Board of Advisors

Chad Adams is the Director of the Center for Local Innovation, the former Vice President of Development for the John Locke Foundation, and former Vice Chairman of the Lee County Board of Commissioners. Chad has appeared on CNBC as well as numerous television stations across the state. His op-eds have appeared in dozens of newspapers, and he is the primary guest host for the "Take A Stand" radio show in Asheville.

Marilyn Avila is a Representative in the General Assembly, District 40. After graduating from Georgia Southern University with a B.S. in Chemistry, she worked as a chemist with Hanes Hosiery until starting her own business in 1979. In 1991, Marilyn joined the staff of the John Locke Foundation and served in a number of positions until her election to the legislature. She has been active in the Wake County Republican Party and served as its Chairperson from 2003-2006.

Richard T. Bowser is an Associate Professor of Law at Campbell University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law. Before joining the law school he practiced in the Washington, DC area, specializing in church-state law and tax-exempt organizations. Richard teaches courses on Constitutional Law, Estate Gift Taxation, Estate Planning, and Jurisprudence.

Gene Boyce is an attorney with Boyce and Isley. He has successfully litigated several pivotal lawsuits striking down unconstitutional state taxes, including the Bailey/Emory/Patton settlement on retiree pensions and the Smith and Shaver intangibles tax case. Boyce formerly served as Asst. Majority Counsel to U.S. Sen. Sam J. Ervin and the Watergate Committee in 1973, and as counsel to U.S. Senate Ethics Committee. In 2002, Boyce received the John W. Pope, Sr. Award for the Advancement of Freedom in North Carolina.

Tom Campbell is the creator, executive producer, and moderator of NC SPIN. Prior to starting NC SPIN, Campbell was the Assistant Treasurer for the State of North Carolina, licensee of WRAZ-TV "FOX50" in the Raleigh-Durham market, and co-founder of The Family Business Institute, a consulting firm for family and closely held companies. His MY SPIN editorials have appeared in newspapers across the state and he is often a guest of talk radio stations.

J. Russell Capps, now retired, served as a Representative in the State General Assembly from 1994 to 2007. Prior to his election as Representative he held management positions in several state and Wake County agencies, as well as having been a news reporter, anchor, and announcer for WRAL TV for over 15 years. Russell currently serves on the boards of numerous civic organizations.

Don Carrington is Vice President of the John Locke Foundation and Executive Editor of Carolina Journal, the monthly newspaper of the John Locke Foundation. His duties include investigative reporting, research, and photography. Don’s previous work experience in North Carolina includes economic and employment research in state government, private-sector marketing, and economic development.

Paul Y. Coble, former Mayor of Raleigh, is a Wake County Commissioner and serves as Vice Chairman of the Commission. He also serves on the board of Directors of WakeMed Health and Hospital, the Wake 200 Club, and the Advisory Board of Central YMCA. Previously, he served as Vice President of the Wake County Taxpayers Association and the Raleigh City Council, District E. Paul is an insurance broker and partner in the firm of Coble, Nicholson & Associates, LLC.

Francis X. De Luca is Executive Director of the John W. Pope Civitas Institute. He was formerly the NC State Director of Americans for Prosperity. De Luca is a Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve and most recently served four years on active duty after 9/11. He served combat tours during Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Gulf War including flying combat missions. He has a degree in Political Science from UNC-Wilmington and a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of West Florida.

Gilbert L. Gates is a partner in the law firm Keziah, Gates & Samet, LLP in High Point, practicing primarily in the area of commercial real estate law. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of Guilford College and is an officer and director of a privately owned distributor of building materials, hardware, and industrial supplies in High Point. He has served as President of the High Point and 18th Judicial District Bar Associations, as Board Chair of the United Way of Greater High Point, and as a director or trustee of various other civic and charitable organizations in High Point.

Becki Gray is Vice President for Outreach for the John Locke Foundation. She provides information, consultation, and publications to elected officials, government staff, and other decision makers involved in the state public-policy process. Becki writes a monthly column for Carolina Journal and has appeared on the television shows Political Connections and NC Spin. She frequently speaks to civic and political groups about public policy and legislative issues and is a registered lobbyist.

Bernard Harrell graduated from Wake Forest Law School and served in the military with the Army Judge Advocates Office. He has been on the staff of the Institute of Government and the NC Attorney General. Harrell practiced law in Raleigh and retired as Director of the NC Civil War Tourism Council.

John Hood is a weekly panelist on NC Spin and is Chairman and President of the John Locke Foundation. He is a former reporter for The New Republic and has authored three books: The Heroic Enterprise, Investor Politics, and Selling the Dream: Why Advertising Is Good Business. He is a syndicated columnist for High Point Enterprise, Durham Herald-Sun, and over forty other newspapers in North Carolina.

Marshall Hurley, General Counsel to the North Carolina Republican Party, is an attorney in Greensboro. His practice of law has included civil litigation, construction law, and government-related issues, such as state and federal election law matters. He has served as Special Counsel to the North Carolina Senate, counsel to the Republican National Committee, president of the North Carolina Electoral College, and is a frequent continuing legal education lecturer on election law and voting rights issues

Jeff Katz hosts an afternoon radio talk show, The Jeff Katz Show, from 3PM to 6PM on WBT AM & FM in Charlotte. A native of Philadelphia, he worked as a police officer there before trading in his badge for a microphone. He has hosted award winning talk shows in several major markets and is a columnist for the Rhino Times newspaper. He serves on the boards of several organizations in the Charlotte area, including Charlotte’s Republican Jewish Coalition, Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation, and the Board of Visitors for Lifespan Services, which serves the needs of the disabled community in North Carolina.

Robert L. Luddy is President and CEO of Captive-Aire Systems, Inc., a commercial kitchen ventilation manufacturer based near Raleigh. He founded his first company, a fiberglass manufacturing firm, while still in college. His past civic and political involvement includes serving as Chairman of Gov. Jim Hunt’s NC Entrepreneurial Development Board, Chairman of the NC Child Advocacy Council, and Head of Government Efficiency Commissions for the City of Raleigh, Wake County, and the State of North Carolina.

William H. “Chip” Mellor is President and General Counsel of the Institute for Justice, which he co-founded in 1991. He was recently described by Inc. magazine as one of Washington entrepreneurs’ best friends for drawing national attention to eminent domain abuse through the now renowned Kelo U.S. Supreme Court case and for launching the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago.

Perri Morgan is President of Capitol Monitor, Inc., an organization devoted to increasing voter participation by advocating transparency and expanding public understanding of North Carolina state government spending and the public policy-making process. She has more than twenty years of experience as an advocate for closely-held businesses, including a decade as State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business.

Michael C. Munger is Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Duke University. Previously, he taught at Dartmouth College (economics), the University of Texas/Austin (government), and UNC Chapel Hill (public administration and political science). In addition to more than 80 articles and papers published in professional journals and edited volumes, he has co-authored/co-edited four books: Ideology and the Theory of Political Choice, Analytical Politics, Empirical Studies in Comparative Politics, and Analyzing Policy.

Walter H. Nunnallee is and has been a tax professor at NC Central University School of Law in Durham, North Carolina since 1987. He has authored numerous tax articles, frequently lectures at tax conferences, and is a nationally recognized leader for tax-oriented CLE and CPE seminars throughout the country. A member of the NC Association of Certified Public Accountants and the NC Bar Association, he also serves on the Board of Advisors of the J. Nelson Young Tax Institute.

David W. Riggs is Vice President of Operations and Programs at the John William Pope Foundation. He previously served as an environmental program officer at the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation in Washington, D.C. David taught economics at George Mason University and has held senior fellow positions at the Capital Research Center, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the Center of the American Experiment.

Robert E. Skiver, a 1973 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, served with the U.S. Army before receiving his J.D. from New York University School of Law. A member of the North Carolina Bar, Bob retired from the U.S. Department of Justice in 2007 after working almost 24 years as a state and federal criminal prosecutor. Bob has taught practicing attorneys at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, SC, as well as being an occasional guest teacher at both UNC and Duke University Schools of Law.

Paul Stam is an attorney at Stam, Fordham & Danchi, P.A., currently serves as Minority Leader in the NC House of Representatives and practices law with an emphasis on real estate litigation, titles, municipal law, and constitutional litigation. He has extensive litigation experience on the appellate level and previously served as Clerk for Justice (later Chief Justice) James G. Exum, Jr., NC Supreme Court.

Heather Royster served as legal counsel for Variety Wholesalers, Inc. and staff attorney for the NC Chapter of the Institute of Justice. She was Interim Executive Director of NCICL 2003-2004. She is currently working toward an M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Kory Swanson is Executive Vice President and Assistant Treasurer for the John Locke Foundation. Prior to joining the John Locke Foundation, Swanson was Executive Manager for the Social Philosophy & Policy Center at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He holds an M.A. in Philosophy from Bowling Green State University and a J.D. from the University of Toledo.

Dallas Woodhouse is the State Director of Americans for Prosperity-North Carolina, having previously served as AFP’s Communications and Legislative Director. Dallas’ dedication to the principles of limited government and free markets makes him an outstanding advocate for North Carolina taxpayers. Through his leadership, AFP continues to fight against ever-increasing taxes in North Carolina and support free-market solutions to state and local problems.