Tom Campbell is the creator, executive producer, and moderator of NC SPIN. Tom comes from a rich family tradition of public involvement in North Carolina. His family founded Campbell University as well as WNCT-TV, the first television station in eastern North Carolina. Tom worked in his family's broadcast business for over 24 years, writing and delivering daily radio editorials.

NC SPIN gives Tom the opportunity to involve two of his passions, broadcasting and politics. Prior to starting NC SPIN Campbell was the Assistant Treasurer for the State of North Carolina, licensee of WRAZ-TV "FOX50" in the Raleigh-Durham market, and co-founder of The Family Business Institute, a consulting firm for family and closely held companies. His My SPIN editorials have appeared in newspapers across the state and he is often a guest of talk radio stations.

Of his brainchild NC SPIN, Campbell says, " You can't expect people to make good decisions at the ballot box, the business place, or at the store if they aren't properly informed. Our mission is to present a balance, in-depth debate on issues of importance to North Carolina. It doesn't matter if you agree or disagree with our panel. We just want you to be informed so that you can form your own opinions."

Tom and his Methodist minister wife, Lib, have a son and daughter and four grandchildren.

Born in Nash County, Gene Arnold graduated from Rocky Mount Senior High School and later from UNC-Wilmington. From 1993-2002 Gene was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. During Gene’s Political activities he was the co-chair of the Finance Committee as well as Senior Chair of Education Appropriations Committee and authored ABC Education Legislation.

Gene’s professional career entailed owning The Dairy Bar, as well as being an Executive with Hardee’s Food Systems. Gene has three children and 2 grandchildren. He and his wife Lynne are members of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Rocky Mount.

Jack Betts is associate editor of The Charlotte Observer. Based in Raleigh, he writes editorials and columns about politics and public policy, and, when he can get away with it, boats, baseball and barbecue. He has been a member of the Observer's editorial board since 1992 and has appeared on public television and public radio in North Carolina. A graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, he has been a Pentagon photographer, editor of North Carolina Insight magazine and Raleigh and Washington correspondent for the Greensboro Daily News. He has won first place in the N.C. Press Association editorial contest six times and is a member of the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame.

Brad Crone is president of Campaign Connections, a Raleigh-based political/public affairs consulting firm. Crone founded the firm in 1991 after serving as publisher of The Thomasville Times and the Clayton Star. In politics, Crone worked with D. M. “Lauch” Faircloth when he ran for Governor as a Democrat in 1984 and served as a special assistant to N. C. Commissioner of Agriculture Jim Graham.

Crone has consulted in more than 100 North Carolina elections since 1992. He is a member of the American Association of Political Consultants and serves as an instructor at the National Campaign Training Seminar sponsored by Congressional Quarterly and Campaigns & Elections magazine. Brad writes a weekly newspaper column and voices a weekly radio commentary.

He is a former member of Rotary, former Thomasville bank director for BB & T, and volunteers for Deaf-Blind services of North Carolina and North Carolina 4-H.

Born in Boone, Rufus has a lengthy record of public service. He was educated at UNC Chapel Hill, attaining his law degree. From 1964-74 he was aide and chief counsel to Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr., serving as deputy chief counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee.

From 1974-84 Rufus was Attorney General of North Carolina and became the Democratic nominee for Governor in 1984. From 1989-96 he was Secretary of State and remains active in several national organizations relating to his state service.

Rufus and wife Linda are involved in several civic endeavors. Rufus is the founder of the Extra Special Super Kids Scholarship Program and holds an annual fundraiser for the kids. He is a partner in the law firm Edmisten and Webb.

Tom Fetzer is a principal in Fetzer Stephens, a Raleigh, North Carolina based strategic communications and consulting firm.

Fetzer Stephens offers a wide array of services, including government relations, political strategy, public affairs and corporate communications. Its clients include Senator Elizabeth Dole, Senator Richard Burr, the Republican National Committee, IBM and Pfizer.

Tom Fetzer became Raleigh’s first ever Republican Mayor in 1993, in an election hailed by the Wall Street Journal as “the most impressive reform victory in the country” that year. During his tenure in office, Raleigh was named America’s #1 City for Business (Money Magazine) and the #1 Place to Live in America (Fortune Magazine).

Fetzer was one of a handful of young, innovative mayors who revitalized local governments by dramatically improving the quality of municipal services while simultaneously reducing the costs. In a city that had raised taxes seven times in the nine years preceding his election, Fetzer cut taxes four times in his three terms (for a total reduction of 15%), while increasing the size of the police department by 50%, reducing crime and improving essential city services like transportation, sanitation, parks and recreation, public housing and water quality. He also helped found Community Learning Centers—an innovative after school initiative to combat alarming drop-out rates in Raleigh’s inner –city neighborhoods.

At the conclusion of his third term as Mayor in 1999, Fetzer accepted a teaching fellowship at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Additionally, he wrote and lectured for the John Locke Foundation, a public policy think tank and founded the Center for Local Innovation, as well as his own non-profit, Private Initiatives in Education, to explore and promote innovative alternatives for improving our children’s intellectual development and academic performance.

From 2001 to 2003, Fetzer served as Chief Executive of the United States Tennis Association where he managed a $60 million business unit which coordinated the association’s community outreach efforts and programs. Under his leadership, the USTA launched First Serve, an unprecedented initiative to improve the lives of American’s inner-city children through education, mentoring and tennis.

Fetzer is a graduate of Wake Forest University with a degree in political science. His father was a college football coach who later became a dentist and his mother was a high school tennis and golf coach. Consequently he has had a lifelong love affair with sports and currently is an avid golfer, tennis player and cyclist.

He currently serves on the Board of WakeMed.

Chris Fitzsimon is the Director of NC Policy Watch, a project of the A.J. Fletcher Foundation in Raleigh. Fitzsimon writes the daily Fitzsimon File, delivers a daily radio commentary that is broadcast statewide on the North Carolina News Network, and hosts News and Views, a weekly radio news magazine that also airs on the network stations.

Prior to NC Policy Watch, Fitzsimon served as the spokesman of the Campaign to Protect America’s Lands, a national, nonpartisan advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. The Campaign works on a wide variety issues affecting public lands and the Department of the Interior and publishes a newsletter, issues policy reports and works with local groups across the country.

Before heading to Washington, Fitzsimon was the Founder and for nine years the Executive Director of the Common Sense Foundation in Raleigh, North Carolina. Common Sense is a nonpartisan, nonprofit public policy foundation whose mission is to expand the policy debate in North Carolina to include the views and voices of those traditionally locked out of that debate.

He is also a frequent speaker across North Carolina on government and politics. Fitzsimon has been quoted in scores of national publications including the New York Times, USA Today, the Christian Science Monitor, the Nation, and Columbia Journalism Review.

Fitzsimon appears weekly on N.C. Spin, a North Carolina television news talk show aired on stations across the state.

Chris was an award-winning television news reporter for nine years, including four years at North Carolina Public Television and three years at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, where he covered government and politics. In 1991 he left WRAL to become Special Assistant for Policy and Communications for House Speaker Dan Blue. He left Speaker Blue in the spring of 1994 and founded the Common Sense Foundation later that summer. Fitzsimon, who lives in Raleigh, has a B.A. in Journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Becki Gray is the Vice President for Outreach at the John Locke Foundation. She has experience in the legal profession, as a former Director of Communications for the House Minority Leader of the North Carolina House of Representatives and as a lobbyist.

She has appeared on the television shows Political Connections and NCSpin, as a guest on “Take a Stand” radio show in Asheville and as a frequent guest on Carolina Journal Radio. She writes a monthly column for Carolina Journal and her op-eds have been published in newspapers across the state. She frequently speaks to civic and political groups about public policy and legislative issues.

She majored in Art at Queens College in Charlotte and also holds a Paralegal Certificate from Meredith College. She has done graduate work at UNC-Charlotte and UNC-Greensboro.

She is a member of the first class of the E.A. Morris Fellowship for Emerging Leaders, a statewide leadership program.

Henry Hinton, a 1975 East Carolina University graduate, is president and founder of Hinton Media Group in Greenville. His 30 year career includes management in radio and television in the Greenville, Raleigh and Chapel Hill markets. He has also worked in sports broadcasting including the Tar Heel Sports Network at UNC-Chapel Hill and the Pirate Sports Network at ECU.

Hinton Media operates WNCT-AM Talk 1070 and Cable 7 Television in eastern NC. Hinton has long been the host of a popular morning radio and cable TV program on those stations, Talk of the Town. Hinton is also the managing partner of Inner Banks Media which owns four FM properties east of I-95 operating as Thunder Country 96.3 & 103.7 and the New Hot FM 94.1 & 94.3.

Hinton is formerly the Chairman of the Greenville-Pitt Chamber of Commerce. He is also the former President of the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters and currently serves on that board of directors. He also served on the board of directors for the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research through 2006.

Hinton was named Greenville's Small Business Leader of the Year for 2002. He has received the Distinguished Service Award from both East Carolina University and the NC Association of Broadcasters.

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Theresa K. Kostrzewa, is a longtime North Carolinian with wide experience in state and local politics. She began her political career as Director of Special Projects for the Vote America Foundation in Washington, DC.

Theresa’s accomplishments include having managed the successful campaign of now-Justice Robert Orr for the North Carolina Court of Appeals and two years later, she managed his successful campaign for a seat on the Supreme Court of North Carolina. Theresa then moved to the General Assembly, in the office of House Majority Leader Leo Daughtry in 1995. She served as his press and policy advisor.

Theresa has continued her work as a lobbyist and political consultant on the state and local level.

Born in Currituck County, Joe graduated from New Bern High School, then UNC Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He earned a Masters at George Washington and was a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College. He was a Marine fighter pilot, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Joe returned to North Carolina and was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly in 1980. Serving a total of 15 years, Joe became nationally known when he successfully led an effort to oust long-time House Speaker Liston Ramsey. Joe served as Speaker from 1989-90.

The father of two sons, Mitchell and Michael, Joe and wife Laura attend Edenton Street Methodist Church. Joe is currently writing a book about understanding North Carolina.

Lisa Price is an award-winning news reporter and anchor for WPTF News. In addition to anchoring the newscasts on the top-rated Rush Limbaugh show, Lisa is also the executive producer of WPTF's morning show, North Carolina's Morning News, and the afternoon-based Bill Lumaye Show.

Lisa graduated from North Carolina State University with degrees in Business Management and Speech Communications. She started her broadcast career at the age of 16 while still in high school. Beginning at a smaller Garner radio station, Lisa quickly moved up to WQDR-FM in Raleigh, where she was on the air throughout her high school and college years.

After graduating from NCSU, Lisa worked for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, DuPont, and spent several years as a marketing specialist with Asea Brown Boveri (ABB). Lisa never lost her love for broadcasting, and in 2003 she joined Curtis Media Group as a reporter/anchor for several of CMG's radio stations.

Lisa has won several broadcast awards, most notably from the Associated Press. She is also a panelist on Editor's Roundtable, a weekly public affairs program hosted by Curtis Media Group owner Don Curtis, where she is able to utilize her knowledge of local events and politics along with her love of history.

Lisa and her husband have one child, a son who attends college locally. She is an avid writer of fiction, with several novels completed. Her other interests include collecting movies and making jewelry.

Elaine Mejia is the director of the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center, a project of the North Carolina Justice Center. As North Carolina’s most visible independent expert on state fiscal policies affecting low- and moderate- income people, she has a detailed understanding of how public-sector policies impact working families and economic development.

Mejia has published innumerable reports and is a frequent source for reporters trying to understand the intricacies of the state budget process. She is widely sought out because of her unique ability to explain complex fiscal and economic theories in a way anyone can understand. She puts this talent to good use by conducting presentations on policy issues for community groups all over the state.

Before joining the Justice Center, Mejia worked as a budget and management analyst for Orange County, NC and also served as a North Carolina Governor's Public Management Fellow with the Office of State Budget and Management and the Office of State Personnel. She received a Master of Public Administration degree from the UNC - Chapel Hill and a B.S. in Political Science from Texas A&M University. Elaine, her husband Brian Bullard, and their two sons live in a historic home in Faison in Duplin County, where they enjoy the close-knit community and small-town atmosphere.

Cash Michaels is the award-winning editor, chief reporter, photographer and columnist for The Carolinian newspaper, the twice-weekly African-American publication covering Raleigh and the Triangle for more than 65 years. Michaels is also a staff writer and award-winning columnist for the Wilmington Journal newspaper in Wilmington, NC. From 1999 to 2007, Michaels co-hosted NBC 17 News “At Issue” with Donna Martinez and Verna Collins. He has also been an on-air personality, producer and director on several radio stations in Raleigh and Durham. Michaels is happily married to his wife of six years and he has two daughters.

Ruth Sheehan, metro columnist for The News & Observer in Raleigh, is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She fled two days after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has never looked back. She began her reporting career at the Burlington Times-News and a year later began covering state government and politics for the Freedom Newspapers chain in North Carolina. In 1991, she joined The N & O; she became a columnist in 1999.

Sheehan and her husband Harry Payne, chairman of the state Employment Security Commission, have three sons.