Dedicated to employee-centric systems and operational best practices, Gretchen works alongside the managing director and executive director of the Kenan Institute to implement policies and procedures for operational efficiency and set a personnel strategy for the institute, which includes recruitment, retention, professional development and employee wellness.

Gretchen has over 20 years of operational and human relations experience in community-based organizations and higher education. Before coming to the institute, she spent eight years in HR at UNC-Chapel Hill and 15 years in community service organizations, serving both as an executive director and deputy CEO for two different agencies.

Gretchen holds a Master of Arts in industrial psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University at Albany, State University of New York.