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. A Certified Economic Developer by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), she is also a registered mediator in the state of Georgia. She has an M.A. in city planning from Georgia Tech, a graduate certificate in real estate from Georgia State University, and a B.A. in sociology and political science from the State University of New York at Fredonia.
Sarah Towne has been teaching at the School of Government since 2017. After earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology and applied business, she spent a year teaching English in Mexico before pursuing a master’s degree in public administration at Appalachian State University. She moved to Washington, DC to pursue a doctorate in public administration and policy at American University’s School of Public Affairs. Her research focuses on public human resources management, workplace policies and programs, family-friendly policies, nonstandard work arrangements, gender, and diversity in the Federal Government. For three years, she served on the board for the Section on Personnel Administration and Labor Relations (American Society for Public Administration).
Selected Publications
Pitts, David W., and Sarah E. Towne. “Realizing the promise of diversity.” Handbook of Public Administration (2015): 366-381.
Towne, Sarah. “Developing Family-Friendly Policies in the Public Sector in Wake of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” In APSA 2013 Annual Meeting Paper. 2013.
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.
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.
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.
Blossom Barrett joined the School of Government in January 2018 as an adjunct professor for the MPA program. For more than 10 years she has worked in the nonprofit arena, primarily in the areas of development, data analysis, and program evaluation. Currently, Blossom is the associate director of data and evaluation for I Know I Can, a nonprofit college access organization in Columbus, Ohio. In her role, she is responsible for data management for three school districts. Additionally, Blossom manages stakeholder reporting and program evaluation for funding valued at more than $6M. Blossom earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Kenyon College, a master’s degree in educational policy and leadership, and a doctorate in philosophy in educational studies from The Ohio State University.