All Cabinet secretaries announced by Governor Roy Cooper have been sworn in and are on the job working to move North Carolina forward, Cooper said today.
“With this team of talented leaders in place we’ll be able to make North Carolina safer, healthier and more prosperous,” Cooper said. “I’ve charged Cabinet Secretaries with doing a thorough review of their departments so we can find ways to make state agencies more effective and responsive to the public.”
Agencies under the Governor’s leadership have a wide range of duties and responsibilities including public safety, economic development, environmental and public health, overseeing state parks and museums, and managing state government.
Cooper has selected the following leaders to serve as Cabinet secretaries in his administration:
- To lead the Department of Administration, Machelle Sanders, who brings decades of experience in quality control and management in the biotechnology field.
- To lead the Department of Commerce, Tony Copeland, a leader in economic development with many years of involvement recruiting employers to North Carolina.
- To lead the Department of Environmental Quality, Michael Regan, a leader in environmental advocacy with experience working with energy and business.
- To lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mandy Cohen, a physician and health care management and policy expert.
- To lead the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Susi Hamilton, a state legislator with broad professional experience in economic development, regional planning, historic preservation and the arts.
- To lead the Department of Public Safety, Erik Hooks, an experienced law enforcer with many years of experience at the State Bureau of Investigation.
- To lead the Department of Transportation, Jim Trogdon, an engineer with decades of leadership in state government and the military.
- To lead the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs, Larry Hall, who served 16 years as a commissioned officer in the Marines and Marine Corps Reserves and a decade in the North Carolina House.
Leaders for the two remaining Cabinet agencies will be named in coming weeks. Those departments are currently managed by acting secretaries. Ron Penny currently serves as acting secretary for the Department of Revenue and Danny Lineberry serves as acting secretary for the Department of Information Technology.