Director | pbharris@northcarolina.edu
Patti B. Harris is the Director of GEAR UP North Carolina where she develops and oversees statewide programming and college access initiatives, building and sustaining relationships with national and local community partners to leverage support for GEAR UP related activities, and manages external partnerships to enhance student success at secondary and post-secondary levels. Prior to working with GEAR UP, Patti served as director of the NC State College Advising Corps, a college-access non-profit whose mission is to increase the number of first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students who enter and complete higher education.
Patti has earned her Master of Education in Higher Education Administration from North Carolina State University (2014) and her bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2010). Currently, Patti is working on her PhD in Higher Education from North Carolina State University. As a first-generation college student, and North Carolina native, Patti serves to ensure all students have access and opportunity to earn a post-secondary credential.