NORTH
CAROLINA
Front row (L to R): Bonnie
Curtis, Elizabeth Guckian, Phyllis Dunham, Mellotta Battle Hill,
Loretta Peace-Bunch, Melanie Hester, Brian Lee, Shelley Crisp, Lorraine Tuck
Back row: Gladys Graves (Co-coordinator), Kenneth William Gattis,
Geoffrey Coltrane, Harry Starnes, Quentin Parker, Cheryl Brooks, Bill Winchester, Stephanie Carter, Donald
Barringer, Zoe Locklear., Diana Beasley,
Ashley Matlock, Mitzi Downing, Karen Granger, Catherine Soomsawasdi
Allen, Jamie Lathan,
Jo Ann Norris (Co-coordinator)
Missing from photo: William Ewell, Tracey Greggs, Julye Mizelle,
Melissa Thibault
Since its inception in 1979, the North Carolina Education Policy Fellowship Program has “graduated” almost 500 Fellows. The program was sponsored by the North Carolina School Boards Association until 1991 when it became affiliated with the Public School Forum of North Carolina, Inc. The EPFP site is in Raleigh, the state capital, which affords the Fellows greater exposure to the diverse policymakers who affect state policy. The program site is comprised of individuals from the education arena including public schools, higher education, and community colleges, as well as participants from human services, political disciplines, and corporate and nonprofit sectors. Fellows focus on technological, fiscal, legislative and administrative issues, as well as on factors affecting children and families. The program meets every week from mid-September to mid-May in a dinner-seminar setting. In this setting, Fellows increase their awareness of how public policy is made, learn who the key players are in the formation of this policy, and become more confident and involved in the policy-making process.
NORTH CAROLINA COORDINATORS
Gladys A. Graves (EPFP 93-94)
Director
North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program
Public School Forum of NC
3739 National Drive, Suite
100
Raleigh, NC 27612
(919) 781-6833
FAX (919) 781-6527
ggraves@ncforum.org
As a member of the staff of the Public School Forum of North Carolina, Gladys Graves serves as the Director of the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Scholarship Program. In this capacity, she plans and coordinates summer programs; serves as the liaison between the Teaching Fellows Commission, staff and students; coordinates campus evaluations; and assists institutions with program implementation. Gladys was a teacher, president of the North Carolina Association of Classroom Teachers, served two terms as president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, and in 1986, served as the Deputy Director for the Terry Sanford for Senate campaign. In 1989 until 1991, she was the Director of Alumni Relations and Institutional Research at Shaw University. Gladys is active in many community activities having served on the Board of Directors of the Women's Forum of North Carolina, Literacy South, NC Equity, Interact, YWCA, and the Wake County College Fund/UNCF, and Wake County Kids Voting. She served as President of the Omicron Zeta Chapter, Inc., of Raleigh, NC for fours years. She has been a volunteer coordinator for High School Recruitment Day for four years for the CIAA Basketball Tournament and two years for the MEAC Basketball Tournament.
Gladys has received several awards including the Raleigh News and Observer Tarheel of the Week; the Distinguished Service Award by the Wake County Board of Commissioners; the Education Award from the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. She was the 2005 recipient of the LIFT (Leadership Institute for Future Teachers) sponsored by the NCSU College of Education and is the Razor Walker Award recipient sponsored by the UNC Wilmington College of Education. She was inducted into the 2006 Greater Triangle YWCA’s Academy of Women in the field of education and the Women of Note Series sponsored by the African American Cultural Complex in Raleigh. She holds a BA from Shaw University and a M.A in Educational Administration from North Carolina Central University.
Jo Ann Norris
Associate
Executive Director
Public
School Forum of North Carolina
3739
National Drive, Suite 100
Raleigh, NC 27612
(919)
781-6833
FAX
(919) 781-6527
jnorris@ncforum.org
Jo Ann Norris serves as the Associate Executive Director of the Public School Forum of NC, a partnership of business, political and education leaders in North Carolina working for public school reform. The Forum was founded in 1985 and has developed numerous policy initiatives for school reform that have been enacted into law. Jo Ann is responsible for the administration of the Teaching Fellows Scholarship Program and for coordinating Forum and Teaching Fellow relationships with statewide policy making bodies such as the State Board of Education and the North Carolina General Assembly. Upon graduation from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Jo Ann began her career in 1964 as a classroom teacher. She was honored in 1979-80 as North Carolina Teacher of the Year. Prior to joining the Forum, she was the Political Affairs Specialist and lobbyist for the North Carolina Association of Educators (NEA affiliate). She also served as education liaison and campaign manager for Congressman Ike Andrews. Jo Ann has served as Coordinator of the NC EPFP since 1991. She has been recognized by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy and Research in numerous surveys, most recently in 1998, as one of the "most influential lobbyists" in the state. She was the first woman to be named in the top twenty "most influential lobbyist" list in 1986. Jo Ann is a past president of the Women's Forum of NC and is a founding member of the Wake County Kids Voting Board of Directors. She was inducted into the 1991 Wake County YWCA’s Academy of Women in the field of education. In 2002, she was awarded the Razor Walker award by UNC-Wilmington’s Watson School of Education and in 2004, she was inducted into East Carolina University’s Educators Hall of Fame.