Amy Locklear Hertel, of the Lumbee and Coharie tribes of North Carolina, will become director of the American Indian Center at UNC-Chapel Hill on May 1.
North Carolina is home to the largest Native population in the eastern United States. The American Indian Center at Carolina is one of the only centers on the East Coast to focus solely on American Indian issues.
“The center serves as the University’s front door to American Indian communities across the state and the nation,” said Carol Tresolini, vice provost for academic initiatives. “Ms. Locklear Hertel’s professional experience in social work and law and her life experience as a native of our state and an alumna of our University will help her to expand the center’s capacity to enrich the intellectual life of the campus and link American Indian nations and communities with Carolina’s strengths in research, education and teaching.”
Locklear Hertel is currently a project manager at the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, where she is a doctoral candidate at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work. She earned her master of social work and law degrees at Washington University.
She serves as a trustee for the G.A. Jr. and Kathryn M. Buder Charitable Foundation, which seeks to improve the social and economic conditions of American Indian families and communities. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Directors for the Community Investment Network, a nonprofit organization that encourages organizations and individuals to engage in strategic giving to enable greater social change in their communities.
“During my practice and training, I have acquired an interdisciplinary mix of knowledge and skills that I look forward to bringing back to North Carolina to serve UNC and Native communities,” said Locklear Hertel.
Originally from Fayetteville, Locklear Hertel earned a bachelor of arts degree at UNC in 1997. While at UNC, she served as president of the Carolina Indian Circle and was inducted into the Order of the Golden Fleece. She was also one of the founders of Alpha Pi Omega Sorority Inc., the country’s oldest Native American Greek letter organization.