Jacob Hunter

Jacob Hunter supports MDC Rural Forward’s community resilience portfolio and our work in the Beaufort County region of NC.

He is a Master of Public Policy student at UNC-Chapel Hill with a concentration in Environment and Human Welfare. Born and raised in Kinston, North Carolina, Jacob graduated with a B.A. in Political Science and Public Policy and a minor in Music from UNC-Chapel Hill in May 2023. His policy areas of interest are related to rural community development, social policy and inequality, and natural disaster mitigation and recovery policy.

During his undergraduate career, Jacob worked as a data entry intern and survey interviewer for the DEEPP Project at the Carolina Population Center. In this capacity, he spent time collecting data through comprehensive field interviews with residents in rural areas to understand the environmental, economic, social, and psychological impacts of hurricanes and flooding in coastal Carolina communities. Jacob has also recently completed a capstone project at UNC-Chapel Hill in which he partnered with Environmental Defense Fund to study market drivers and barriers for state funding of natural infrastructure as a flood mitigation tool in North Carolina.

Jacob joined MDC in May 2023.