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Cohort 2

Jurisdiction: Apex

University: NC State

Hometown: Raleigh, NC

Valeria “Val” Mera served her fellowship with the Town of Apex. She fostered a relationship between Town and the NC Clean Energy Technology Center for a Town right-sizing and electric vehicle transition project. Mera also created the Sustainability Department to ensure 100 percent clean energy by 2050 to meet a Town operations goal. Her related projects included establishing the Town’s first greenhouse gas inventory and creating infrastructure for its sustainability program.

Mera graduated from North Carolina State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and minors in French and history. She completed the Political Science Department’s honors program. She also completed the Leadership Development Program through the Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement as well as the Global Perspective Certificate Program. During her undergraduate years, she took on roles with the on-campus Food Pantry, French Club, College Ambassadors, and served as director of sustainability for student government.

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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