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The Town of Norwood was selected as a site for the Lead for North Carolina (LFNC) program.

The program is led by the UNC Chapel Hill School of Government, in partnership with the NC City and County Managers Association, NC League of Municipalities and NC Association of County Commissioners.

The Lead for North Carolina program aims to recruit, train and place the state’s most promising young leaders in paid local government fellowships as a means of strengthening public institutions, supporting local communities and cultivating a new generation of public service leaders.

“I’m so pleased to have Ms. Zane Carroll serving as the LFNC fellow for Norwood. She started with the town in August and is already making a difference,” said Town Administrator Scott Howard.

Carroll, from Asheville, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Asheville with a BS in Environmental Management and Policy and minors in both mathematics and economics.

While a McCullough Fellow at UNC-Asheville, she served as the president of Active Students for a Healthy Environment. She graduated with distinction from the honors program and as a published university research scholar. Her paper, “Should North Carolina require more efficient water heaters in homes? A cost-benefit analysis” can be found in Energy Policy.

Carroll, as the LFNC Fellow for Norwood, is increasing the organizational capacity within the town hall by working on the following projects: Downtown Revitalization and Event Planning.

For the Downtown Revitalization project, Carroll is responsible for procuring funds, project management, project research and the marketing of all projects. She will also act as a liaison between the town and community stakeholders. She will also be responsible for town event planning (pending the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions). She will coordinate with community members to put on a fall celebration, winter holiday celebration, arbor day celebration and an art walk. The purpose of these roles will be to increase the utilization and accessibility of Downtown Norwood and surrounding areas to build community and economic growth. Taking on these projects and roles will allow for increased capacity for the town hall.

“I feel so very fortunate to have been selected as a fellow with LFNC,“ said Carroll. “I want to thank the Town of Norwood for such a warm welcome. I look forward to the work we will be doing with the Town and the Norwood business community.”

For more information about the LFNC Program, visit https://lfnc.sog.unc.edu.