depression includes living as a black female.”
For these reasons, improving cultural competency in mental healthcare is a central tenet of the foundation.
“African Americans are more likely to be diagnosed with a severe mental illness than their white counterparts with similar symptoms, and part of it is because of how we express ourselves,” Augustus said. “There are distinct cultural differences in the ways people talk about how they’re feeling.”
By disbursing grants to qualifying groups and organizations, A Beautiful Mind Foundation hopes to help fund mental health initiatives within communities of color that will both encourage open conversation about mental health and steer individuals in need toward effective treatment options.
The organization launched its inaugural grant-making cycle in late April. By the end of June 2020, A Beautiful Mind awarded 20 organizations across the country grants totaling $22,300. In July 2020, the organization will receive its first corporate grant of $10,000.
The organization is currently offering four grants, two of which are especially meaningful to Augustus: Friends of Jelani and Ruth’s House.
Friends of Jelani is named for Augustus’ childhood friend Jelani, who died at age 24 during a struggle with police in the midst of a manic episode. The grant is designed to fund programming for men of color aged 25 and younger battling mental illness. Ruth’s House was created in honor of Augustus’ late grandmother and will provide funding for religious groups to implement mental health programming for people of color.
Although Augustus believes that no one should deliberately plan to start a nonprofit while completing a master’s degree—“Why would you do that on purpose?,” she exclaimed—she acknowledged that, without founding it to fulfill her PWE requirement, A Beautiful Mind Foundation may not exist today.
Augustus hopes that the organization will be able to help individuals like herself, her friend Jelani, and her grandmother Ruth, who have the power to fight but need support to do it.
“When we have certain segments that are impacted by mental illness and they’re not being adequately treated, we lose a huge part of our population that could be positively engaged in their communities,” Augustus explained. “There could be fewer people in prison, fewer people out on the street. We could have a better and happier society.”