Anna Shelton-Ormond

Born and raised in Greenville, N.C., Anna graduated Phi Beta Kappa in May of 2015 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in Sociology and Communications and a minor in Women and Gender Studies.

Anna joined MDC as the 2015-2016 Autry Fellow and is now a Program Associate. As the 2015-2016 Autry Fellow at MDC, Anna provided critical support and insight to the “North Carolina’s Economic Imperative: Building an Infrastructure of Opportunity” report in partnership with the J.M. Belk Endowment, Great Expectations, and the State of the South blog, among other accomplishments. She has studied and researched the frameworks that leaders in the South are using to create and sustain social and economic change, particularly for those who have been systemically disconnected from opportunity. As Program Associate, Anna will continue this work, as well as support MDC’s development projects, including planning and coordinating events for MDC’s 50th Anniversary.

As an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Anna contributed to a number of social and economic justice efforts in areas ranging from feminism to elder care to anti-violence education. Additionally, Anna conducted extensive qualitative research for her sociology honors thesis addressing the intersection between Southern culture and inequity. Her research examined the annual North Carolina debutante ball in Raleigh, N.C., with a focus on participant motivation and rationalization. She used her findings as a platform on which to critically discuss both the display and reproduction of social, cultural, and economic inequity within the state. Anna’s research received highest honors, and she presented her findings at the Southern Sociological Society’s 2015 Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.