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Cohort 3

Jurisdiction: Triangle J COG

University: Duke

Hometown: Garner, NC

Curtis Lee served his fellowship with the Triangle J Council of Governments (COG), now Central Pines Regional Council. He created a regional capital improvement plan for the COG. Additionally, he was responsible for creating Pine Level’s comprehensive land-use plan, completing a typically multi-year process during his one year of service. Lee increased capacity in small towns across the COG by serving as a planner and consultant for smaller municipalities. He also played an integral role in helping the Town of Princeton receive Community Economic Recovery and Resiliency Initiative status.

Lee attended Duke University and was named a David M. Rubenstein Scholar, a scholarship program fro first-generation, low-income students at Duke. While at Duke, Lee was involved with multiple student organizations, including Mi Gente and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. He was also involved with the History Union, the Bench and Bar Prelaw Society, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

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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…

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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…

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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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