Local Limelight with Jordan Whichard of NP Strategy
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Photo illustration: Axios Visuals; Photo: Courtesy of NP Strategy
For the past four years, Jordan Whichard served as the chief deputy secretary of the N.C. Department of Commerce, helping the state land job expansions and run key job training programs and unemployment insurance.
- It was the culmination of a career in politics that has spanned roles from the White House to the Governor's Mansion in Raleigh.
State of play: Now, the veteran of North Carolina politics is taking that experience to help lead the Raleigh office of NP Strategy, a government relations and strategic communications firm.
We talked with Whichard for our latest Local Limelight conversation. This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
🗳️ How did you end up in the Triangle? I grew up in Greenville and went to UNC-Chapel Hill, so that originally brought me to the Triangle. Then I moved to D.C. to work in politics from 2008 until 2015.
- But when my wife, Jessica, and I thought about where we wanted to be, Raleigh and the Triangle always stood out. On my way down here, I worked on then-Attorney General Roy Cooper's announcement to run for governor, and about a year later I joined his administration.
🍽️ Favorite place to eat in the Triangle? There is no question that it is Stanbury.
📚 Last great book you read? "The Devil at His Elbow," a chronicling of the Murdaugh family murders by the Raleigh-based journalist Valerie Bauerlein.
⚾️ What do you think the Triangle is missing? A Major League Baseball franchise. I think one more franchise to add to the Carolina Hurricanes and the NC Courage, which is a top-tier franchise that we go to a lot, would really put the Triangle in another tier of conversation.
- I think an MLB team would help bring us more headquarters operations to the Triangle, which is something that's always been sort of a knock on the region. We don't have a ton of headquarters.
📧 What's your first read in the morning? I read the Daily Digest from Business North Carolina, Axios Raleigh and then the previous day's "Marketplace" podcast.
🎧 Do you have any other go-to podcasts? I've been really into one called "The Spy Who Ran Mossad's Fake Hotel," about a Mossad operation to rescue Ethiopian Jews and bring them to Jerusalem, and another called "Search Engine."
🐟 Favorite long weekend spot? A family place along the Pamlico River in Beaufort County.
🏈 What's something you're looking forward to? Watching UNC open their season against TCU under the lights in Chapel Hill.