University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Metric Area 5
UNC to launch unprecedented collaboration to improve services for young children with
autism and their families
For Immediate Use: Monday, Jan. 13, 2014
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have received a State Implementation
Grant of $900,000 from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services to improve services for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
and their families.
This three-year project has the primary purpose of linking both university and state partners to
lower the ages by which young children receive appropriate developmental screening, ASD-specific
screening, diagnostic assessments, and early intervention. North Carolina was one of only four states
to be awarded funding by the Bureau during this cycle, and this initiative is one of the first to
involve nearly all of the major ASD programs on UNC’s campus.
The grant is under the directorship of Stephen Hooper, PhD, Associate Dean and Chair of the
UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Allied Health Sciences (DAHS), and in collaborative
leadership with Rebecca Edmondson Pretzel, PhD, Associate Director of the Carolina Institute for
Developmental Disabilities (CIDD). In addition to its primary goals, this grant will allow
researchers to examine strategies to increase access of families to family-centered medical homes
that coordinate care with pediatric subspecialities, increase public and provider awareness of the
signs and symptoms of ASD, and complete a statewide needs assessment addressing family needs
and barriers to coordinated care.
To accomplish the grant’s objectives, DAHS and CIDD collaborators have enlisted the expertise of
key UNC programs with a major focus on ASD, including the AHEC TEACCH Program, Frank
Porter Graham Child Development Institute, the Gillings School of Global Public Health, the
School of Social Work, and the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research.
“While this is certainly not the first project where various programs have collaborated on issues of
ASD, it is the first project where programs have collaborated around improving the coordination of
state services to children suspected of having ASD and their families,” Dr. Hooper said. “We are
fortunate to receive these additional resources from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and
excited about this opportunity to enlist the expertise of our UNC partners and key state agencies,
such as the Autism Society of North Carolina, the state of North Carolina Early Intervention
Program, and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction pre-kindergarten programs, in
addressing these ASD-related needs across the state.”
A key component of this program will be assessing the needs of families from across the state,
particularly with respect to their experiences with early screening, diagnostic assessments, and early
intervention. Increasing public awareness of the early signs and symptoms of ASD also will be an
annual objective, with significant efforts being devoted to rural and underserved regions of the state
and examining the pathways by which families have access to the necessary services to address their
child’s medical and developmental needs.
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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“The state of North Carolina is fortunate to have a number of service systems in place to address
the needs of young children with developmental disabilities and their families,” said Dr. Edmondson
Pretzel. “We are confident that this new funding will enhance current efforts and facilitate
additional improvements for young children with ASD and their families.”
For additional information pertaining to the newly awarded ASD State Implementation Grant,
please contact Dr. Stephen Hooper, Associate Dean and Chair of the Department of Allied Health
Sciences (Stephen_Hooper@med.unc.edu) or Dr. Rebecca Edmonson Pretzel, Associate Director
of the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (Becky.Edmondson@cidd.unc.edu).
UNC Media Contact: Jennifer James, 919-966-7622, jjames@unch.unc.edu
August 1, 2014
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Metric Area 5
Through service, Palestine Small changes her own life
Working with local community organizations, December graduate Palestine Small, who graduated
from the Carolina Center for Public Service’s Buckley Public Service Scholars program, spent her
time at Carolina in service to others. Like many Carolina students, Small has a deep desire to serve,
but her motivation comes from a need to help those walking a path she is all too familiar with.
Small, a 47-year-old sociology major, worked with a specific purpose to fulfill a commitment to
change her life and make something of herself.
“I went through 31 years of hate, “said Small. “I was raised in foster care, introduced to drugs and
alcohol through a family member, suffered from family abuse, incest and rape and spent time in
prison. Then one day I went into rehab and someone said to me ‘I want you to change your life.
You don’t have to come back to this.’”
That day was September 12, 2006. Since then, Small has completed the drug rehabilitation program
at TROSA in Durham and taken classes at Durham Technical Community College. After coming to
UNC as a transfer student through the Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program (C-STEP),
Small found the Buckley Public Service Scholars program where she could learn about various types
of service as a framework for how she hoped to connect with organizations to help those struggling
with the same issues she faced.
“Throughout the path of rediscovering myself, I found that I have a yearning to help people,” Small
said. “I am supposed to help by sharing my lifestyle and letting people know they can help
themselves, too.
“I chose the Buckley Public Service Scholars program as a way to give back to the community and as
a way to connect to self-help organizations and help those in need. I have been where they are and I
know the way out.”
Now that she has graduated, Small plans to continue on her path in service to others. She intends to
apply to divinity school, then go to law school with a goal of bringing together the two disciplines to
impact the juvenile justice system.
Reflecting on where she was and how far she has come, Small said, “I had two people in my life who
saw something in me, who believed in me. I wanted to be that person they saw. I could not let them
down.”
“I am grateful for what the BPSS program has done for me – it helped me make connections in the
community to help people and let them know change is possible.”
Watch this short video of Palestine Small telling her story and talking about her experience as a Buckley Scholar.
August 1, 2014
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Palestine Small, December 2013
August 1, 2014
Metric Area 5
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Metric Area 5
School of Government receives $7.1 million pledge from local government credit union
For immediate use: Thursday, May 22, 2014
The School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received a pledge
of $7.1 million from Local Government Federal Credit Union (LGFCU) for initiatives to support
North Carolina local governments.
UNC Chancellor Carol L. Folt announced the news on May 22 at a meeting of the UNC Board of
Trustees.
“We’re tremendously grateful for this pledge, which builds on the past generosity of Local
Government Federal Credit Union,” Folt said. “A core part of our mission is to help our state build
stronger communities to serve North Carolina citizens, and these funds will greatly advance that
commitment.”
The School of Government’s Development Finance Initiative (DFI) will receive $2.84 million over
10 years to expand opportunities for economically distressed communities in North Carolina by
increasing their access to and use of cutting-edge development finance instruments.
In 2011, LGFCU granted the School of Government $1 million to partner with local governments
to attract private investment for transformative projects by providing specialized finance and
development expertise. Since that time, DFI has worked on more than 50 projects in nearly 40
communities across North Carolina. Projects range from analysis of a historic downtown building to
an assessment of district-wide financial tools to attract private investment to distressed
neighborhoods. DFI has expanded staffing in response to requests from local governments and has
engaged graduate students as community revitalization fellows to provide research on real estate
development, draft financing models, create GIS maps and analyze demographic and economic
trends.
With the new grant, DFI will continue to work with existing local partners to move their projects
from pre-development to development, while exploring new partnership opportunities for
development in additional communities.
LGFCU, a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative established to serve the financial
needs of North Carolina local government employees, elected officials, volunteers and their families,
has also granted $2.22 million over 10 years to support the LGFCU Fellows program. This program
provides mid-level public executives with the skills needed to build the pool of local government
talent prepared for leadership succession.
As in many other states, local governments in North Carolina are facing a significant number of
retirements in their leadership ranks over the next several years. In 2011, LGFCU granted the
School of Government $625,000 to create the fellows program. Since that time, 74 emerging leaders
have participated in an intensive training program, “Leading for Results,” as LGFCU Fellows. The
program includes the development of leadership and communication skills and includes one-on-one
professional coaching. Since completing the program, more than 10 percent of LGFCU Fellows
have been promoted to new roles, and a large percentage report taking on new responsibilities.
Across the board, Fellows express a renewed commitment to public service.
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Metric Area 5
With the new LGFCU grant, the Fellows program will help to ensure that communities across the
state have high-performing individuals prepared to take on critical leadership roles.
LGFCU also committed $2.04 million in undesignated funds to the School of Government over 10
years. The school will use this grant to create an Innovation Fund to support new and existing
projects that maximize the school’s impact and support its mission of improving the lives of North
Carolinians.
“The initial investment that LGFCU made in the Development Finance Initiative and the LGFCU
Fellows program continues to deliver on its intended purpose of enhancing North Carolina
communities at the local level,” said Maurice Smith, LGFCU president and chief executive officer.
“It is no surprise that given the resources made available through DFI and the LGFCU Fellows
program, local governments have been able to leverage their connections to the School of
Government to move forward in preparing the next generation of leaders and in planning and
implementing transformative development projects. We believe continued support of these
initiatives is a wise and fitting investment in the North Carolina communities where our members
live and work.”
School of Government Dean Mike Smith added, “I am grateful to LGFCU, and especially to
Maurice Smith and the members of the LGFCU Board, for their trust in the school and their
commitment to North Carolina. These funds will allow us to develop and expand the innovative
ways we assist local governments as they face continuing economic and workforce challenges. This
gift will have a major impact.”
School of Government website: http://www.sog.unc.edu/
Development Finance Initiative contact: Michael Lemanski, (919) 962-0942,
lemanski@sog.unc.edu
LGFCU Fellows program contact: Willow Jacobson, (919) 966-4760, jacobson@sog.unc.edu
School of Government contact: Sonja Matanovic, (919) 966-4178, matanovic@sog.unc.edu
August 1, 2014
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Metric Area 5
Health startup from first Launch class secures funding, stays in Chapel Hill
For immediate use: Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Keona Health is a spin-out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and initially gained
traction with a $450,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Keona Health, a recent graduate of the Launch Chapel Hill Business Accelerator, has secured
Series A funding with a $2.5 million investment round and negotiated a multiyear lease to
remain in town.
Keona Health is a spin-out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and initially gained
traction with a $450,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health. With this Series A funding
– the first round of significant investment into a start-up venture by either venture capitalists or
corporate investors — Keona will focus on scaling the product and growing the business.
Co-founded by a veteran software developer Oakkar Oakkar and Javed Mostafa, a professor in
the School of Information and Library Science, Keona Health was one of seven teams first
selected to participate in the Launch program when it opened in 2013.
Launch Chapel Hill is a unique cooperative investment of UNC-Chapel Hill, the Town of Chapel
Hill, Orange County, the Downtown Chapel Hill Partnership and a private donor, the Becker
family, who provided initial funding in memory of their daughter, Cara Becker. They all work
together to fund this initiative to help develop Chapel Hill’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
During its 22-week session at Launch, Keona Health worked to improve its technology to aid
healthcare providers in filtering customer calls using a cloud-delivered “Online Health Advice”
solution.
Dina Mills, program manager at Launch, worked closely with the town and team to identify
available lease space for the company post-graduation. Keona Health occupied temporary annex
space for several months until securing a spot at Europa Center in Chapel Hill, signing a
multiyear lease. This fulfills several goals of the Launch program: to help companies coming out
of UNC to get connected to funding, get on their feet and stay local if they want to.
“From my interview at UNC and every step along the way, UNC, the Chapel Hill community
and particularly Launch Chapel Hill were there to nourish my idea and help me secure the
resources to keep moving forward – whether that be mentors, introductions to potential clients or
help in negotiating the seed and later Series A funding for Keona Health,” said Oakkar, the
company’s chief executive officer. “We are thrilled to be staying in Chapel Hill as we continue
to grow our business.”
“We are so excited by Keona’s success,” Mills said. “Launch provided mentorship, resources
and access to Entrepreneurs in Residence; Oakkar and the team took it from there. It’s great to
see how our program can benefit a company like Keona who can really take advantage of the
resources we offer.”
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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In addition, Keona Health worked with other UNC programs like Launching the Venture in the
Kenan-Flagler Business School and the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network.
Steve Brantley, Orange County economic development director, and Dwight Bassett, Chapel Hill
economic development officer, are pleased with Keona’s success and how it’s translating to the
surrounding communities.
“We see this as a signal to other young startups that Chapel Hill is a great place for your
business,” Bassett said. He and others are already looking at the current group of Launch
companies and discussing strategies for helping them stay local.
Brantley, whose economic development office looks for opportunities to help new businesses
expand and grow in this area, says that Launch Chapel Hill is only the beginning of what the
town and county can do to support entrepreneurs.
As the next round of Launch companies work through the accelerator program, they’ll be
looking to alumni like Keona Health for mentorship and support. “It’s great to be part of this
growing entrepreneurial community,” said Fred Stuzman, founder of 80Percent Solutions.
“When I looked at other places in the region where I could start my company, it was obvious that
I wanted to stay in Chapel Hill. Launch is making that possible.”
To learn more, see www.launchchapelhill.com.
Launch Chapel Hill contact: Dina Mills, (919) 423-2770, dina@launchchapelhill.com
Keona Health contact: Stephen Dean, (919) 951-5700, Stephen.dean@keonahealth.com
News Services contact: Susan Hudson, (919) 962-8514, susan_hudson@unc.edu
August 1, 2014
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Metric Area 5
World View equips K-12, community college educators with tools to prepare students
In the summer, when the rest of Carolina’s campus slows down, the World View staff kicks into
high gear with the Global Education Leaders’ Program. The 33 participants who came to the June
16-20 session at UNC’s Center for School Leadership Development traveled from Charlotte and
Durham as well as Onslow, Guilford, Warren and Cabarrus counties.
Charlé LaMonica, the director of World View, still considers herself a teacher, she told this year’s
class in its opening session. “I want us to take students as far as we can in North Carolina. Our
mission at World View is to equip K-12 and community college educators with global knowledge,
best practices and resources to prepare our students to live in this interconnected and diverse
world.”
No surprise – these educators are lifelong learners. In five days, they got a crash course in global and
cultural issues with lectures by prominent UNC faculty members like Jim Johnson of the KenanFlagler Business School, Christian Lundberg of the department of communications studies, James
Peacock of the anthropology department, and Layna Mosley of the department of political science,
to name just a few. This year’s topics included hot spots like Africa, the Middle East, China, Cuba
and Russia and issues such as food security, terrorism and universal education for girls.
“The world and learning about it inspire me,” said Aimy Steele, assistant principal at Cox Mill High
School in Cabarrus County. “I also want to evaluate what we’re currently doing with global
education at our school.”
Since 2001, World View has been offering the Global Education Leaders’ Program, this five-day
window on global issues for K-12 and community college educators, preparing students for a rapidly
shrinking world. Not even students in the most rural areas of the state can live in isolation as
technology, communications, entertainment and business bring the rest of the world to North
Carolina. If these students are to succeed, they need to be able to think globally.
“I believe we have to think beyond the here and now. We have to know what it means to be global
citizens,” said Avis Williams, executive director of secondary curriculum and instruction for
Guilford County schools.
But while the Global Education Leaders’ Program is World View’s flagship program, it is far from
being the only one.
World View also hosts an annual seminar to help educators learn more about their Hispanic
students and strategies for teaching them. In October, the more general “Moving North Carolina
Forward” symposium brings together K-12 educators for two days to discuss global education. In
November, World View’s community college symposium will focus on “The Global Economy.”
World View even goes on the road to bring its global education programs to its 143 partner schools
and colleges. On Aug. 13, World View staff will be in Asheville for a one-day program focused on
global and STEM education. They also provide educators with on-site classes and workshops that
qualify for professional development Continuing Education Units. Through a program called Global
WebFriends, World View arranges ways to connect scholars currently studying abroad with
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Metric Area 5
classrooms in North Carolina. World View is also developing a Global Distinction Initiative with
North Carolina community colleges.
At the class graduation on Friday, Carol Tresolini, vice provost for academic initiatives reminded the
educators that – far from being the end – this was only the beginning of their work with the
program. “At World View, they not only give you knowledge,” she said, “they also provide the
resources to apply what you’ve learned in your community college and school systems.”
By Susan Hudson, UNC News Services.
World View participants 2014
August 1, 2014