In a press release Tuesday, North Carolina House Speaker-Designate Hall, R-Caldwell, unveiled senior staff hires for the Office of the Speaker as he takes over the leadership position. Elected members of the NC General Assembly are expected to be sworn in on Wednesday, January 8, as the long legislative session begins.

Senior members of Hall’s incoming staff include fresh additions, as well as staff with recent experience in the Speaker’s office. 

Neil Inman will serve as chief of staff for Hall, having served in same role for Speaker Tim Moore since 2020. He has a wide variety of past experience and positions in the legislature, ranging from Senior Advisor to the North Carolina House Republican Campaign Committee to General Counsel to the Speaker.  

Demi Dowdy was named Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and External Affairs. Dowdy has been serving as Director of Communications in the Speaker’s Office since May 2021. She brings 15 years of public policy and communications experience with over a decade in North Carolina politics.  

Lewis King was named Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Budget ahead of the biennial budget session. Most recently King held the position of Government Relations Advisor for Manning, Fulton & Skinner, PA in Raleigh. He previously served as a policy advisor to former Speaker Tim Moore, beginning his legislative career in 2013 as a research assistant for then-Speaker Thom Tillis.   

Sam Hayes will continue in the role of General Counsel, having served as General Counsel in the Speaker’s Office since February of 2021. He previously served as General Counsel at the Office of State Treasurer and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) during the McCrory administration.  

Kenan Drum was tapped as Deputy General Counsel. Drum served Hall previously as General Counsel to the House Rules Chairman since January 2022. Prior to his House experience, he worked as a policy advisor for Senate Leader Phil Berger and practiced employment law with Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe & Garofalo LLP.  

Sumit Gupta, was also named Deputy General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor. Gupta served former Speaker Tim Moore as Deputy General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor since January 2024. He served a six-year term as a Deputy Commissioner at the North Carolina Industrial Commission as Chief Deputy, and previously served as an assistant district attorney in Johnston, Harnett, and Lee Counties.  

Jeffrey Elmore will serve as Senior Policy Advisor to Speaker-Designate Hall. Notably, Elmore represented the 94th House District from 2013 to 2024 and during his legislative tenure he served as Appropriations Chairman for two terms. He also ran in the 2024 primary race for North Carolina lieutenant governor. Elmore is a former public school teacher of 22 years for Wilkes County Schools and was awarded Wilkes County Teacher of the Year Award in 2004.   

In addition these senior hires, Hall’s office noted additional assignments as follows:  

  • Julie Garrison, Director of Operations
  • Courtney Taylor, Director of Digital Media 
  • David Cobb, Policy Advisor 
  • William Cobb, Policy Advisor 
  • Grace Irvin, Policy Advisor 
  • Kari Cobb, Executive Assistant 

The General Assembly is set to convene Wednesday to swear-in the elected members and officially commence the 2025 legislative session.