ELECTED OFFICIALS GO TO SCHOOL DAY
April 20, 2022
ELECTED OFFICIALS DAY
April 20 is Elected Officials Day! Please spend a few minutes reviewing the local officials that will visit our young men (IN PERSON!). As these busy leaders are taking time out to meet our young mean, we ask our families to spend some time reading the biographies and thinking about questions for the officials. Scroll down for suggestions and conversation starters.
REPRESENTATIVE JULIE VON HAEFEN
House District 36
Representative Julie von Haefen has represented the 36th District in the North Carolina House of Representatives since January 1, 2019.
Representative von Haefen received her bachelor’s degree from Ohio University and her law degree from Case Western Reserve University. She practiced law for over 10 years in a variety of areas including criminal law, medical malpractice defense, municipal law and education law. She is licensed to practice law in Ohio, Arizona and California.
After practicing law, Rep. von Haefen became a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) leader at the school, county and state level and a fierce advocate for North Carolina’s public schools. She became involved in her local PTA when the oldest of her three children entered the Wake County Public School System. She went on to become the PTA President at Washington GT Magnet Elementary School in Raleigh for two years. She served as the President of the Wake County PTA Council from 2017-2018, and served on the Board of Directors for five years. Rep. von Haefen also served on the North Carolina PTA Board of Directors from 2017-2019 and was the State Advocacy Chair and Federal Legislative Chair for NCPTA.
Rep. von Haefen and her husband, Dr. Roger von Haefen, a professor at NC State University, live in Apex with their three children. In addition to her work with PTA, Julie is a certified Guardian ad Litem in Wake County and is a longtime Meals on Wheels volunteer.
QUESTIONS FOR OUR LEADERS
LEARN ABOUT LEADERSHIP
What does the leader find the most challenging, most fulfilling? What was a recent lesson learned about leadership? What is something they learned about leadership while young that is still important to them today? Who helped shaped their idea of leadership?
LEARN ABOUT POLICY
Was their district changed by the new districts? Are there rules (written or implied) that they find frustrating? How do you balance priorities in our complex and diverse community? What are the links between education and poverty?
LEARN ABOUT PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES
What lead you to choose public service? If not public service, in what other ways would you give back to your community?
Mr. Roberson: What are the opportunities young people should consider that are not on a traditional university track?
Ms von Haufen: What type of law is your favorite to practice?
Mr Branch: What impacts do you see in the technology gaps between various parts of Wake County and how would you work to close them?
​