Faculty and Staff Profiles

Susan Austin serves as career services director for the on-campus students in the Carolina MPA program. She is co-editor of Managing Local Government Services: A Practical Guide, which was published by ICMA in 2007. Austin worked for 14 years in the private sector as a retail manager and buyer. Immediately prior to joining the School of Government in 2001, she was a Governor's Public Management Fellow in the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Austin earned a BA in political science and an MPA from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Allison Binkley joined the School of Government in June 2015. She previously served as Career Development Counselor at UNC Wilmington and is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC). She earned her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from North Carolina State University and she holds a Master of Education in Counselor Education from North Carolina State University.

Heather Duhart joined the School of Government in January 2015. She previously served as associate director of student life for the Daytime MBA program at Duke University. Before that, she worked at North Carolina State University as an academic advisor and assistant director of recruitment. Duhart earned a BS and a Master of Education from James Madison University.

Elizabeth Langefeld joined the School of Government in August 2017 as the Associate Director for Academic Advising and Student Life in the MPA Program. Previously, she served as a Senior Academic Advisor for the UNC College of Arts and Sciences. She earned a BA in Communication Studies and an M.Ed. in Counselor Education- Student Affairs Administration, both from Clemson University.

Susan Lynch joined the School of Government in 2005 as a program manager working with local government officials. In 2006, she became admissions director for the UNC Master of Public Administration program.

Cara Robinson joined the School of Government in 2017.  Her career in admissions and recruitment spans 10 years. She has worked with graduate students across many platforms including social work, medicine, and biomedical sciences. She specializes in inclusive, holistic, and diverse admissions planning using meaningful collaborations, technology, and historical data.

Amy Wade joined the School of Government in 2014 as an adjunct instructor with the MPA Program. She is director of early awareness, data, and grants for I Know I Can, a nonprofit organization in Columbus, Ohio. She is also an adjunct professor for several programs at The Ohio State University, where she worked with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions from 2003 to 2011. She also served as a researcher for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Wade earned a BA, MPA, and PhD in educational administration and higher education from The Ohio State University.

Whitney Afonso joined the School of Government in 2012. She was named Albert and Gladys Hall Coates Distinguished Term Assistant Professor for 2015–2017. Prior to that time, she taught at the University of Georgia, Department of Public Administration and Policy; and Texas A&M University's Bush School of Government and Public Administration.

Monica R. Allen joined the School of Government in 2014 as an adjunct instructor with the MPA Program. She also teaches at Ashford University and Pfeiffer University. Allen serves as a performance and evaluation manager and enterprise management analyst with the Mecklenburg County Manager's Office of Management and Budget in North Carolina. Previously, she was a management analyst with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and the City of Norfolk Department of Public Works in Virginia.

David N. Ammons is a semi-retired faculty member who continues to work with the School of Government on a part-time basis. During his career as a professor of public administration and government he has written and taught about performance measurement, benchmarking, and productivity improvement in local government. His eight books on local government management include Municipal Benchmarks (M.E. Sharpe, 2012), Tools for Decision Making: A Practical Guide for Local Government (CQ Press, 2009), and Leading Performance Management in Local Government (ICMA, 2008).

Evans Ballard joined the School of Government as adjunct instructor for the MPA Program in 2015. He was the first person in North Carolina to be designated as a certified budget and evaluation officer. He is a member and the past president of the North Carolina Local Government Budget Association. Besides serving GFOA as a budget reviewer, he represents Salisbury in the North Carolina Benchmarking Project at the School of Government. Ballard has experience in analysis, budgeting, performance measurement, citizen-surveying, and conducting community focus groups.

Glenn Barnes joined the Environmental Finance Center (EFC) in 2006. Barnes teaches courses, provides direct community assistance, and carries out research on a range of topics including stormwater management, water and sewer rate-setting, wetlands, woody debris recycling, and green government. Prior to joining EFC, he worked for nonprofit organizations in New England focusing on renewable energy, biofuels, and environmental regulation. Barnes holds a BA and an MPA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Maureen Berner first joined the School of Government in 1998. She teaches evaluation and analysis courses for MPA students and provides similar training and advising to state and local government officials throughout North Carolina. Her personal research focuses on the ability of local organizations to address food insecurity, poverty, and income inequality. She has worked with nonprofits, food banks, local governments, and state agencies.

Julie Brenman joined the School of Government as adjunct faculty in 2008. She has over 15 years of municipal executive experience and currently works as a management consultant to governments and nonprofits. Previously, she served as Director of Strategic Initiatives, Assistant City Manager, and Director of Budget and Management Services for the City of Durham.

Patrick Curry joined the School of Government as adjunct faculty for the MPA@UNC program in 2015. He has worked in the nonprofit sector in various roles for over eight years, primarily as a program evaluator and data analyst. His current full-time position entails program evaluation at a regional Smart Start partnership. His other specialties include program management in social service organizations, practical systems change, research implementation, development strategies, and strategic planning.

Leisha DeHart-Davis is a Professor of Public Administration and Government who joined the School in 2012. She directs the Local Government Workplaces Initiative, which conducts organizational research for improving city and county workplaces, and is also a faculty partner in Engaging Women in Local Government, a program that seeks to equip women to pursue public service leadership positions. DeHart-Davis was named a Top 100 Local Government Influencer by the Emerging Local Government Leaders Network in 2016.

Ana-Laura Diaz joined the School of Government in 2015 as an operations assistant, and provides support to the MPA Program as an adjunct instructor. Her varied background includes work in government, higher education, and the legal field. She holds a BM in violin performance and an MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill and a JD from the University of Miami.

Sharon Edmundson joined the School of Government as adjunct faculty for the MPA Program in 2015. She has over 18 years of experience in local government accounting and financial management. Sharon currently serves on the staff of the local government commission for the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer, overseeing the fiscal management section. Previously, she worked in public accounting and internal auditing.

Before joining the School of Government in February 2009, Ferrell served as chief information officer for the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, Virginia. His efforts were recognized by the governor at the Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS) in 2004 for Technology Innovation in Higher Education. He also served as principal investigator for a three-year National Science Foundation grant that totaled $1 million, which focused on providing technology experiences for high school students.

Margaret Henderson joined the School of Government in 1999. Her current responsibilities includes teaching in the School’s MPA program, working with the School’s effort in Engaging Women in Public Service, and assisting NC communities to address human trafficking, through Project No Rest, housed in the UNC School of Social Work. As director of the Public Intersection Project, she researches and communicates strategies that strengthen cross-sector working relationships for more effective public problem solving.

Norma Houston joined the School of Government in 2006. Prior to that, she served as chief of staff and general counsel to State Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight. She has also worked for UNC President Erskine Bowles and served as Dare County attorney, assistant attorney general in the NC Department of Justice, and staff attorney for NC Prisoners Legal Services. She is a member of the North Carolina State Bar and serves on the boards of several organizations.

Michele Hoyman received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 1978. After graduating, she went on to become a faculty member at the University of Illinois Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, where she taught labor-related subjects and research methods from 1978 to 1981. She then went to the University of Missouri–St. Louis where she taught public sector personnel,  public policy and public administration. Teaching at UNC Chapel Hill since 1999, Dr.

Jeff Hughes joined the School of Government in 2002. He has more than 25 years of experience assisting communities in addressing finance and policy challenges related to the provision of environmental services and programs. Hughes is the author of numerous reports, guides, and articles on environmental finance and environmental policy analysis subjects. He works with a range of state and national organizations that focus on utility and environmental issues. He is an active member of Council of Infrastructure Finance Authorities (CIFA) and the American Water Works Association (AWWA).

Christi Hurt is the Assistant Vice Chancellor/Chief of Staff for Student Affairs. In this role, she assists the Vice Chancellor with pan-university and Student Affairs issues. Hurt was previously the Director of the Carolina Women's Center. She was appointed by the Chancellor as the University’s interim Title IX Coordinator and serves as the chair of the Title IX Task Force.

Willow Jacobson joined the School of Government faculty in 2003. Prior to that, she taught in the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Connecticut and worked on the Government Performance Project and the New Jersey Initiative at the Alan K. Campbell Institute at The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. She has also assisted with strategic planning for community collaboratives in California and Oregon state government.

John C. Kuzenski joined the School of Government as adjunct faculty in the MPA Program in 2015. A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he has served as university faculty in Political Science and Public Administration for over 25 years, in addition to division management-level service in the North Carolina Department of Revenue and as a law clerk to judges at the US District Court (Eastern District of NC) and the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Emily B. McCartha joined the MPA faculty as an adjunct instructor in 2016. She is currently working to finish her PhD in Public Administration at North Carolina State University. While at NCSU she has taught undergraduate courses for the Political Science Department and worked on several research teams.

Jonathan Morgan joined the School of Government in 2003. Prior to that, he worked for Regional Technology Strategies, Inc., an economic and workforce development consulting firm located in Carrboro-Chapel Hill. He has also served as director of economic policy and research for the NC Department of Commerce, as well as research and policy director for the NC Institute of Minority Economic Development. Currently Morgan serves as course director for the annual Basic Economic Development Course.

Rick Morse joined the School of Government in 2006. He previously was assistant professor in the Public Policy and Administration Program at Iowa State University. He teaches and advises state and local public officials in the areas of collaborative governance, civic engagement, and leadership. He also teaches in the School's Master of Public Administration program. His publications include more than two dozen articles and book chapters and he is lead editor of two books on public leadership: Transforming Public Leadership for the 21st Century (M.E.

Tyler Mulligan joined the School of Government in 2007, where he counsels state and local government officials and their partner organizations regarding development finance, community economic development, and revitalization efforts. Mulligan launched the School's Development Finance Initiative, which assists local governments with attracting private investment for transformative development projects, and now serves as director for the initiative.

Kim Nelson joined the School of Government in August 2013. She is a member of the Public Administration Review editorial board since January 2016 and will serve a three-year term. She taught for seven years in the MPA program at Northern Illinois University, where she received the 2010 Professor of the Year award from the students of the Division of Public Administration. Her research and teaching interests include local government management, form of government, and innovation in local government.

Kelley O'Brien was previously employed at the School of Government from 2002 to 2016, and has taught in both the online and on campus programs.  Prior to her current role as adjunct instructor for the MPA Program, she led a variety of initiatives that spanned across the School’s programmatic and operational work. O’Brien’s prior experience includes seven years as director of the North Carolina Civic Education Consortium, formerly a program of the School of Government.

Bill Rivenbark joined the School of Government (then the Institute of Government) in 1999. Prior to that, he worked for the city of Greenville, South Carolina, in various management positions.

Dale Roenigk joined the School of Government in 2005 and took over the directorship of the North Carolina benchmarking project in 2006. Prior to that, he worked for the State of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services doing program evaluation and quality monitoring for mental health services. He began his career in public service working for a policy consulting firm in Washington, DC.

Carl Stenberg joined the School of Government in 2003. Previously, he served as dean of Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts, University of Baltimore; director of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, University of Virginia; executive director of the Council of State Governments; and assistant director of the US Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. He is former feature editor of Public Administration Review and co-author of America's Future Work Force.

John Stephens joined the School of Government in 1996. Previously, he was research director of the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management. His publications include Guidebook to Public Dispute Resolution in North Carolina and Public Management Bulletin: Using a Mediator in Public Disputes. He is co-author of Reaching for Higher Ground: Tools for Powerful Groups and Communities and School Funding Disputes: Mediate, Don't Litigate. Stephens also teaches in the Natural Resources Leadership Institute at North Carolina State University.

Dennis R. Strachota joined the School of Government as adjunct faculty in the MPA program in 2017 and currently teaches the online Public Financial Management course. Strachota has more than 40 years of experience in state and local government as an analyst and a budget and finance director. Prior to his retirement from the public sector in 2014, he served as budget director and assistant finance director for the City of Long Beach, CA. Among other positions, he also served as lead budget consultant and trainer for the Government Finance Officers Association.

Amy Strecker joined the School of Government in 2013 as an adjunct instructor with the MPA Program. She works for the Duke Energy Foundation leading their North Carolina investments. Previously, she served as a speechwriter and local government and community relations practitioner with Duke Energy, where she completed an internship while enrolled in the School’s Master of Public Administration program. She has also worked in the public policy arena, focusing on affordable higher education. She started her career with Teach for America as an English teacher in Warren County, North Carolina.

Charles Szypszak joined the School of Government in 2005. Prior to that, he was a director of a general practice firm in New Hampshire, where he provided counsel and advocacy for real estate and business matters. He provides counsel to state, national, and international institutions, organizations, and public officials on real property registration and conveyance laws.

Shannon Tufts designed and implemented the first local government Chief Information Officers Certification program in the nation and continues to run CIO certification programs for local and state government IT professionals. She created a National Certified Government Chief Information Officer program in 2007, in order to serve the growing needs of public sector IT professionals across the nation.

Joseph Vrabel has been General Counsel to BlaisCo LLC for close to 15 years. Prior to that, he was a senior partner at Bowditch and Dewey. His work consists of Department of Defense contract negotiations and corporate advice on all aspects of business law including mergers, acquisitions, banking, and strategic partnering opportunities. Vrabel is a past president of the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, the Massachusetts Town Counsel Association, and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), where he continues to serve as trustee.

Joy Wilkins joined the School of Government as adjunct faculty in 2015. She is an advisor, speaker, facilitator, instructor, and author on community development, economic development and leadership development matters. She has served as a senior public service associate with the University of Georgia, as a group manager and project director with Georgia Tech, as a researcher with the Metro Atlanta Chamber, and as a private consultant. Wilkins has delivered research, planning, and consultation services for clients in the United States and Canada.