Henry McKoy, Triangle economist, entrepreneurial leader, and community advocate accepts Presidential appointment

professional headshot of Henry McKoy

By Jason Parker August 5, 2022

 
DURHAM – A professor at North Carolina Central University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an entrepreneurial leader.  A community leader in charge of a revitalization effort in a historic neighborhood in downtown Durham.  And a former official with the North Carolina Department of Commerce and former appointee of the North Carolina Economic Development Board that advocates for equity in workforce development. That’s all the same person: Dr. Henry McKoy.  And though McKoy’s current and past roles read as quite the biography, he’s accepted a new one. Accepting a Presidential appointment, McKoy added another title, and is now the inaugural director of the office of state and community energy programs at the United States Department of Energy. “I feel honored to be tapped as the Inaugural Director of this new office within the US Department of Energy,” McKoy told WRAL TechWire in an interview in early August.  “The office will oversee a team doing incredible work on behalf of the President’s White House Infrastructure and Climate Team through the Department of Energy.” WRAL TechWire spoke with Dr. McKoy about the role, which requires him to relocate to Washington, D.C., under congressional law requiring that all Presidential appointees reside in the District of Columbia.  A lightly edited transcript of that conversation appears below.