Andra Ghent is a Professor of Finance at the University of Utah where she holds the Ivory-Boyer Chair in Real Estate. She is the Academic Director of the Ivory-Boyer Real Estate Center. Her current research interests are real estate finance, financial intermediation, and urban economics. Her research has been cited in US congressional testimony and by media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Forbes, and Bloomberg. Her research has been published in top academic journals such as the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Urban Economics, Management Science, the Review of Economic Studies, and the Review of Financial Studies. She is an Associate Editor at the Review of Financial Studies and the Journal of Financial Economics. She teaches courses on housing affordability and real estate finance. More information about Professor Ghent can be found at www.andraghent.com.
Courtney Edwards specializes in taxation. She teaches courses on individual taxation, business taxation, international taxation and tax research.
An award-winning teacher, she teaches in the Master of Accounting and Undergraduate Business Programs. She encourages student interest in accounting and tax by supporting various student organizations and activities. She serves as the faculty advisor for the Undergraduate Accounting Club, the PwC Challenge Case Competition and UNC’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
Dr. Edwards is associate director of the UNC Tax Center. She facilitates the Tax Center’s mission to bring together tax scholars, policymakers and practitioners who share a common interest in tax research.
She co-authored “Germany’s Repeal of the Corporate Capital Gains Tax: The Equity Market Response” in the Journal of American Taxation Association with UNC Kenan-Flagler professors Mark Lang, Edward Maydew and Douglas Shackelford. She also wrote “Employee Stock Options and Taxes” with John Graham, Dr. Lang and Dr. Shackelford, published in the Journal of Investment Management.
She was a tax manager in Arthur Andersen’s Atlanta office, where she worked for five years.
Dr. Edwards received her PhD from UNC Kenan-Flagler. She received her MS in accounting with a tax concentration and her BS in commerce from the University of Virginia.
Hilda is a senior Fortune 500 business executive acknowledged for building best-in-class organizations that consistently achieve aggressive revenue and profit objectives. She is also a dedicated board member/advisor to numerous industry, educational, and community organizations, bringing new strategy and processes to enhance effectiveness.
Hilda brings a broad background in P&L management, strategic planning, economic development, communications, treasury & auditing, M&A integration, customer service, and operations. During her career, she has combined operating success – including leading a 600,000-customer energy delivery operation, achieving top financial, safety, customer service, and employee satisfaction results – with the ability to collaborate and build alignment with government, regulatory, and other stakeholders.
Most recently, Hilda served as Energy consultant for Duke Energy and Vice President, Corporate Public Affairs with Progress Energy and, following the merger, with Duke Energy. While at Progress, Hilda established the Corporate Public Affairs function, which was expanded to serve 31 states and international interests in Central and South America at Duke. In that capacity, she collaborated with federal, state, and local officials and company leadership to develop responsible energy policy and advance the utility’s international interests.
Hilda served in operating roles with Progress Energy, including Vice President, Northern Region, with management of distribution of electric service for more than 600,000 customers and community relations with a budget of $80 million, and as Vice President, Energy Delivery Services, leading environmental services, financials, transmission and distribution services, commercial, industrial and governmental account management, and support services. In both roles, she achieved top quartile performance in safety, customer satisfaction, and employee engagement.
Hilda has also demonstrated leadership in economic development, serving as Progress Energy’s liaison with International Departments of Commerce to bring business to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. In three years, she doubled Progress’ annual revenue stream from new industries.
Hilda began her career on the financial side, serving as an accountant for Colgate Palmolive, a senior auditor for Arthur Andersen, and a financial analyst for Progress.
Hilda holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from North Carolina A&T State University and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University Fuqua School of Business. She also completed graduate studies in taxation from St. John’s University and the Executive Program from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Hilda serves as Vice Chair of the board of directors of RTI International, as Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and Chair Audit Committee, Board of Advisors-8 Rivers Financial Capital, an energy technology company and Chair of the Board for NC Dental Services, Inc, an insurance company for dentists. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the NC A&T State University Board of Trustees and previously, she served as National Chair of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, Board of Trustees of the College Foundation of North Carolina; was Co-Chair of the North Carolina Governor’s transition team and State’s Budget Reform and Accountability Commission; Presidentially nominated Board Member of the National Parks Foundation; State Board Member/Chair of the North Carolina Community College System; and Governor-appointed Treasurer for the NC Institute of Medicine. Hilda is a Chapter Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors and a Member of Women Corporate Directors. In 2018 she was recognized and selected as a Director to Watch by The Visionary Board. She was inducted into the 2020 Lifetime Hall of Fame for NCA&T State University Business School.
Mary Moore Hamrick is the CEO of Political Quotient Advisors, LLC and a Professor of Practice at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, the College of Charleston School of Business and The Citadel. Recently, she completed a sabbatical as the Don Evans Family Managing Director of Domestic Policy at the George W. Bush Institute.
She has over 30 years of experience at the epicenter of business and government, providing leadership and delivering bottom line results in legal, regulatory, legislative strategy and policy. Ms. Hamrick is a savvy strategist and trusted advisor working with C-suite leaders across a broad range of industries to synthesize ideas and deliver targeted outcomes in the areas of legislation, crisis communications, operations, investor and external relations. She is known for helping organizations translate regulatory and public policy decisions into actionable tools to help businesses grow.
Ms. Hamrick is a strong leader with an extensive background in financial issues and legislative strategy. Prior to her roles at the George W. Bush Institute and Political Quotient Advisors, she served in a number of senior positions in the financial services industry, including Chief Public Policy Officer for Grant Thornton, Senior Director of External Relations and Strategic Planning for the Center for Audit Quality, Director of the Office of External Relations for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, Vice President for New York Life Insurance Co., Counsel to the U.S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce and an Investment Representative at Morgan Stanley. Ms. Hamrick began her career as an agent at IMG, an internationally recognized talent agency where she represented sports marketing clients in negotiated transactions.
Ms. Hamrick received her bachelor’s degree cum laude from Duke University, and her JD and MBA degrees from the University of North Carolina. Ms. Hamrick is a member of the N.C. Bar and served as Chairman of the Public Affairs Council Board of Directors, a leading international association designed to advance the field of public affairs. She serves on the Board of Trustees for the U.S. Capitol Historical Society (USCHS), an organization chartered by Congress to educate the public on the history and heritage of the U.S. Capitol. She chaired the Alumni Council for UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, the top online MBA program and one of the top 20 business schools in the country. She serves on the UNC Board of Visitors and the Board of Advisors for the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. Ms. Hamrick is a Washington, D.C. chapter member and speaker for the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), obtaining the NACD Governance Fellowship Director credential. Ms. Hamrick has written extensively on financial and public affairs issues and is a sought-after speaker for audiences of all sizes.
David Robinson is the James and Gail Vander Weide Professor of Finance
at the Fuqua School of Business. He is also a Faculty Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he serves as the co-Director of the Entrepreneurship Working Group. His research has appeared in leading academic journals in finance and economics, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, and the American Economic Review.
Professor Robinson earned an MBA and PhD from the University of Chicago GSB, a Master’s from the London School of Economics, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina. In 2016 he received an honorary doctorate from the Stockholm School of Economics.
Yichen (Max) Li ’22 is from Hefei Anhui, China. As a business administration and information science double major, his professional interests include finance and business technology. Max decided to join the Kenan Scholars program because it provides a place to conduct research and offers a great opportunity to acquire skills that solve real-world problems and help others.
In addition to being a Kenan Scholar, Max is a team leader for the P&G case competition and volunteers with Klesis at UNC. Max’s hobbies include business, technology and the government sector. After college, Max plans to work in the field of business technology, specializing in financial technology.
Cara Kuuskvere ’22 is from Charlotte, North Carolina. As a business administration and environmental science quantitative energy systems double major, her professional interests include environmental consulting and corporate sustainability. Cara decided to join the Kenan Scholars program because of its focus on using private industry for the public good and to integrate her interests, working with like-minded students.
In addition to being a Kenan Scholar, Cara is also a Buckley Public Service Scholar, Director of Sustainable Projects for the UNC Residence Hall Association and a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Cara’s hobbies include running marathons, backpacking, sustainability, environmental advocacy and renewable energy. After college, Cara hopes to obtain a Ph.D. in sustainability and work for a government agency or NGO to mitigate the negative consequences of climate change.
Nicholas (Nick) Mignogna ’22 is from Wayne, Pennsylvania. As a business administration and political science double major, his professional interests include investment banking, lobbying and healthcare policy. Nick decided to join the Kenan Scholars program because he believes he will be better prepared to solve urgent problems in our society by utilizing the private sector for the public good.
In addition to being a Kenan Scholar, Nick is a member on the UNC Out-Of-State Student Association, active in UNC Young Democrats, and plays on the UNC club baseball team. Nick’s hobbies include healthcare policy, criminal justice, finance and baseball. After college, Nick initially plans to work as an investment banker with the long-term goal of working in healthcare legislation or criminal justice reform.
John (Jack) Morningstar ’22 is from Caribou, Maine. As a business administration and political science double major, his professional interests include consulting and public service. Jack decided to join the Kenan Scholars program because of his interest in the intersection between the public and private sectors and the hope to use his education for the greater good.
In addition to being a Kenan Scholar, Jack is the finance director for UNC Young Democrats, serves on the Speakers Committee for TEDxUNC and is a senator in UNC’s Undergraduate Senate. Jack’s hobbies include politics, entrepreneurship and consulting. After college, Jack hopes to pursue a career in both the public and private sectors through consulting, eventually serving in politics through policy advising or campaign management.