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Cohort 1

Jurisdiction: Spindale

University: UNC-Chapel Hill

Hometown: Carrboro, NC

Walker Harrison served as a fellow for the Town of Spindale, where he conducted a large ordinance overhaul project by conducting extensive research and consolidating information to inform updated Town ordinances. He also helped plan the grand opening of Spindale’s Thermal Belt Rail Trail and was invited to speak to state legislative staff members about his work on walkability and business vitality in Spindale. Additionally, he contributed to a project that spatially referenced all tax-delinquent properties in the Town, providing a visual representation of property tax data.

Harrison earned a bachelor’s degree in geography from UNC-Chapel Hill, with a concentration on environmental systems and geospatial analysis. As an undergraduate, he received multiple awards for innovative use of geospatial (GIS) analysis in his research. He also completed a minor in German at Universität Mannheim in Germany. While at Carolina, Harrison worked as a science educator and mascot at Morehead Planetarium and as a research assistant at UNC’s Highway Safety Research Center.

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…

February 12, 2025

When Hurricane Helene tore through western North Carolina, leaving destruction and uncertainty in its wake, Elias Henderson didn’t hesitate to find a way to lend a hand.

AmeriCorps