Seven members of the Class of 2014 have been selected as Leadership Fellows at Elon University School of Law. They are: Landra Cunningham, Tyrone A. Davis II, Caroline Johnson, Benjamin A. Kempton, David Lambert, Brenna Ragghianti, and Andrew Davidson Realon.
An inaugural group of 12 Leadership Fellows enrolled in fall 2009. The program now includes 26 fellows. Students invited into the program have demonstrated exceptional leadership through community, collegiate, military or other leadership experiences, as well as academic achievement. They identify, through an essay in the Fellows application process, how the leadership skills they have acquired could be further developed at Elon, in the practice of law, and in their communities.
Throughout the school year, Leadership Fellows meet in small groups with visiting scholars and speakers at the law school. They also have formed committees on service and community engagement, curricular development, and leadership programs and lectures. Click here for more information about the fellows, including reports on their summer employment experiences and third-year capstone projects.
Biographies of Leadership Fellows in the Class of 2014:
Landra Cunningham
Landra earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, summa cum laude, from North Carolina State University in 2003. She earned a Master of Science degree in Technical Communication from NC State in 2006. Through a graduate teaching assistantship, Landra taught Communication for Business Management courses at NC State while earning her masters degree and assisted in the management of the professional writing program in the university’s Department of English. She also served as a research assistant in the Department of Communication while at NC State, conducting research and editing materials for faculty. Since 2004, Landra has served as technical writer and project manager with SAS Institute Inc., a business analytics software and services company. Her volunteer activities include work with Motheread, providing advocacy for reading to young children and literacy for parents, Shepherd’s Table Soup Kitchen, and Service Raleigh, a student led annual day of service in Raleigh. Landra has tutored at the Raleigh Community Learning Center and Grace Church. She has published research in the Journal of Black Studies and presented research at the National Communication Association annual conference and the International Conference on Social Sciences.
Tyrone A. Davis II
A graduate of North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Arts (2007) and a Master of Public Administration (2009), Tyrone majored in political science as an undergraduate and concentrated in environmental and energy policy in graduate school. He has served as Sustainability Coordinator for Elizabeth City State University, Climate Corps Fellow with the Environmental Defense Fund and Elizabeth City State University, and as an intern with the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center/Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments, and the Durham Mediation Center. His collegiate activities included membership in the NC State University political science club and the National Society of Black Engineers, as well as participation in research projects on waste management and light emission from nuclear reactors. Tyrone is the recipient of the NC State Chancellor’s Leadership Award (2001), the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Essay Scholarship (2001), the inter-institutional Public Administration Scholarship (2008), and several other scholarships. He participated in the North Carolina Desert Conference of Shrine Temples and Courts from 2001 to 2004.
Caroline Johnson
Caroline earned her undergraduate degrees, cum laude, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2009, with a double major in History and Peace, War, and Defense. As an undergraduate, she authored an honors thesis entitled The Just War Theory in the Fourteenth Century: Political, Religious, and Moral Considerations. She earned a Master of Science in Criminal Justice, specializing in homeland security, from Saint Joseph’s University in 2011. Caroline has served as a research assistant with The Police Foundation in London, England, conducting comparative research in the fields of prisoner detainment and juvenile delinquency. She has also worked as a program analyst for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and as an intern for both St. Jude Medical and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Since 2009, Caroline has served as a captain of Darius Goes West, an organization dedicated to supporting research related to Duchenne muscular dystrophy. While at the UNC-Chapel Hill, she was selected as the fundraising co-director for the Eve Marie Carson Memorial Scholarship. Other activities that Caroline participated in also included serving as an elementary tutor and acting in leadership for Start for the Heart, an organization dedicated to providing financial support to underprivileged children with heart disease in North Carolina.
Benjamin A. Kempton
Benjamin earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science at Wake Forest University (2011). He attended the London School of Economics in 2010. He has served as the head of sports broadcasting for Wake TV since 2009. He has also held positions as producer and executive board member with Wake TV and as an IT Consultant contract employee.
He created and edited film used on ESPNU’s website in 2009 and served as Sports Liaison for the ESPN Campus Connection program in 2008. Benjamin is a third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, a nationally certified black belt instructor, and Men’s Grand Champion (2005) and Instructor of the Year (2005 and 2006). He has volunteered with Catholic Parish Outreach since 2006.
David Lambert
David earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2011 where he double majored in political science and sociology. David has served as campaign manager for a candidate seeking election to the Moore County Board of Education and as an intern in the Washington, DC office of U.S. Representative Howard Coble. He interned with Guilford Education Alliance in 2010 and served as assistant marketing director for GodChasers.network in 2007. He has also served as worship director and treasurer at 24/7 Christian Church.
At UNCG, David served as President of Pi Sigma Alpha national political science honor society, Senator of the UNCG Student Government Association, and Delegate,Secretary and Chairman of the legislative and public affairs committee of the UNC Association of Student Governments. He was inducted as an Honorary Member into the National Society of Leadership and Success and as a member in Alpha Kappa Delta international sociology honor society. He was also very active as a peer leadership counselor for Spartans Leading Spartans. He received the 2010 Senator of the Year award at UNCG and was the recipient of the 2010 Alexander Scholarship in the Department of Political Science at UNCG.
Brenna Ragghianti
Brenna earned a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English and a minor in Women’s Studies from Rhodes College in 2005. She earned a Masters of Public Administration and an American Humanics Nonprofit Management Certificate from the University of Memphis in 2009. While at Rhodes College, Brenna received Rhodes Award and Performance Award scholarships and was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Sigma Tau Delta (English), and Iota Iota Iota (Women’s Studies) honor societies. She served as vice president and treasurer for Iota Iota Iota. At the University of Memphis, she was a member of Pi Alpha Alpha (Public Affairs and Administration), Golden Key International, and Pinnacle honor societies. Brenna has worked for the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis since 2007, most recently as Development and Donor Relations Manager. She has also worked in the offices of the Scottish Qualifications Authority, the national accreditation and awarding body for individuals and academic institutions in Scotland, and in tourism and executive coaching companies. She served as president of the Rhodes College Gay-Straight Alliance from 2002 to 2005, editor of The Link alternative school newspaper from 2004 to 2005, and special projects coordinator for Kinney Service Organization, a service and civic engagement program of Rhodes College. Brenna’s volunteer activities include service with Meals on Wheels, Souper Contact, and Ryan White Funding for the Mid-South.
Andrew Davidson Realon
Andrew earned a Bachelor of Arts in Human Relations, magna cum laude, from High Point University in 2011. He has held work and intern positions in the communications office of the North Carolina Department of the State Treasurer, the Guilford County District Attorney’s Office, and the office of admissions at High Point University. While at High Point University, Andrew was elected by the student body to serve as president of the Student Government Association. Before serving as president of the SGA, Andrew served as its executive council secretary and freshman class representative. Founding Father of Pi Kappa Phi at High Point University, Andrew served as that fraternity’s chapter president and historian. Peers at High Point University recognized him with multiple awards for outstanding campus involvement, academic merit, and leadership. Andrew studied abroad in Ireland in 2010 and participated in the National Conference for Student Leadership in Los Angeles, California in 2009.