Deanna Ballard

Deanna Ballard is the founder and principal of Evergreen Management Consulting, where she provides strategic guidance to clients across education, economic development, and nonprofit sectors. She currently serves on the board of NCInnovation and myFutureNC, and on the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation Board of Directors.

Ballard served as a North Carolina State Senator representing the 45th District from 2016 to 2022, where she represented approximately 200,000 constituents in the northwest mountains. As Co-chair of Education/Higher Education Policy and Appropriations, she developed and negotiated a $16 billion education budget supporting K-12, community colleges, and the UNC System. Her legislative work focused on bipartisan collaboration, building public-private partnerships across education and business sectors, and connecting state resources to strengthen local communities.

Prior to her state legislative service, Ballard held senior leadership positions at Samaritan’s Purse and Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. She previously served in the White House as Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Director of Scheduling and Advance in the Office of First Lady Laura Bush, and as Director of Scheduling and Advance for Secretary Michael Chertoff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Ballard contributes to various media and online news sources, writing on rural schools, civic leadership, and community resiliency.