North Carolina's efforts to rebuild communities after natural disasters have faced a recent shakeup with the departure of Laura Hogshead, the former chief operating officer for the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. Hogshead's exit follows criticism from GOP state lawmakers regarding the office's handling of recovery projects related to Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina.
Pryor Gibson, a legislative lobbyist for Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, has stepped in as the interim replacement for Hogshead. The office, also known as ReBuild NC, was established by Cooper to enhance infrastructure in eastern North Carolina following the impacts of Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018.
