Staff

Leisha DeHart-Davis, Director of the Local Government Workplaces Initiative, is a professor of public administration and government at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government. She holds a Ph.D. in public policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is an engaged scholar of organizational behavior, workplace dynamics and gender diversity in local government settings.

Clay Fleming is the Assistant Director of the Local Government Workplaces Initiative and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Master of Public Administration program. He also earned a bachelor’s in Communication from Appalachian State University. Before joining LGWI, Clay worked with the Town of Cary, NC, Human Resources department. Clay has a passion for understanding organizational behaviors and translating applicable theories into practice that benefit organizations, their teams, and their cultures. His interest in enhancing working environments precipitated and continually informs his work with the Local Government Workplaces Initiative.

Kirsti Ehlers is a research analyst for the Local Government Workplaces Initiative and a student in the Master of Public Administration Online program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in nonprofit management. After earning her bachelor’s in History and International Development at Brigham Young University, she spent twenty years in the private sector in business administration and data management. Now she feels pulled into public service to work with organizations that strive to build community and help families thrive.

Data Scientist

Haritha Sri Bhatta is a Data Science Intern for the Local Government Workplaces Initiative and a graduate of Biomedical and Health Informatics, MPS, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Haritha earned a degree in Biomedical Engineering from SRM Institute of Science and Technology in India. She previously worked as a research assistant for the UNC School of Medicine and an Application Development Associate for Accenture. Haritha is passionate about integrating data science in healthcare and is consistently driven to discover novel ways to manipulate data for improvement. She aims for a future where predictive models play a key role in enhancing overall wellbeing.

Graduate Research Assistants

We will welcome new graduate research assistants to the team this fall!