SPEAKER

Senator Sydney Batch is a family law attorney, child welfare advocate, and social worker. Sydney received her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she remained for her Juris Doctorate and Master of Social Work. Following law school, Sydney entered private practice with her husband, J. Patrick Williams. She is the founding partner at the law firm, Batch, Poore & Williams, PC. Her practice primarily focuses on family law, child welfare law, and appellate work. She was elected to the NC House representing Southern Wake County in 2018 and was later appointed to fill a vacant seat in the NC Senate in 2021 and reelected in 2022 and 2024. She currently serves as Democratic Deputy Leader in the NC Senate. Senator Batch has continuously advocated for families and small businesses during her time in the legislature. She currently serves on the Appropriations on Health and Human Services, Commerce and Insurance, Finance, Health Care, Joint Legislative Committee on Health and Human Services, and Judiciary. As a legislator, Sydney believes that policy and evidence-based research should inform and guide the legislation passed in the North Carolina General Assembly. She has advocated for several common-sense reforms, including paid family leave, affordable childcare, and mental health access. She resides in Wake County with her husband and two sons.

SPEAKER

Gale Adcock is a family nurse practitioner and former chief health officer at global software company SAS. She served 7 years on the Cary Town Council, including 3 years as Cary Mayor Pro-tem, before her election to the House in 2014. During her fourth House term she was appointed to the position of deputy minority leader. Senator Adcock is now in her second term in the Senate, representing District 16 that includes Cary and Raleigh. She is a member of the Health, HHS Appropriations, State & Local Government, and Commerce & Insurance committees. Senator Adcock is the first nurse to serve in the NC Senate.

SPEAKER

Timothy Reeder, MD, MPH earned a Medical Degree and residency in Emergency Medicine from Ohio State University. He obtained an MPH the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1998, he joined the Brody School of Medicine at ECU where he is an Associate Professor and Executive Vice Chair in the Department of Emergency Medicine. He is past President of the North Carolina Medical Society. He provides clinical care at ECU Health Medical Center. He was elected to the NC House of Representatives in 2023, representing District 9 in Pitt County. He serves on the Committees for Appropriations, Commerce, Education-Universities, Families, Children and Aging Policy, and Health.

HOST OF OJ RECEPTION

Representative Allen Buansi grew up in Orange County. He lives in Chapel Hill with his wife and their three children. He is a proud graduate of Dartmouth College (B.A.) and the University of North Carolina School of Law (J.D.). From 2017 to 2021, he worked at the UNC Center for Civil Rights and was the deputy director there, working in the areas of public education, environmental justice and land use law. He is currently a land use attorney. After being elected to the Chapel Hill Town Council in 2017, Governor Roy Cooper appointed him to the statewide Local Government Employees Retirement Board of Trustees, and there, he served from 2018 until 2021. He was elected to the North Carolina State House in 2022, and he represents District 56 (Orange County) in the North Carolina General Assembly.