Born in Greece, Erin Mathis moved with his military family to the United States when he was 2, living on various U.S. Air Force bases until his father retired and the family settled for a while in Selma, North Carolina.

“My whole life, I considered North Carolina to be home,” Mathis said.

He fell in love with Chapel Hill as a teenager during a birthday trip to the Dean E. Smith Center for a men’s basketball game.

Amanda Stratton joined the UNC School of Government as western North Carolina recovery navigator in October 2025. The role is a key component of the School’s broader support for western North Carolina. In her role, Stratton helps local governments identify and pursue recovery funding, connect with state and federal partners, and troubleshoot capacity and compliance challenges.

As North Carolina marked the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene making landfall in the western region of the state, former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu visited the School of Government to share a few words on leadership in times of crisis. The event, hosted on October 1, 2025, in connection with the Office of UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee Roberts, was free and open to the public.

As a new semester at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill kicks into full swing, the School of Government’s Master of Public Administration faculty and staff are busy at work welcoming new and returning students. With summer now behind us, the School decided to check in with Dean Aimee Wall and MPA faculty to find out what they listened to and read during the summer—right as they kick into the new fall semester.

The UNC School of Government Master of Public Administration faculty consistently work to advance the study and practice of local government management. One such faculty member, Gregory S.