Dylan Russell is the executive director of Lead for North Carolina at the UNC School of Government and a co-founder of Lead for America.
Lead for North Carolina places students in high-impact fellowships in local government across the state. He has secured over $2.5 million in private support to advance Lead for North Carolina's mission. Prior to serving as executive director, Russell was a development officer at the School of Government, a policy analyst at the NC Department of Public Instruction, a fifth-grade public school teacher, a White House intern during the Obama Administration, and a member of the Board of Trustees at Appalachian State University.
He served as president of the Graduate Student Body at UNC and president of the Student Body at Appalachian. Russell was awarded the Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award from the UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor and the Plemmons Leadership Medallion by the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees.
He currently instructs UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate students interested in public service, teaching the PUBA 401 – State and Local Governance course.
He earned a bachelor's degree from Appalachian State University, an MPA from UNC-Chapel Hill, and is pursuing his Ph.D. at North Carolina State University.