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Cohort 8

Jurisdiction: Transylvania County

University: Western Carolina University

Hometown: Sylva, NC

Sara Rusi serves as a Lead for North Carolina Fellow with Transylvania County Administration, where she supports internal process improvement, Board of Commissioners operations, and records management. During her fellowship, Sara will document and improve procedures within the Clerk to the Board’s office by developing workflow manuals, checklists, standard operating procedures, and training materials. She will also assist with Board meeting preparation, agenda development, meeting follow-up, public records administration, and compliance with open meetings requirements. In addition, Sara will complete longer-term organizational projects such as developing a contract-tracking system, indexing historical meeting minutes, organizing closed-session records, reviewing advisory board bylaws, and supporting the Board’s Organizational Meeting and Oath of Office Ceremony. Through these projects, she is gaining hands-on experience in county government administration, project management, records management, legal compliance, professional writing, and Board operations while creating sustainable systems that improve organizational efficiency, preserve institutional knowledge, and increase records accessibility and transparency.

Sara Rusi graduated from Western Carolina University with degrees in History and English. A lifelong interest in local community and politics began through internships with local journalism and public libraries. Sara enjoys reading fantasy novels, creating crafts, and exploring ways to serve communities through public institutions.

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COLUMBUS— The Town of Columbus is welcoming a new team member this summer through a statewide program designed to bring fresh talent into local government. Isa Gandy, a graduate of…

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…

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