State Superintendent Mo Green has announced two new hires for the Government Affairs team at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI). Geoff Coltrane will serve as the senior director of government affairs and strategy and Elizabeth Yelverton will serve as legislative liaison. Both will also support the State Board of Education’s legislative efforts.

“I’m excited that Geoff and Elizabeth are joining the Department of Public Instruction,” Green said. “Their combined wealth of experience in North Carolina state government and education will be invaluable as we work to uplift public education in North Carolina.”

Coltrane joins NCDPI after serving as former Governor Roy Cooper’s deputy public policy director and senior education advisor. In this role, he advised the governor and senior staff on K-12 and postsecondary education policy issues and served as the governor’s primary liaison to the State Board of Education, N.C. Community College System, UNC System and other K-12 and postsecondary stakeholders. In addition to roles with the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics and the Hunt Institute, Coltrane spent five years in the classroom as a kindergarten and first grade teacher at Forest View Elementary School in Durham Public Schools. Coltrane earned a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University and bachelor’s degrees in elementary education and history from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Yelverton comes to NCDPI from the North Carolina Association of School Administrators where she served as the legal affairs and policy manager and executive board attorney. In this role, she represented K-12 public school administrators in nonpartisan advocacy efforts as a registered lobbyist during meetings with government entities such as the N.C. General Assembly, the State Board of Education and other education stakeholders. Previously, Yelverton also spent time at the N.C. General Assembly as a senate intern and research assistant, as well as roles with Baddour, Parker, Hine & Hale, P.C. and Lexis Nexis Legal Research Services. A licensed attorney, Yelverton earned a juris doctorate from Campbell University and bachelor’s degree in English from N.C. State University.

Coltrane and Yelverton begin their work at NCDPI on Jan. 21.