Today, Governor Roy Cooper appointed N.C. Department of Public Safety’s Chief Deputy Secretary and Senior Policy Advisor Pamela Brewington Cashwell to lead the Department of Administration as Secretary. She will serve in the post formerly held by Machelle Sanders, who now leads the N.C. Department of Commerce as Secretary.
“Pam Cashwell’s wealth of experience has prepared her to lead the agency that state government relies on for many critical support functions,” said Governor Cooper. “Her goal-oriented approach will help ensure efficient state government operations as well as advocacy and equity programs that benefit all North Carolinians.”
“I am humbled and honored to continue my service to the people of North Carolina in this new role as Secretary of the Department of Administration. I look forward to working with the Department’s excellent team of employees, passionate groups of advocates across the state and the many state agencies the Department serves every day,” said Brewington Cashwell.
Pamela Brewington Cashwell will be the first American Indian woman to head a state cabinet department in the state’s history.
In her current role, Brewington Cashwell serves as Senior Policy Advisor and Chief Deputy Secretary for Professional Standards, Policy and Planning at the Department of Public Safety, overseeing the Office of Special Investigations, Internal Audit, Communications, Private Protective Services, and Policy and Strategic Planning.
She formerly served as assistant director at the State Ethics Commission, as a trial attorney and attorney advisor in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and as Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The North Carolina native graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor in Economics and a Juris Doctorate. Brewington Cashwell, who is Lumbee and Coharie, has long been an advocate for American Indian and women's issues and currently serves on the University’s Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity and the Women’s Leadership Council.
She currently serves on the State Reentry Council Collaborative, the N.C. Joint Cyber Security Task Force and was appointed by Governor Cooper to serve on the Human Trafficking Commission. In her new role, she will serve on numerous advocacy commissions.
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