The North Carolina Leadership Forum

The North Carolina Leadership Forum (NCLF) provides an opportunity for civic, business and political leaders from across North Carolina to discuss issues central to the future of our state.

The forum is hosted by Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and jointly funded by the Duke Endowment, the John William Pope Foundation, and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

The forum provides a venue for North Carolina leaders to discuss the nature of the challenges, to understand different points of view about how to address them, and to advance mutually acceptable solutions that improve the lives of North Carolinians. The 2016-2017 NCLF involved a year-long conversation focused on the question: How can we enable more North Carolinians to earn enough to support their families?

The 2017-2018 NCLF – conducted in partnership with the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and the Duke University Energy Initiative – will address how North Carolina can best meet the future energy needs of its residents and businesses.

Duke’s support for this initiative reflects the university’s commitment to North Carolina and its mission of placing knowledge in the service of society.

The forum will be guided through its second year by this steering committee:

Anita Brown-Graham, UNC School of Government
Maurice “Mo” Green, Executive Director, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
John Hood, President, John William Pope Foundation
Frederick "Fritz" Mayer, Associate Dean, Duke Sanford School of Public Policy
Chuck Neely, Partner, Williams Mullen, former NC General Assembly member
Leslie Winner, Former Executive Director, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, former NC General Assembly member

For more information about the forum, contact Susan James, Duke Sanford School of Public Policy.

Look at the 2016 participant list here and the 2017 participant list here. Read the final report from the 2017-2017 forum here.