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RALEIGH – The new North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency has named key leaders and is working to streamline the process for administering federal block grants for Hurricane Matthew recovery and planning for additional federal funding for residents affected by Hurricane Florence.
The new office within the Department of Public Safety will work alongside North Carolina Emergency Management on recovery and rebuilding from past and future disasters. The office will administer US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funded Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CBDG-DR) for Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. North Carolina has been awarded $236 million in HUD block grants for Hurricane Matthew recovery and is awaiting notice from the federal government of block grant awards for Hurricane Florence recovery.
Laura Hogshead has been named as chief operating officer. Ms. Hogshead has extensive experience in administering federal housing programs, having served as Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief of Staff for Budget and Policy at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She most recently served on the executive staff at the Center for Community Self-Help in Durham and has also worked on Capitol Hill as a congressional staffer for HUD related appropriations committees. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Jim Klingler has been named as finance chief. Mr. Klingler is a finance professional who has served in senior finance positions at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University, and as a fiscal analyst at the NC General Assembly. He is a US Army veteran and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill with bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
John Ebbighausen has been named as director of recovery operations. Mr. Ebbighausen has been leading the Resiliency section at NC Emergency Management since early 2018. He retired from the NC National Guard as a lieutenant colonel serving as deputy director for strategic plans and policy.
Ryan Flynn has been named as acting chief of staff. Mr. Flynn has served in the Governor’s Recovery Office since the start of the Cooper administration.
Norma Houston will serve the Office of Recovery and Resiliency in an advisory capacity while continuing her work as a faculty member at the UNC School of Government. Her expertise in local government procurement and FEMA programs will assist the office and local communities in recovery operations.
“This strong team’s combined experience will serve us well as we continue to provide for Hurricane Matthew survivors with HUD block grants, and as we work toward administering an even larger HUD-funded recovery for Hurricane Florence survivors,” said Public Safety Secretary Erik A. Hooks.
Mike Sprayberry continues to serve as director of NC Emergency Management and the NC Office of Recovery and Resiliency.
Additional staff members will be integrated from the Resiliency Section at NC Emergency Management, along with new hires.
So far, North Carolina has awarded more than $8.6 million in CDBG-DR funds to homeowners recovering from Hurricane Matthew. The office has been working to streamline the process of getting help to Matthew survivors and is working with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in planning the HUD-funded relief program for Hurricane Florence survivors.
The office will also oversee recovery work funded by the state legislature through the North Carolina Disaster Recovery Acts of 2017 and 2018.
The office is currently in the process of hiring the remainder of its workforce of 45 employees and is seeking employees with experience in community development, affordable housing or disaster recovery for positions in housing programs, infrastructure planning, construction management, procurement and contracting, internal auditing, program monitoring and compliance, environmental compliance, public Information and customer service. Information on employment with the NC Office of Recovery and Resiliency is available here.
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