Amy Strecker serves as Duke Energy’s stakeholder engagement manager overseeing the company’s charitable giving and Duke Energy Foundation’s grantmaking in North Carolina. Amy is also responsible for Duke Energy’s sports marketing and business hospitality in the Triangle and Triad regions. Previously, she worked on the company’s corporate communications and local government and community relations teams. Amy joined the School of Government in 2013 as an adjunct instructor and course coordinator with the MPA program. She teaches professional communications for the program and leads the course’s adjunct teaching team. She has also worked in the public policy arena, focusing on affordable higher education. Amy started her career with Teach for America as an English teacher in Warren County, North Carolina. Strecker earned a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Austin and a master of public administration from UNC–Chapel Hill. Amy serves on the executive committee of the Marbles Kids Museum’s Board of Directors and chairs the United Way of the Greater Triangle’s board of directors.
John Quinterno joined the School of Government as an adjunct instructor for the MPA Program in 2015. He is the founder and principal of South by North Strategies Ltd., a research consultancy specializing in economic and social policy. He is the author of Running the Numbers: A Practical Guide to Regional Economic and Social Analysis. Over the course of his career, Quinterno has directed applied research projects into matters of labor economics, workforce development, regional policy, social insurance, and postsecondary education, and his writings on policy matters have appeared in numerous publications. He is also a visiting lecturer at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, where he teaches a course on regional analysis. Quinterno holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and an M.P.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Selected Publications
Quinterno, John. Running the Numbers: A Practical Guide to Regional Economic and Social Analysis. New York City, New York. Routledge, 2014.
Kelley O’Brien has more than 15 years of experience as a communicator, grant writer, project manager, and administrator in higher education and nonprofits. As owner and principal of KT Strategy & Communications, Kelley works with public and private organizations to articulate strategic priorities, develop program plans, create content, manage complex projects, and secure funding. Kelley is also a strategic search partner at Elinvar, a Raleigh-based executive search firm that matches mission-driven leaders with mission-driven organizations. She holds adjunct appointments at the UNC–Chapel Hill Graduate School and Kenan-Flagler Business School. Prior to launching her own firm in 2016, Kelley was director for strategy and innovation at the School of Government and led a statewide K-12 education program. She holds a master of public administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor of arts in honors interdisciplinary studies, urban studies from the University of Georgia. More recently, she has completed the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Executive Program in Innovation and Harvard Division of Continuing Education’s Design Thinking Program.
Emily B. McCartha serves as a Senior Program Evaluator for the North Carolina General Assembly in the program evaluation division, a non-partisan research group. She has led evaluations related to public education, public health, and organizational structure, and has been a team member on other evaluations. She earned her doctorate in public administration from North Carolina State University in 2019 and her master of public affairs from the LBJ School at the University of Texas in 2011. She also earned her BA in urban studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009.
Selected Publications
Fleming, C. J., McCartha, E. B., & Steelman, T. A. (2015). Conflict and collaboration in wildfire management: the role of mission alignment. Public Administration Review, 75(3), 445-454.
Velez, A. L. K., & McCartha, E. B. (2019). A framework for understanding how nonprofits shape our physical environment: Identifying allies in making spaces. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 29(3), 419-435.
Dr. Mary Hemphill is a leadership expert & coach, K-12 educator & administrator, author, & inspirational speaker with over 15 years of professional experience in these fields. As a state director, and university professor with a Ph.D. in leadership studies, Mary understands the importance of fusing education, empowerment, and leadership together as she works with learning and working communities and speaks to audiences across the country. Most recently, Dr. Hemphill has the opportunity to hone her expertise through her role as North Carolina’s first state director of computer science and technology education where she works to leverage support and leadership around computer science initiatives across the state.
Jenny Heckscher is the director of innovation programs for the Center for Innovation Strategies at The Ohio State University, where she manages programs, operations, and outreach to support education, research, and applied practice in innovation. She provides learning experiences and consultation to private and public organizations with the goal of aligning strategy, people, and process in support of initiatives that create social and economic value. In prior roles at Ohio State, she developed and implemented diversity and inclusion programs for faculty and staff, including co-leading a record launch of the region’s Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, a national non-profit focused on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in talent management. Jenny also developed an online career onboarding program for graduate business students that received a national innovation award. Prior to joining Ohio State, Jenny worked at Nationwide for over ten years, most recently as an associate vice president of Product Development for the retirement plan division where she helped launch a platform for new product innovation. She has been an adjunct faculty member with the MPA@UNC program at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill since 2016. She earned a B.S.B.A from Ohio State and an M.A. in public policy and management from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.
Kristen Glasener joined the School of Government as adjunct faculty for the MPA Program in 2017. She has previously worked in the nonprofit and higher education sectors, primarily in the areas of college access and admissions. She also taught research methods at Boston University School of Social Work. Glasener is currently a research assistant and Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Michigan’s Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education. Her research focuses on higher education access and equity, college admissions and enrollment management, and financial aid policy. Kristen earned her B.A. in psychology from The Ohio State University and an M.S.W. from Boston University.
Glasener, K. M., Martell, C. A., & Posselt, J. R. (2019). “Framing diversity: Examining the place of race in institutional policy and practice post-affirmative action.” Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 12(1), 3–16.
Furquim F, Glasener KM, Oster M, McCall BP, DesJardins SL. “Navigating the Financial Aid Process: Borrowing Outcomes among First-Generation and Non-First-Generation Students.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 2017;671(1):69-91.
Michael N. Bastedo, Nicholas A. Bowman, Kristen M. Glasener & Jandi L. Kelly (2018) “What are We Talking About When We Talk About Holistic Review? Selective College Admissions and its Effects on Low-SES Students,” The Journal of Higher Education, 89:5, 782-805
Sharon Edmundson is the current secretary of the Local Government Commission and a deputy treasurer for the state and local government finance division of the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer. She has over 30 years of experience in governmental and public accounting. Sharon received her B.S. in business administration with a concentration in accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a master’s degree in public administration from North Carolina State University. She is a member of the Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and was twice awarded the Outstanding Member in Government award. Sharon is a graduate of Leadership North Carolina, Class XXII, and currently serves as the treasurer for the Raleigh/Wake Partnership to End Homelessness.
Ana-Laura Diaz works as an attorney. Recently, she has been serving as transactional counsel at a tier-one research institution and reviewing a variety of agreements. In addition, Ms. Diaz teaches legal and ethics courses. Her work focuses on the areas in which business, the law, and ethics intersect. Ms. Diaz’s past experience spans the public and private sectors, including positions at a renewable energy company, the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer, USAID, and private practice. She earned her bachelor’s degree and M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her J.D. from the University of Miami.
John Crumpton is the current county manager in Lee County, North Carolina, and has served in this capacity since July 2007. He is also an adjunct professor with the MPA program here at the School of Government where he teaches Introduction to City and County Government. Dr. Crumpton has over 18 years’ experience in Municipal and County Government and 13 years of experience in the private sector. He earned a doctorate in education/community college executive leadership from Wingate University and a master of business administration from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He has bachelor’s degrees in business administration from Georgia State University, and in public finance and administration from Indiana University. Dr. Crumpton has been an ICMA credentialed manager since 2008 and is a member of the North Carolina City/County Managers Association. He serves as a board of trustee member for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners Risk Management Pools, is involved in local civic organizations, and serves on several local boards.