The Cabinet

Biography   

Mark serves as the Director of Health and Wellness for Graduate and Professional Student Government for the 2022-2023 academic year. Originally from Ohio, Mark has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Cincinnati and worked in corporate finance for eight years before transitioning to a mental health career in 2020. Before graduate school, he worked at Mental Health America of Northern Kentucky & Southwest Ohio and founded a mental health speaking and consulting business. Mark is now pursuing a Master of Public Health in Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests center around mental health in young adults and in the workplace. At UNC, Mark serves as a graduate research assistant for the Carolina Center for Total Worker Health and Well-being and cohort representative. Outside of school, he enjoys all outdoor recreation, birding and coin collecting. In his GPSG role, Mark hopes to raise awareness on all UNC Health & Wellness resources, identify gaps, and promote the interconnectedness of student services. He is particularly interested in the areas of student mental health and accessibility on campus.

Kai is a second-year graduate student in the Gillings Master of Public Health, Leadership in Practice program. He is an emergency management professional and emergency services provider with a passion for improving the lives of those in his community. He has recently completed a graduate certificate in community preparedness and disaster management at UNC.  He follows an “all-communities approach” to safety and security, which aims to mix public health program planning concepts with emergency management frameworks. He is an ocean lifeguard/EMT in his hometown of San Diego, California and received a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of California, Riverside. He enjoys ocean sports, martial arts, and reading.

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Lauren is a third-year doctoral student in the Human Movement Science Curriculum as well as pursuing a certificate in Innovation for the Public Good. In her role as Director of Employment Affairs, Lauren plans to work with students, faculty, and staff across campus to increase awareness of the needs of graduate students. In particular, she plans to focus on fair stipends and increasing access to program/career specific professional development. Lauren is originally from Dodgeville, WI.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training from Winona State University and a master’s degree in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to returning to Chapel Hill to pursue a PhD, she worked as an athletic trainer for women’s basketball and women’s swim/dive at the University of Richmond, and men’s and women’s swim/dive at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Her area of research interest is in the development of successful implementation strategies for ACL injury prevention programs in a variety of youth sport settings. Outside of school, Lauren enjoys college sports, playing volleyball, reading, and playing the piano.

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Celeste Kurz is a doctoral student in the Gillings Department of Nutrition and the Cabinet Director of Local Relations. She was born in North Carolina but grew up in the chilly Northeast. After farming for a year on Kauai, Hawai’i he completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Connecticut. While at UConn, she lived and worked on the student-run Spring Valley Student Farm. Celeste then moved to Rhode Island to attend Johnson & Wales culinary school and work as a nutrition educator for URI SNAP-Ed. After one too many snowy winters, she moved to Chapel Hill to pursue an MPH in nutrition and complete training to become a registered dietitian. She fell in love with all things Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and UNC, which is how she found GPSG!  As the Director of Local Relations under the Swamy administration, Celeste founded CHRP, the Chapel Hill Resource Project. She is excited to continue working with the wonderful CHRP committee under the Nollert administration, with the goal to improve student access to fundamental resources and better understand why certain needs continue to go unmet. Celeste also enjoys an appointment to the board of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership and is excited to continue this placement in the coming year. You can find her in her garden, hanging out with her golden retriever, Clove, or whipping up something delicious in the kitchen.

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Brendan is a fourth year PhD student in the Department of English and Comparative Literature, where he studies twentieth century American literature, with a particular emphasis on the novel after 1945.  After growing up just outside of Boston, MA, he received his BA in English from Boston College, and his MA in English from UNC.  As Director of State Relations, he aims to materially improve the lives of all graduate and professional students at Carolina through informed advocacy.  Outside of grad school, he enjoys spending time cooking, playing disc golf, and exploring local trails.

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Director of Social Justice (DSJ)     Brenda Caldwell
The Director of Social Justice shall advise the Executive Board on issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and advocacy on behalf of currently and historically marginalized student populations.

Biography   

Director of Community Engagement (DCE)     Mary Peter
The Director of Community Engagement shall advise the Executive Board on and organize and oversee the public service initiatives of GPSG. 

Biography   

Mary Peter (she/her/hers) is an MPH Candidate in the Environmental Health Solutions concentration at the Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is a Russian-trained Physician by background, that spent 3+ years working in Primary Care in her home country, Nigeria. As Director of Community Engagement, Mary is working to connect graduate and professional students with one another and with members of the community by providing opportunities for engaging with community organizations and with initiatives led by UNC to foster diversity and inclusion. In her spare time, Mary enjoys meeting new people, cooking, and spending time with her partner.

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