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Cohort 8

Jurisdiction: Rockingham County

University: Appalachian State University

Hometown: Reidsville, NC

Kennedi Ratcliffe serves as a Lead for North Carolina Fellow with Rockingham County, where she supports employee engagement, civic education, and the coordination of Health and Human Services. During her fellowship, Kennedi will chair the County’s Employee Morale Committee, organize monthly meetings and quarterly events, produce the quarterly *Rockingham Recap* employee newsletter, and help strengthen communication and morale across departments. She will also serve as the primary point of contact for the County’s Employee Academy and Citizens Academy, coordinating schedules, recruitment, activities, and participant feedback to improve understanding of county government among employees and residents. In addition, Kennedi will support the continued consolidation of the County’s Health and Human Services departments by evaluating workflows, identifying opportunities to streamline operations, and researching practices in other consolidated agencies across North Carolina. Through these projects, she is gaining hands-on experience in internal and external communications, project management, employee engagement, civic education, facilitation, operational improvement, and cross-departmental collaboration.

Kennedi Ratcliffe serves as the Lead for North Carolina Fellow for Rockingham County. A summa cum laude graduate of Appalachian State University, Kennedi studied abroad in Germany, interned with the U.S. Department of State, and represented communities internationally as an observer delegate at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

September 6, 2026

 This July, the eighth cohort of Lead for North Carolina Fellows arrived at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to begin their journey into public sector careers. After…

August 24, 2026

This July four Western Carolina University graduates were chosen to serve communities across the state as Lead for North Carolina fellows. Lead for NC is a government fellowship program started…

August 24, 2026

This July, the eighth cohort of Lead for North Carolina Fellows arrived at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to begin their journey into public sector careers. After…

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