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School of Government

Lead for North Carolina

Cohort 7

Jurisdiction: Central Pines COG

University: UNC Chapel Hill

Hometown: Washington, NC

Grace Berry is the Lead for North Carolina Fellow at Central Pines Regional Council. She earned both her BA and Master of Public Policy from UNC-Chapel Hill, where she was a Morehead-Cain Scholar and member of Honors Carolina. Raised in Washington, NC, Grace continues her family’s legacy of public service—her parents, both UNC alumni, served in North Carolina’s public schools. Her work has focused on policy design, data analysis, and nonprofit leadership through roles at TABLE NC, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, and WomenNC. She has also supported financial planning for public service organizations and conducted research on food access and trafficking prevention. Grace is passionate about using policy to strengthen communities and looks forward to advancing regional resilience and equity at Central Pines.

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