Chair Pamela Thorpe Young

Governor Michael F. Easley named Pamela Thorpe Young as Chair of the North Carolina Industrial Commission, effective October 1, 2007, and subsequently reappointed her. She was initially named a Commissioner in May 2003, and became Vice Chair of the Commission in April 2004.

As Chair, Young is the agency’s chief executive officer and chief judicial officer. She manages a $10 million budget, supervises 150 employees, and directs an agency responsible for the adjudication of workers’ compensation claims and tort claims against the state. The Commission currently processes more than 60,000 workers’ compensation claims annually, orders more than 9,600 mediations, conducts more than 1,800 hearings, handles 500 appeals, and processes tens of thousands of motions, orders, and form approvals. 

Before her 2003 appointment as a Commissioner of the North Carolina Industrial Commission Young served as a Deputy Commissioner for the Industrial Commission from 1996 until 2002. Before joining the Industrial Commission, she served as Deputy Secretary and Legal Counsel for the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.

She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1980 and J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law in 1985.

Chair Young’s previous work experience includes Assistant District Attorney and Assistant County Attorney in Travis County, Texas; Assistant General Counsel of the Texas Ethics Commission; Ethics Advisor and Counselor for Speaker James E. “Pete” Laney of the Texas House of Representatives; and Policy Analyst for the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management. She is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, Texas State Bar, North Carolina Bar Association, North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Section of the North Carolina Bar Association and the Wake County Bar Association.

To e-mail Chair Young, click Pamela.Young@ic.nc.gov.

Laura Kranifeld Mavretic 

Commissioner Laura Kranifeld Mavretic

Governor Jim Hunt first appointed Laura Kranifeld Mavretic as Commissioner in August of 1995, and she has subsequently been reappointed. Commissioner Mavretic previously served as a Deputy Commissioner since November 1993.

She earned an undergraduate degree from Furman University in 1971, pursued graduate work in education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and earned a J.D. degree from Campbell University School of Law in May of 1981.

Her previous work experience includes appeals referee for the Employment Security Commission; private practice; assistant general counsel for the N.C. League of Municipalities; staff attorney for the City of Gastonia; and research assistant for the N.C. Court of Appeals. She is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, North Carolina Bar Association, Wake County Bar Association, and Citizens Advisory Board of Duke Cancer Center.

To e-mail Commissioner Mavretic, click Laura.Mavretic@ic.nc.gov.

Commissioner Danny Lee McDonald

Governor Mike Easley appointed Danny Lee McDonald of Wilmington as Commissioner on February 2, 2007. Easley said, "Danny McDonald’s extensive experience on the state and federal level make him a natural choice for this position. I am confident he will be an outstanding member of this critical commission."

McDonald is president of McDonald Solutions, a consulting firm. From 1982 to 2006 he was a member of the Federal Elections Commission appointed by President Reagan and later by President Clinton. He served as chairman of the commission in 1983, 1989, 1995 and 2001. The Federal Elections Commission is an independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces federal campaign law. While serving on the commission, he acted as an official observer or advisor of elections in several Latin American nations as well as in emerging democracies of the former Soviet Bloc.

Prior to joining the Federal Elections Commission, McDonald served as general administrator of the Oklahoma Corporations Commission, which regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, public utilities and transportation industry. From 1974 to 1979 he served as secretary to the Tulsa County Elections Board and was a licensed real estate broker.

He graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor’s degree in political science and economics and did post graduate work at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

To e-mail Commissioner McDonald, click Danny.McDonald@ic.nc.gov.

Danny Lee McDonald

Commissioner Christopher Scott

Governor Jim Hunt appointed Christopher Scott to the Industrial Commission in October 1997, and he has subsequently been reappointed.

Chris Scott is a graduate of Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, with a BA degree in English Literature. He earned a Master’s Degree in English Literature from the University of Texas. For the past 14 years, he has been President of the North Carolina State AFL-CIO. Prior to becoming president, he was Secretary-Treasurer and Research Director of the State AFL-CIO, and Director of Research for Teamsters Local #391. From l977 to 1978, he was a Policy Advisor to Governor Hunt. He has also been a public school teacher.

In addition to his work experience, Mr. Scott has served on the Governor’s Committee on Workforce Preparedness, the Advisory Committee of the N.C. Health Planning Commission, the Industrial Commission’s Advisory Council, the Tax Fairness Study Commission, the Advisory Board of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, and the Board of the N.C. Civil Liberties Union.

To e-mail Commissioner Scott, click Chris.Scott@ic.nc.gov.

Christopher Scott

Commissioner Dianne C. Sellers

Governor Jim Hunt initially appointed Dianne C. Sellers as Commissioner in September 1994, after the General Assembly expanded the Industrial Commission from three members to seven; and she has subsequently been reappointed. Before she was appointed as a Commissioner, Commissioner Sellers previously held the post of Chief Deputy Commissioner for eight years and had served as a Deputy Commissioner for the eight prior years.

She formerly worked as a trust representative in the Wachovia Trust Department; press secretary for U.S. Representative Roy A. Taylor (11th District, N.C.), in Washington, D.C.; and law clerk for Bailey & Thomas, P.A., in Winston-Salem, N.C.

She received a B.A. degree in history from Mary Baldwin College in 1970, and earned a master’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972. She also studied liberal arts in Austria at the University of Vienna. In 1976, she earned a J.D. degree from Wake Forest University School of Law, where she was president of the Student Bar Association.

Commissioner Sellers is a member of the American Bar Association, North Carolina Bar Association, and Wake County Bar Association. Currently, she is serving as council member for both the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee and the Workers’ Compensation Committee of the North Carolina Bar Association. She is also chairman of the Adjudication Committee of the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators and chair of the Credentials Committee of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions. In addition, she received an appointment to the five-member Board of Regents of the International Workers’ Compensation College.

To e-mail Commissioner Sellers, click Dianne.Sellers@ic.nc.gov.