Democrat Governor-elect Josh Stein has added names to his transition team and gave an update on its progression on Thursday.
Last week, he announced that Christie McNeill would be the transition team’s executive director. She most recently served as a partner at McKinsey and Company, advising clients with a focus on financial services and energy transition.
In addition, Kristi Jones, former longtime chief of staff to outgoing Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper, was also named. She resigned from the position in the Cooper administration last summer to become the vice president for Public Affairs and Sustainability at natural gas and electric utility NiSource.
Another notable pick is Richard Stevens, a Republican who was a state senator from 2003-2012, about the same time as Stein’s tenure in the Senate, which was from 2009-2016. While in the General Assembly, Stevens co-chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee, which writes the state budget. He is currently an attorney with Raleigh-based law firm Smith Anderson.
Last week, Stein’s chief of staff for the past eight years at the North Carolina Department of Justice, Seth Dearmin, was also named. Dearmin also served as Stein’s campaign manager during the latter’s 2016 campaign for attorney general.
Esther Manheimer, mayor of Asheville since 2013 and partner with the Van Winkle Law Firm in Asheville; and. Malcomb Coley, the US Central Private Leader for EY and a partner at Bright Hope Capital, were also announced as part of Stein’s transition team on Nov. 7.
In addition to the transition team leaders, the following were among those selected to be committee chairs:
Jonathan Barfield – New Hanover County Commissioner; Laura Brewer – Deputy Chief of Staff; NC Department of Justice; Janice Cole – Hertford County Manager; Avery Crump – Guilford County District Attorney; Kindl Detar – Public Protection Section Director; NC Department of Justice; Libba Evans – former Secretary, NC Department of Cultural Resources; Michell Hicks – Chief, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Lee Lilley – Director of Economic and Pandemic Recovery for North Carolina; Chuck McGrady – former state representative and Sierra Club President; Stella Patterson – Raleigh Police Chief; and, Sallie Shuping-Russell – former Managing Director, BlackRock.
In addition, the transition team received 70 ideas via the Submit Your Idea page on the transition website about how the Stein’s administration can better serve the state.
“People are excited to get to work to build a safer and stronger North Carolina,” Stein said. “I am excited that so many public-spirited people have expressed interest in serving the people of North Carolina, and I look forward to building a team that will continue to move our state forward.”
He has formed 11 transition committees that correspond to each Cabinet Agency: Administration, Adult Correction, Commerce, Environmental Quality, Health and Human Services, Information Technology, Military and Veterans Affairs, Natural and Cultural Resources, Public Safety, Revenue, and Transportation.
In addition, Stein also formed committees focused on Boards and Commissions, Human Resources, Budget, Legal Counsels, Communications, Policy, and Legislative Liaisons.
Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to identify Chuck McGrady as a former state representative. A prior version of this story identified McGrady as a former state senator.