The Educational Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) is a national program coordinated by the Institute for Educational Leadership, the Public School Forum of NC, and Appalachian State University GEAR UP. The program allows participants to learn and engage about policymaking, hone leadership skills, and network with professionals in the education sphere. The North Carolina EPFP Program is one of the largest EPFP sites in the nation, and participants from Appalachian GEAR UP districts receive funding to cover the cost of participation. Those districts include Alleghany, Ashe, Burke, Wilkes, Watauga, Yancey, Madison, Graham, Clay, Swain. GEAR UP also offers funding opportunities to fellows from the following GEAR UP partner institutions of higher education; Appalachian State University, UNC Asheville, Asheville Buncombe-Technical Community College, Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, Mayland Community College, Southwestern Community College, Tri-County Community College, Western Piedmont Community College, and Wilkes Community College.
Fellows will come together from across the state to learn the history of education policy in North Carolina, how it continues to impact education systems, and the principles of advocacy that can be used to improve education policy for a better future for our students. Scheduled sessions give fellows an opportunity to engage in a variety of discussion topics with legislators, policy makers, and other fellows representing all areas of our state, bringing a new awareness of equity in education throughout. With two culminating events in Washington, DC and Raleigh, NC, fellows will have the opportunity to put everything they've learned into practice and begin making a plan for continued education policy improvement work going forward. Consistently, fellows graduate from EPFP citing the transformative experience as one of the best professional development experiences of their career.
Here are the fellows representing GEAR UP districts and higher education institutions in the 2022-2023 cohort:
Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Adams, originally from Bogota, Colombia, came to the High Country in 2002. She holds a 2-year degree in Business Administration from Broward Community College in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, her original home when she moved from Bogota, Colombia, in 1992.
In 2012, she was hired as the Spanish Interpreter and Translator for Watauga County Schools (WCS). Her passion and service to the Latino community lead her to apply for and receive the position of Family Resource Coordinator for WCS. She has implemented the Juntos program, which promotes higher education for the Latino Community, a program developed by NC State University. She has created a family workshop called “Semillas” (Seeds) to help Kindergarten families and newcomers understand how the school system in the USA works compared to the one in their countries. She has worked tirelessly to build bridges between the Latino/Hispanic Community, Law enforcement, local organizations, and private businesses to make sure that inclusion, diversity and empowering are present for the benefit of all.
Adams is also the Co-Founder and CEO of Q’ Pasa Appalachia. She has received the following awards:
2017 -Servant’s Heart Award by Watauga County Schools
2020- Baker/Jones Women of the Year Award by Boone Area Chamber of Commerce
2022 – Chancellor’s Award for Inclusive Excellence “Community” by Appalachian State University.
Adams was appointed by Governor Roy Cooper on May 3rd, 2022 to be a member of the DRIVE Task Force (Task Force to Develop a Representative and Inclusion Vision in Education).
Lora Austin
Lora Austin is starting her 28th year in education. She’s fully immersed in the middle at this point in her life, and it is not a MID-life crisis. After teaching and coaching educators in middle schools, teaching in high school, and being an administrator in elementary/another middle school, she has finally come HOME. She is a middle-level educator serving the Walter Johnson Middle School Community where she taught when the school opened. This is her fourth year as principal of Walter Johnson Middle School in Morganton, North Carolina. She has been fortunate to have grown as an educational leader alongside the students and families she’s served, having enrolled many as their principal in Pre-K and Kindergarten and now once again their principal in the middle school. On a personal note… she is a mom of two lovely daughters, Keely and Hannah, and the wife of Chuck Austin. They live in the “one-stop sign town” of Collettsville, North Carolina about 25 minutes south of Blowing Rock.
Throughout the EFPF program, she looks forward to delving into these topics and more alongside such a diverse group:
How do we grow and what access and policies are directly related to higher education and post-secondary possibilities for undocumented students?
How can we better network with non-profits for partnership possibilities between us (high ED subgroup middle school and non-profit agencies)?
How do I work with others to advocate for my students and teachers (k-12 setting) to promote what is needed in public schools?
What leadership characteristics do I need to develop to be a catalyst for continuous and SUPPORTED (by lawmakers) school improvement?
Brian Bettis
Brian Bettis is a native of Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Through volunteering through his church and community, he learned of his passion of working with children and serving his community. As a high school student, he recognized his calling to become an elementary school teacher. He attended Appalachian State University as a North Carolina Teaching Fellow and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2005. He has also earned a Master’s degree in Elementary Education (‘08), a graduate certificate in School Leadership (‘15), and an Education Specialist degree in Educational Leadership (‘16), all from Appalachian State University. He is currently a doctoral candidate at East Tennessee State University and is conducting research on collaborative planning in small, rural schools. Brian taught third grade and kindergarten in Cleveland County Schools before serving as a Curriculum Coordinator and Assistant Principal and is a National Board Certified Teacher. Brian currently serves as Principal of Bethel School in Watauga County. He loves his students, his school, and the Bethel community. Throughout his career, Brian has served as an adjunct instructor at Cleveland Community College, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and currently teaches at Appalachian State University. For the past 20 years, Brian has volunteered at summer camps for children with serious or chronic medical conditions.
Amanda Coker
Amanda is the assistant principal at Hayesville Middle School in Hayesville, North Carolina. Currently in her ninth year in education, she started her career at Hayesville Middle teaching 7th grade math for one year, then taught 8th grade science for six years. The 2021-2022 school year was her first year as a school administrator. Amanda is from Murphy, North Carolina and attended college and grad school at Western Carolina University, and she obtained a Post Master’s Certificate in Educational Leadership from Appalachian State University. She currently resides in Clay County, NC with her husband and nine-month-old daughter. Amanda looks forward to networking with other EPFP fellows and learning more about the policy making process with this cohort.
Nathan Colvard
Nathan teaches Social Studies at Ashe County High School. He is married to Megan, a nurse and Health Science teacher, and has two beautiful daughters named Willa and Ruby. They live in Jefferson with their dog and four cats. He enjoys traveling with his family, watching sports, and eating good food.
Lisa Keener
Lisa Keener is a Social Studies teacher at Robbinsville High School in Graham County, NC. She has been an educator for 22 years, teaching at the community college and high school levels. She is a graduate of Western Carolina University and a current student at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Lisa is the mother of two sons, Junior & Drey, and a new grandma of one grandson, Colt. When Lisa is not in the classroom, she enjoys traveling, reading, and working in her church.
Lacey Kilby
Lacey started as the GEAR UP Coordinator at Wilkes Community College in April of 2021 after working nearly a decade in mental health. It’s been fun and challenging switching gears and she truly loves her new job! She is currently pursuing my master’s degree in Visual Communications at Liberty University, and she looks forward to continuing to learn and grow in this new field!
Dr. Anna Moose
Anna Moose is currently the principal at Liberty Middle School in Morganton, NC. She has been an educator for the last 21 years as a high school English teacher, social studies teacher, Assistant Principal and now a Principal. Dr. Moose is a graduate of Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC where she earned degrees in English Education, a Master’s in English Education and she earned her Doctorate of Education in Curriculum and Instruction in 2015. She is a proud Bulldog! Dr. Moose is also a National Board Certified Teacher and enjoys working at NCCAT each February to assist other educators in achieving National Board Certification or those in renewal.
Dr. Moose will always be a teacher at heart and loves working in her community to increase literacy and educational opportunities for others. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at Catawba Valley Community College where she has taught English courses as well as Academic Success courses. Dr. Moose also is a board member of the Burke Literacy Council, a member of the Burke Women’s Fund, and the president of Alpha Nu, a chapter of the International Delta Kappa Gamma society of women educators. Dr. Moose is excited to begin this journey with EPFP to enhance her own development as a professional and discover ways to continue to advance education in her local community and beyond.
Dr. Moose resides in Valdese, NC and enjoys spending time with her Border Collie, Cali, her family and friends, and when possible, takes every opportunity to travel to other countries and within the US.
Abigail Pardue
Abigail Pardue is a Career Coach currently living and working in rural Wilkes County, North Carolina. Before entering the field of Education, she worked in the corporate area of design, sales, and marketing. In 2011, she followed her heart and embarked on a ten-plus year tenure in Education as a High School Career and Technical Education teacher. In early 2020, she moved into the role of Career Coach with the Robert L. Strickland Career Coach Program at Wilkes Community College. In this role, Abigail assists high school students in realizing their career and academic goals through career and personal research and identifies programs to help them achieve them. She also works with students to enroll in Career and College Promise courses that allow them to earn college credit while in high school. In addition to being a Career Coach, she is fortunate to be the proud mom of 3 fantastic kids, wife to my awesome husband, and dog mom to my sweet pup, Koda.
Dr. Fairley Patton
Fairley Patton has worked A-B Tech in Student Services for more than seven years. In this role she seeks to provide access opportunities for students to earn tuition-free college credit, explore career possibilities, and expand their educational options. She brought to A-B Tech more than fifteen years of experience in Higher Education at public community colleges, and public and private four-year colleges in North Carolina to her role. She is an experienced educational professional specializing in Educational Leadership, High School Dual Enrollment Partnerships, and Student Services. In addition to her role as Director of Educational Partnerships, Fairley also teaches College Transfer Success and Psychology courses. Her direct work with students as an instructor and advisor is where she truly feels at home and which is the most rewarding aspect of her career. Fairley earned a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Meredith College, and Masters of Arts and Doctorate of Education Degrees in High Education Administration from Western Carolina University.
Fairley is passionate about the mission of the Community College, which seeks to provide educational opportunities for all- to improve their lives and the lives of their families- and post-secondary education as a whole. Through A-B Techs partnerships with public schools, thousands of high school students have had the opportunity to partake in invaluable learning experiences to expand their horizons and better their lives. She looks forward to maintaining this trend of inventiveness, by continuing current successful partnerships and investigating new avenues to enhance educational opportunities for our area students each year through scholarships and enhancing teaching and learning.
Quincey Rickett
Quincey currently serves as a high school counselor at Hayesville High School. She began her career in North Carolina in 2011 as a kindergarten teacher and later taught first and second grades. In March of 2020, she moved from the classroom into the counseling position at Hayesville Middle School. The next school year, she served at Hayesville elementary school as their school counselor. June of 2021, brought the last move for her from elementary school to high school. She loves the students at HHS and looks forward to seeing them every day. She is currently pursuing my MSA and will complete the program in May 2022. She is married to her husband Jason and has two bonus kids, Dalton and Hailea. They love spending time on each end of the state, Hayesville and Oak Island.
Sallie Senseney
Sallie Senseney is passionate about connecting science content to students’ lives. She teaches biology, AP biology, and earth science and is an instructional coach at Mountain Heritage High School in Yancey County, NC. In addition to teaching high school science, Sallie plans and leads professional development focused on implementing hands-on, inquiry-based science lessons for teachers in her district from grades K-12. She is a recipient of the 2019 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Science and Math Teachers and was the UNC School of Education Young Alumna in 2019. Sallie enjoys spending time outside running, hiking, and swimming in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina.
EPFP GEAR UP Cohort 2022-23
