J. Keith Crisco was appointed Secretary of Commerce by Gov. Bev Perdue in January 2009. He brings 38 years of experience in business and commerce to the position.

For more than 20 years, Crisco served as president and chairman of Asheboro Elastics Corp, a company he formed with partners in 1986. This highly successful company has offices in seven countries, manufacturing facilities in Central America and the United States, and sales around the world. Prior to that, he worked for eight years as the president of Stedman Elastics in Asheboro.

 
Crisco earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University. After graduate school, the Stanly County native worked as assistant to the executive vice president for Burlington Industries. He worked for the company for 10 years, including stints in Chicago and New York City.  From 1970-1971 Crisco served as a White House fellow in Washington, D.C., as assistant to the U.S. Secretary for Commerce during the Nixon administration.

Born and raised on a farm near Aquadale, N.C., Crisco has served on the Asheboro City Council, as chairman of the Pfeiffer University board of trustees, as chairman of the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research and as chairman of the National Elastic Manufacturer’s Association. He also served as chairman of Globio, a children’s educational Web site based in Portland, Ore., that uses wildlife photos to create a dialogue to connect children around the world.

Crisco also served on Randolph Community College’s board for 16 years and as an active member of the UNC School of Public Health Advisory Council. He has been active with the N.C. Community Foundation, Action for Children North Carolina, and various land trust and environmental organizations.

He and his wife, Jane, have three children and six grandchildren. They live in Asheboro and the Town of Oriental in Pamlico County.

When Dale Carroll was appointed by Gov. Bev Perdue as the deputy secretary of the N.C. Department of Commerce in January 2009, he brought three decades of business management and executive leadership to the position.

Prior to joining Commerce, Carroll served for 12 years as the chief executive officer of AdvantageWest, an economic development partnership that serves 23 counties in the western part of the state. Before that, he worked for 18 years with Carolina Power & Light (now Progress Energy) in roles that ranged from energy services engineer to manager of economic development.

During his tenure at AdvantageWest, Carroll’s board and staff were recognized for excellence by the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, Southeast Tourism Society, Entrepreneur Magazine and Southern Economic Development Council.

He is a past president of the N.C. Economic Developers Association and has served on the state’s Economic Development Board and the N.C. Biotechnology Center’s Advisory Committee for Biotechnology in Western North Carolina.

Carroll received a bachelor of science degree from N.C. State University and a master’s degree in management and human relations from Webster University in St. Louis.

EDUCATION
• B.S., North Carolina State University
• Master’s, Management and Human Relations, Webster University

CIVIC PARTICIPATION
• Member, Board of Western North Carolina Industries
• Member, Advisory Committee for Biotechnology in Western North Carolina

Assistant Secretary for Administration Denise Sessoms supervises the Executive Aircraft Operation, the Fiscal Management Division, the Human Resources Office, Management Information Systems and the Wanchese Seafood Industrial Park.

Assistant Secretary Sessoms joined the Dept. of Commerce in 2001 in her present role and has been working in state government for over 20 years.  Previously, she was the chief fiscal officer for the North Carolina Department of Justice, working with the Attorney General.  Sessoms also had positions with progressive responsibilities in the N.C. Division of Environmental Management and the N.C. Department of Correction.  Sessoms holds a B.B.A . degree in Accounting from Campbell University.

As Assistant Secretary for Communications and External Affairs, Katharine C. (Kathy) Neal is responsible for strategic communications planning and managing the department's public-information function. Neal joined Commerce in 2007.

Neal, a native and resident of Durham, N.C., has more than 25 years of communications experience with Research Triangle-area organizations, including UNC Hospitals, Duke University's Terry Sanford Institute for Public Policy and the N.C. Department of Administration. She also has consulted with Triangle biotech and pharma companies. Most recently, Neal served as communications manager for the Woods Institute for the Environment at her alma mater, Stanford University, in California.

Neal is a past president of the N.C. Association of Government Information Officers and the N.C. chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. She received a B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University in 1978.

Assistant Secretary for Community Development Joseph D. Crocker supervises the Division of Community Assistance, Rural Development Council and N.C.'s Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) program. He also serves on the board of directors of the:

• N.C. Rural Economic Development Center Inc.
• N.C. Rural Economic Development Organization
• Sustainable Sandhills Organization

Crocker joined the Department of Commerce in 2009 as Assistant Secretary for Community Development.  Most recently, Crocker served as director of operations and program officer for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. Prior to that, he spent 26 years in leadership positions at Wachovia Corp., including senior vice president and Carolinas community affairs manager. A native of Kings Mountain, Crocker holds a B.S./B.A. degree from Western Carolina University with a concentration in Business Law.

Assistant Secretary for Policy, Research and Strategic Planning Stephanie McGarrah supervises the Department’s market researchers and economists, the Economic Development Information System (EDIS) team, the staff of the N.C. Economic Development Board, and the Department's policy analysts.  She was appointed in 2007.

McGarrah previously worked at the Department of Commerce as the policy director and staff director for the N.C. Economic Development Board, and she has 10 years of public policy and market research experience.  Before returning to Commerce, McGarrah served as the public policy manager at Red Hat. She holds a B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Masters in Public Policy from Duke University.

Lynn Minges is the Assistant Secretary of Tourism, Marketing, and Global Branding for the North Carolina Department of Commerce. In this role, she provides leadership and strategic direction for the state’s tourism, film, sports, and wine industries while marketing the state as the preferred location for domestic and international business.

Lynn serves on the executive committee and the board of directors of the U.S. Travel Association and is an active member of the National Council of State Travel Directors where she has chaired and served on numerous committees. She is a past chair and executive committee member of Travel South USA, and is a member of the board of directors of Southeast Tourism Society. She also serves on the Business Advisory Council of the John A. Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University.

Under her leadership, the department has been recognized with numerous national and international awards for marketing excellence. Lynn was recently recognized by Triangle Business Journal with their “Outstanding Women in Business Award."

Lynn is a graduate of Peace College and North Carolina State University and has over 25 years of sales and marketing experience.

Executive Director of Workforce Development Roger Shackleford supervises the Commission on Workforce Development and the Division of Workforce Development. The commission is responsible for oversight, policy development, and planning for the workforce development system in North Carolina. Prior to this appointment in 2002, Shackleford spent five years as a senior partner with the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce. In this role, he consulted with state and local governments on building workforce policy and change strategies, including community engagement, workforce analysis, Workforce Board development and one-stop career center system building. 

Shackleford has over 24 years experience in workforce development and policy administration at the state and local level. He is a graduate of Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C. and of the N.C. Public Managers program and was a fellow in Bell South’s Global Leaders of the South program.

Rita Harris can be reached at (919) 715-2785 or at rharris@nccommerce.com.