Faculty and Staff Profiles

Monica R. Allen joined the School of Government in 2014 as an adjunct instructor in the MPA program. She is also Director of Strategic Planning and Evaluation for Mecklenburg County, where she focuses on leading, developing, and executing the county’s corporate performance management, strategic planning, and program evaluation initiatives. Allen is also the proprietor of Insight Performance Management Group LLC, a consulting firm specializing in change management, strategy development and execution, performance management, and organizational development.

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 has more than 20 years of experience developing and using performance management systems in the public and private sectors. He has led large organizations, presented to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, and served on the steering committee for the National Center for Civic Innovation.

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.

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.

Courtney Doi joined the School of Government as adjunct faculty for the MPA Program in 2016. She has worked at Alamance Community College as a college English instructor specializing in professional communication and research for the past nine years. In addition to teaching, she is the Writing Across the Curriculum coordinator, providing professional development about writing to faculty across the disciplines and directing the college's Quality Enhancement Plan.

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.

Kristen Glasener joined the School of Government as adjunct faculty for the MPA Program in 2017

Norma Houston is an expert in emergency management law, local government ethics, and public purchasing and procurement. In January 2019, she was named an advisor to the leadership team of the newly formed North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. Houston continues her work at the School of Government but serves this state agency in an advisory capacity on issues such as FEMA programs and local government procurement. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Gregory S. Allison is a teaching professor at the School of Government, where he lectures and provides technical support in the field of governmental accounting and financial reporting. He has been on the faculty since 1997 and is director of the School’s Municipal and County Administration course. He was an assistant director with the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada in Chicago, Illinois; former finance director for the City of Morganton, North Carolina; and an auditor with the international accounting firm Deloitte and Touche.

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.

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 is a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow and recipient of the 2019 Gary Cornia Distinguished Lecturer given by the Romney Institute of Brigham Young University.

Margaret Henderson joined the School of Government in 1999. Her current responsibilities include teaching in the School’s MPA program, facilitating public meetings, and assisting local governments to address human trafficking. As director of the Public Intersection Project, she researches and communicates strategies that strengthen cross-sector working relationships for more effective public problem solving.

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.

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.

Kara Millonzi joined the School of Government in 2006. She specializes in local government finance law, general county law, school finance, utilities finance, development finance, and incorporation. She administers the Coates’ Canons Local Government Law Blog and has authored well over 100 posts on issues related to local government law and finance. Millonzi also administers NC Finance Connect, an online community portal, centered around the topic of local government finance.

Jonathan Morgan joined the School of Government in 2003, where he teaches, advises public officials, and conducts applied research on economic development.  His research has focused on industry cluster-based development, the role of local government in economic development, business incentives, development impact analysis, and innovative, homegrown approaches to job creation.  His articles have been published in leading journals such as Economic Development Quarterly, Policy Studies Journal, and Community Development.  Morgan directs the Basic Economic Development Course a

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 community economic development, affordable housing, public-private partnerships for development, and revitalization efforts.

Kim Nelson joined the School of Government in August 2013. She was named Albert and Gladys Hall Coates Distinguished Term Associate Professor for 2017-2019. Her research on form of government, corruption, and innovation has been published in Public Administration Review, The American Review of Public Administration, State and Local Government Review, and other journals. As a member of the Center for Public Leadership, she conducts training and advice on leadership and management topics.

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.

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. He serves on the steering committee of the University Network for Collaborative Governance.

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.

Teshanee Williams is a recipient of the Carolina Postdoctoral Program Faculty Diversity Fellowship, and she will be a research fellow with the School of Government from 2019–2021. Her past professional experiences include working as a research analyst for the North Carolina State Auditor’s Office and the Office of Partnership and Economic Development at North Carolina State University.

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.