Dr. Laura Bethea is a distinguished Higher Education Scholar-Administrator, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion, Title IX Administrator, Career Strategist, and Community Liaison. She currently serves in the Office of the President at Wake Tech Community College and as an Equity Coach and Title IX Advisory Board Member with N.C. Community College System. She has served as the college’s Equity Team Lead and Chair of the inaugural DEI Council. Her scholarly research has focused on cultural competence and Title IX in higher education. 

 

Dr. Bethea’s previous work experiences include career coaching, rehabilitation counseling and testing, outpatient therapy services, and substance abuse treatment services. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from N.C. Central University, an M.S. in Rehabilitation Psychology and Counseling from UNC Chapel Hill, and Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership from East Carolina University.

 

Dr. Bethea has earned numerous awards and honors including 5x Benchmarking Grant Award Winner, Excellence in Service Award recipient, 2x East Carolina University’s Mack and Margaret Coble Doctoral Fellowship, N.C. Career Development Association’s Best Practices Grant Award, and N.C. Counseling Association’s Innovation and Creativity Award, and 4-H Volunteer Leader Service Award (17-year). She is also a graduate of the NACE Leadership Program and Wake Tech’s Leadership Management Program and a member of Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in Education, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

 

Additionally, Dr. Bethea serves as the newly elected Chair of the African American Cultural Festival of Raleigh and Wake County, the first woman to hold this role in the organization's 14 years.