Faculty and Staff

Aida Ali Akreyi serves as an adjunct instructor in the UNC MPA program, teaching Public Administration Analysis and Evaluation. 

Ali Akreyi is the Statistician and Operations Lead for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) program at the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Prior to joining NCES, she worked as a contractor from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) serving as the Survey Director for the IPEDS Finance and 12-month...

Gregory S. Allison is the Albert and Gladys Hall Coates Distinguished Term Teaching Professor at the School of Government. He is an expert in, lectures on, and provides technical support in the field of governmental accounting and financial reporting. Allison is the director of the School’s Municipal and County Administration course. 

He joined the School in 1997. Previously, he was assistant director with the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada in...

As fulfillment coordinator, Naser Alzawahreh manages shipping and mailing services and completes other facilities duties for the School of Government. He previously owned a limousine services business.

Rebecca Badgett is an expert on grants management. In her role as teaching assistant professor, she provides provides training, consulting, and publications for local governments. Her courses largely focus on internal control and compliance with the federal Uniform Guidance and state law. Badgett also plays a key role in the facilitation of the Lead for North Carolina program, where she teaches and advises the fellows throughout the program and manages the training and curriculum for the...

Justin Barbaree began teaching in the online MPA program in 2015, where he has taught PUBA 721 Professional Communication. He is also full-time faculty at the University of North Georgia, where he teaches writing and literature courses in the English department. Justin also lived and taught in South Korea for a decade, where he taught academic writing, composition, and presentation courses to undergraduate students. He worked with the Gangwon Provincial Government Office, where he...

Alexandra Bartz is a 2016 graduate of the online UNC MPA program and returned to the program in 2022 as adjunct faculty. Since 2007, Bartz has devoted her career to work in nonprofits, focusing on program design, implementation, innovation, and evaluation. Currently, she serves national director of program implementation at Summer Search, a national youth development nonprofit based in Oakland, California. In her role, Bartz oversees program implementation across the five-region...

Allison Binkley joined the School of Government in June 2015. She previously served as Career Development Counselor at UNC-Wilmington and is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC). She earned her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from North Carolina State University and she holds a Master of Education in Counselor Education from ...

As audio/video production specialist, Paul Bonner assists in the development of the School of Government's technological resources, including hybrid learning through Zoom and the creation of a video production studio.

He joined the School of Government in 2019. Bonner has more than 25 years of experience in audio and video production, editing, and technical support.

Bonner earned a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University.

Mark Botts is an associate professor of public law and government in the School of Government at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He specializes in mental health law and provides training, consulting, and publications for mental health professionals ...

Julie Brenman joined the School of Government as adjunct instructor in 2008. She has over 15 years of local government executive experience and currently works as a management consultant to governments and nonprofits. Previously, Brenman served as director of strategic initiatives, assistant city manager, and director of budget and management services for the City of Durham. Before moving to North Carolina, she worked for the city and county of San Francisco, California, as director of...

Brittany Bromell is an expert in criminal law and procedure, with expertise in domestic violence and computer crimes. 

As a faculty member, Bromell teaches and advises courtroom professionals, including judges, magistrates, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and law enforcement officers.

She joined the School of Government in July 2020. Prior to joining the School, she received a bachelor's degree from Duke University and a J.D. from the North Carolina Central...

Anita R. Brown-Graham rejoined the School of Government in September 2016 to lead the public launch of ncIMPACT—a special initiative that seeks to expand the School’s capacity to work with public officials on complex policy issues. Since her arrival, she and her colleagues have devised programs to support communities working on economic mobility, poverty, the expansion of prekindergarten, extending the labor pool, and ...

Audrea Caesar is the inaugural chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer (CDEIO) for the UNC Healthcare system and the UNC School of Medicine. She is working to embed equity into the culture, policies, and practices to achieve a more inclusive organization while decreasing disparities in health. Audrea is a certified health education specialist (CHES) and a senior certified human resources professional (SHRM-SCP) who specializes in Leadership, Organizational Behavior, Diversity,...

Peg Carlson is director of the School of Government’s Center for Public Leadership and Governance, an initiative designed to integrate, coordinate, and expand the School’s leadership, governance, and management programs and scholarship. Carlson rejoined the School of Government in September 2015, after serving on the faculty from 1992–2000. Prior to her return to the School, she was an executive consultant with Roger Schwarz & Associates and worked with a wide variety of public, private...

Christopher A. Cody is a Principal Researcher at American Institutes for Research, where he serves as the project director for their postsecondary administrative data division and longitudinal studies work with the National Center for Education Statistics. Prior to joining American Institutes for Research, Cody was the director of research and public policy at The Public School Forum of North Carolina. While there, he was also a fellow with the education policy fellowship program sponsored...

Melanie Crenshaw joined the School of Government in August 2022, working with magistrates in the area of civil law. Prior to joining the School, she worked as a magistrate in Cumberland County. Before serving as a magistrate, Crenshaw was in private practice in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she represented clients in a variety of matters related to family law. While in private practice, she also worked as an adjunct professor at the Elon University School of Law in the areas of family law...

Beth Crutchfield joined the School of Government in 2020 as the School of Government Foundation Board's accountant.  Previously, she served as a senior budget analyst for the UNC System Office.  In that role, Beth managed all Budget Office operations for the System Office.  Prior to that, she served in multiple positions at UNC–Chapel Hill.  She served as the Senior Accountant in the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), Assistant Contract Specialist and Pre-Audit Technician in the Office...

Crista Cuccaro joined the School of Government's law and finance division in June 2022. She teaches and advises on procurement, contracting, property disposal, and ethics and conflicts of interest related to contracting. Cuccaro is the liaison for the North Carolina Association of Governmental Purchasing and the North Carolina Minority/Women Business Enterprise Coordinators’ Network. 

In 2019, she became a Local Government Fellow and was one of the first municipal attorneys in North...

Leisha DeHart-Davis is a professor of public administration and government at the School of Government. Her applied research focuses on workplace climate in local government organizations. DeHart-Davis's academic research addresses public sector organizational behavior, most recently, employee voice, organizational structure, and citizen and workplace incivility. 

She is a faculty member in the School's Master of Public Administration program and directs the Local Government Workplaces...