DRIVE Task Force

About the Task Force

Diverse teachers in the classroom improve student success across the board and can help fill a significant gap in the number of qualified teachers North Carolina needs in our schools, To improve equity and inclusion in the education profession, Governor Cooper issued Executive Order 113 to establish the DRIVE Task Force on December 9, 2019. DRIVE stands for Developing a Representative and Inclusive Vision for Education.

The Task Force is comprised of parents, educators, administrators, education advocates, representatives of state and local government, representatives from the University of North Carolina system and North Carolina Community College System, and employers with a presence in North Carolina.

 

The Task Force will submit a report to the Office of the Governor on how to achieve greater equity and inclusion in the education field. The report will  assesses the state’s progress in increasing educator diversity in K-12 public schools, identify short, mid-range, and long-term strategies to increase educator diversity, identify stakeholders, assets, and sources of funding that can be leveraged to recruit, retain, develop, and support more educators of color,  propose metrics and standards by which the Governor can evaluate the state’s success in achieving its goals under the Plan, improve recruitment, retention, development, and support of educators of color, and identify priorities for increasing educator diversity in the state.

Task Force Members

Name County Organization
Ms. Alexandra-Emmanuelle Zagbayou Durham Student U 
Mr. Alfred Mays Wake Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Ms. Aliyah Abdur-Rahma Durham DEI Works Collective
Dr. Anita W. Alpenfels Moore Moore County Schools
Dr. Anthony Graham Guilford Winston-Salem State University
Ms. Ashley  Kazouh Wake The Public School Forum of North Carolina
Dr. Bryan Abernethy Transylvania Brevard Hugh School
Dr. Chance  Lewis  Cabarrus UNC Charlotte
Dr. Cherrel Miller Dyce Alamance Elon University
Ms. Claudia Sandoval Union  
Mr. Creighton P. Blackwell  Wake Coastal Federal Credit Union
Dr. Danielle Madrazo Nash North Carolina Weslyan University
Ms. Deanna Townsend-Smith Wake State Board of Education
Dr. Debra Stewart  Wake National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago
Dr. Eric Bracy Sampson Sampson County Schools
Mr. Eric E. Sanchez  Franklin Henderson Collegiate
Mr. Guy Hill  Harnett Harnett County Schools/Triton High School
Mr. J. Wendell Hall  Hertford Retired/ Hall's Motivation Services
The Honorable James Gailliard  Nash NC General Assembly/Word Tabernacle Church
Dr. Kimberly  Evans  Wake North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Ms. Kristy Moore  Durham North Carolina Association of Educators
Dr. Leroy L. Wray, Jr.   Mecklenburg UNC Asheville
Dr. Leslie  Locklear  Hoke University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Dr. Lisa Mabe Eads  Stokes North Carolina Community College System Office
Ms. Lorena R. Gonzalez  Durham DHHS/Division of Child Development and Early Education
Mr. Matthew Ellinwood  Orange North Carolina Justice Center
Mr. N. King Prather Wake Blue Cross & Blue Shield
Ms. Princess Brown Wake BEST NC
Ms. Rebecca Planchard  Durham NCDHHS
Mr. Ricky Hurtado  Alamance UNC-Chapel Hill
Ms. Sabrina Marie Peacock  Guilford Guilford County Schools
The Honorable Todd Johnson  Union NC General Assembly
Dr. Van Dempsey III   New Hanover UNC Wilmington
The Honorable Zack Hawkins  Durham NC General Assembly

Contact the Task Force

Contact the Task Force