The mission of the UNC MPA Alumni Association is to advance and support public service leaders by maintaining and strengthening connections among alumni, students, and faculty. To support this mission, they focus their efforts in the areas of connection, collaboration, and contribution.
The program’s core values are:
All matriculants of the UNC MPA program are eligible for full membership in the Alumni Association. Full members hold voting rights and are eligible for elected office and all privileges afforded members of the Alumni Association. In addition, cooperating membership may be extended to those who have an interest in the UNC MPA program and the betterment of public service. Cooperative members may not hold elective office in the Association, nor may they vote. Current MPA students are always welcome—and encouraged—to attend any Alumni Association-sponsored events.
| President | Deepti Panjabi ’14
VP, Talent Management Consultant II, Bank of America |
| President – Elect |
Toney Thompson ’18
Innovation Strategist, Wake County, NC |
| Past – President |
Jennifer Fox ’19
Senior Strategy & Performance Analyst, City of Raleigh |
| Treasurer | Lee Worsley ’97
Executive director, Triangle J Council of Governments |
| Secretary | Brian Murphy ’20
Budget and management analyst, Town of Chapel Hill, NC |
| Scholarship Chair |
Sarah Hazel ’14
Chief sustainability and resiliency officer, City of Charlotte, NC |
| Board Members
(Term ends December 2023) |
Nick Byrne ’16
Associate general counsel, Clark Capital Management Group |
| Josh Edwards ’07
Assistant manager, Athens-Clarke County (GA) Unified Government |
|
| Jonathan Griffin ’16
Finance director, Transylvania County, NC |
|
| Kirsten Wyatt ’04
Executive director and co-founder, Engaging Local Government Leaders |
|
| Kenneth Woodcock ’99
Maxwell Air Force Base chief, security forces, U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command |
|
| Board Members (Term ends Dec. 2024) |
Mike Halford ’92
County Manager, Guilford County, NC |
| Brian Haney ’17
Assistant County Manager, Harnett County, NC |
|
| Chris Kenrick ’14
Frontend Developer & Scrum Master, Renaissance Learning, Inc. |
|
| Ryan Regan ’14
Project Developer, Azimuth Renewables |
|
| Roger Stancil ’78
Retired town manager, Chapel Hill, NC |
|
| MaryBeth Spoehr ’22
Budget and Strategy Analyst, Town of Holly Springs, NC |
|
| Emily Wilson ’22
Development & Project Manager, Fountainworks |
|
| Student Representatives | Jack Peterson Russ Pulley |
| James Hirsch | |
| Christopher Bouzane | |
| Angelica Foster | |
| Ex-Officio Members |
Willow Jacobson MPA director jacobson@sog.unc.edu(link sends e-mail), 919-966-4760 |
| Alumni & External Relations 919-966-4159 |
|
| Elizabeth Langefeld Associate director of academic advising and student life elangefeld@sog.unc.edu(link sends e-mail), 919-843-7330 |
|
| Brandon Foster Director of annual giving and alumni relations foster@sog.unc.edu(link sends e-mail), 919-962-0426 |
May 19, 2025
Join our Director of Admissions, Cara Robinson and our Director of Career Services, Alumni…
April 29, 2025
By Andy Bradshaw The UNC School of Government congratulates Master of Public Administration…
April 24, 2025
This Spring, the UNC MPA program welcomed 20 new students into the online format. From an…