Rockingham County's motto is "You're in a Good Place" and their county government works hard to
![](https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/cover_images/Rockingham%20County%20Fellows%20story.jpg)
In early 2018, the School of Government’s Development Finance Initiative received a call from the City of Lenoir, the county seat of Caldwell County in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
![](https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/cover_images/BlueBellMill_exterior.jpeg)
Following the success of its first project addressing youth unemployment, Carolina Across 100 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is partnering with the UNC Suicide Prevention Institute to lower the number of suicides in North Carolina.
![](https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/cover_images/CX100ReleasePhoto.png)
In Roxboro, North Carolina, employees of Person County work hard to address the challenges facing their community. For the past year, Keshav Javvadi, a Carolina alum, has been serving alongside them as a fellow for Lead for North Carolina.
The Lead for North Carolina (LFNC) program increases government capacity in local communities in North Carolina by placing young people in high-impact fellowships across the state.
![](https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/cover_images/Keshav-Javvadi-HS.jpeg)
Committed local government leaders take the next step in their personal and organizational leadership journey by becoming an LGFCU Fellow and completing the Leading for Results program, which includes engaging in executive coaching and joining the alumni network.
![](https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/cover_images/Fellows%20online%20story%20pic.jpg)
In 2003, the city of Kannapolis, North Carolina, dealt with the worst permanent lay-off in state history when the textile giant Cannon Mills closed down. Consequently, Kannapolis’s downtown district suffered as many businesses shuttered. By 2015, over half of the downtown was vacant and many of its historic structures were in disrepair.
![](https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/cover_images/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-02%20at%203.01.35%20PM.png)
The UNC School of Government’s Master of Public Administration Class of 2023 gathered with faculty, family, friends, and staff on May 13 to celebrate their graduation from the program. The ceremony, held at the William and Ida Friday Center, honored 64 graduates, both in-person and online students.
Honoring graduates
![](https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/cover_images/HuthPhoto-CAH_4030.jpg)
Since being named dean of the School of Government in February 2023, Aimee N. Wall has been hard at work leading the School's mission to improve the lives of North Carolinians. In between meetings, visits with communities across the state, and overseeing the day-to-day direction of the School, Wall sat down to discuss what she looks forward to in her tenure, her path to public service, how she hopes to lead, and more.
![](https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/microsite_banner/09.jpg)
Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and IT directors in the public sector continue to face increasing challenges and responsibilities as technology evolves. Facing a continual expansion of technology and role responsibility, ever-increasing security threats, and keeping up with the rapid pace of new technology, IT leaders must have a broad understanding of leadership, regulations, and business to be truly influential in their organizations.
![](https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/cover_images/021322_tufts_shannon007.jpg)
When North Carolina native Sherese Bonner graduated with an undergraduate degree in public policy from the University of Virginia, she came to two conclusions: she wanted to learn how public policy was implemented, and she was ready to come back to North Carolina. Those conclusions led her to the UNC Master of Public Administration program.
![Sherese Bonner headshot](https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/cover_images/210924_as_or_129.jpg)
By Claire Cusick
The UNC School of Government’s Criminal Justice Innovation Lab has received $500,000 in new funding from the Charles Koch Foundation. To date, the Lab has received more than $1.6 million in funding from the Foundation.
![Six members of the Criminal Justice Innovation Lab team seated and standing in front of leafy trees and grass.](https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/cover_images/team%20photo%202023.png)
School of Government faculty member Kimalee Dickerson is in the beginning stages of a qualitative research project examining the experiences of women of color—particularly Black women—working in local and state government in North Carolina.
Below, she answers questions about the inspiration behind her research, some early findings from its analysis, and where she will share the results.
![](https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/general_media/Dickerson_Kimalee_2021_web%20%281%29.jpg)