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Cohort 5

Jurisdiction: Bladen County

University: Appalachian State

Hometown: Reidsville, NC

Payton Blaney is serving her fellowship in Bladen County. She graduated summa cum laude from Appalachian State University with bachelor’s degrees in German language, literature, and culture, and in political science with a focus in international and comparative politics. Blaney was also a Fulbright recipient for an English Teaching Assistantship to Germany.

June 18, 2025

In August 2024, Paloma Garcia-Serrano stepped into the Foothills Regional Commission for her first day of work as a Lead for North Carolina Fellow. Lead for NC is a leadership development program…

June 11, 2025

Written by: Skye Allan (Lead for North Carolina Cohort 3 Alum) In small towns held together by close ties and limited resources, projects and initiatives succeed or fail based on…

April 14, 2025

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…

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