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About the program

Our mission

The mission of Lead for North Carolina is to strengthen North Carolina’s public institutions, support its local communities, and create a new generation of transformational public service leaders.

Our work

We recruit, train, and place promising recent graduates in paid local government fellowships.

Our team recruits dynamic young leaders from colleges and universities across North Carolina. We connect these public service-minded graduates with paid fellowships in local government through an application process.

We train and support our fellows as they tackle community problems and cultivate their leadership skills. Each fellow receives more than 100 hours of training from the UNC School of Government’s world-class faculty.

Our process places service-minded fellows in communities statewide, where they connect with change agents and community leaders, increase government capacity, and lead the charge as we re-imagine public service.

Our approach

We believe a single visionary leader rooted in humility can change a community. Many leaders working together can transform our state and our country.

Through Lead for North Carolina, our fellows:

  • Gain new perspectives and an appreciation for local government.
  • Recognize the most pressing issues facing their communities.
  • Learn how to enact communal and systemic change.
  • Establish relationships with partner organizations, governments, and universities.
  • Engage with a growing alumni network of passionate leaders.

Our team

Rebecca Badgett

Director of Fellow Training and Support
Teaching Assistant Professor, UNC School of Government

Rebecca Badgett manages the curriculum and training for the LFNC Summer Academy and provides ongoing teaching for fellows during their service. She is an expert on grants management. Read more about Rebecca.

Liam Hysjulien

Associate Director of Pipeline Administration

Liam Hysjulien assists with the day-to-day operation of the fellowship program. Read more about Liam.

Alycia Inserra

Assistant Dean for Programs, UNC School of Government

Alycia Inserra provides program management oversight for Lead for North Carolina’s events. Read more about Alycia.

Bill Rivenbark

Faculty Lead
Robert W. Bradshaw Jr. Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Government

Bill Rivenbark serves as faculty lead for Lead for North Carolina. As an expert on local government finance law, general county law, school finance, utilities finance, development finance, and incorporation, she teaches and publishes extensively on these topics for public officials. Read more about Bill.

Dylan Russell

Executive Director

Dylan Russell is the executive director of Lead for North Carolina, which he founded in 2019. He sets the vision, mission, and strategic direction for the program. Read more about Dylan.

Our home

Lead for North Carolina is housed within the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As the largest university-based local government training, advisory, and research organization in the United States, the School has improved the lives of North Carolinians for more than 90 years by engaging in practical scholarship that helps public officials and citizens understand and improve state and local government.

Fellows collaborate closely with nationally renowned School of Government faculty who provide training and support during and beyond their fellowship. The School is also home to the top-ranked UNC Master of Public Administration (MPA) program.

Our partners

Our work is made possible by the generous support of our funders and strategic partners.

AmeriCorps

Lead for North Carolina is an official AmeriCorps program and is sponsored by the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.

SECU Foundation

Signature funder

The SECU Foundation promotes local and community development by primarily funding high impact projects in the areas of housing, education, healthcare and human services. The Foundation has awarded more than $1.5 million to support Lead for North Carolina

Anonymous Trust

Taking a place-based approach, Anonymous Trust seeks to elevate and empower rural and under-resourced communities in eastern North Carolina through grant-making, resource development, and relationship building.

Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation believes the quality of life of the people of North Carolina depends, in large part, on an informed and involved populace that is able to exercise its individual rights and come together for a common purpose.

Dogwood Health Trust

Dogwood Health Trust was created in 2018, but our ethos was inspired by a tradition of caring for a community that is more than a century old and rooted in our Appalachian culture. Our founding board established our purpose to dramatically improve health and wellness.

State Farm

State Farm supports safety, education and community development programs across the country, including in North Carolina.

Strategic and philanthropic partners

Thank you to our previous philanthropic partners: First Bank, Jessie Ball duPont Fund, North Carolina League of Municipalities, Wells Fargo, and Golden LEAF Foundation.

We are grateful to these strategic partners for their support: North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, North Carolina City and County Management Association, and Lead for America. 

News

April 14, 2025
NC Fellows Advancing Language Access

After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill and NC State University in 2024, Kristy Nguyen and Anu Mishra were selected to be part of a unique local government fellowship program based…

News

February 12, 2025
LFNC Fellow Elias Henderson Steps Up After Hurricane Helene

When Hurricane Helene tore through western North Carolina, leaving destruction and uncertainty in its wake, Elias Henderson didn’t hesitate to find a way to lend a hand.

News

February 10, 2025
Training for new legislators highlights bipartisanship

Dante Pittman, a newly elected state representative for Wilson County, received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Carolina in 2018 and was an inaugural member of the UNC Institute of…

Join a New Generation of Public Service Leaders

North Carolina communities are ready for you.

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AmeriCorps

Knapp-Sanders Building
Campus Box 3330
UNC-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3330

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