On September 26, 2007, Governor Michael F. Easley named Pamela Thorpe Young as Chair of the North Carolina Industrial Commission, effective October 1, 2007. He previously appointed her as a Commissioner of the Industrial Commission on May 1, 2003; and he named her as Vice Chair of the Industrial Commission on April 8, 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 youngp@ind.commerce.state.nc.us.