On the Porch: Sen. Natalie Murdock – Good Work for NC District 20

This Week: Liz Kline grew up in High Point, North Carolina, and graduated from East Carolina University in 2007. She joined Capitol Broadcasting Company in 2009 and recently celebrated 15 years with the organization. Throughout her career in partnership and non-traditional revenue development, Liz has earned numerous honors, including eight Salesperson of the Year awards, Employee of the Year, a National Association of Broadcasters Service to America Award, and a Regional Emmy for Best Public Service Campaign. A two-time Leadership Triangle graduate, Liz is passionate about driving both revenue and meaningful community impact. She lives in Wake Forest with her husband, Dennis, and their children, Henry and Molly.

This Week: Nida Allam is a Canadian-American politician, political activist, and data analyst. She grew up in NC's 4th congressional district, the daughter of Indian and Pakistani immigrants. She attended North Carolina public schools and then NC State University, where she led a campaign to partner with local healthcare workers to provide free healthcare to low-income community members. Allam is currently the vice-chair of the Durham County Board of Commissioners, to which she was elected in 2020, making her the first Muslim woman to serve in public office in North Carolina. 

This Week:  Lisa Sorg is the North Carolina reporter for Inside Climate News. A journalist for 30 years, Sorg covers energy, climate environment and agriculture, as well as the social justice impacts of pollution and corporate malfeasance. She has won dozens of awards for her news, public service and investigative reporting. In 2022, she received the Stokes Award from the National Press Foundation for her two-part story about the environmental damage from a former missile plant on a Black and Latinx neighborhood in Burlington. Sorg was previously an environmental investigative reporter at NC Newsline, a nonprofit media outlet based in Raleigh. She has also worked at alt-weeklies, dailies and magazines. Originally from rural Indiana, she lives in Durham, N.C.

This Week: Walt McRee has held leadership roles with PBI and the public banking movement since its earliest years. In addition to serving as Chair and President (2015-2017), Board Director, and Senior Advisor, Walt has been centrally involved as co-founder and director of other public banking initiatives including the Pennsylvania Project and Banking On New Jersey. Following an extensive national media career, Walt created, produced and co-hosted radio and TV programs for public banking including, “It’s Our Money with Ellen Brown” on the Progressive Radio Network as well as “Public Bank Solution” TV series. Following his initial period as PBI Chair, Walt founded Public Banking Associates, a national consultancy of public banking experts helping legislators and policy professionals address creation of their own public banks. Walt has also held founding leadership positions in other public interest issues including world hunger, the environment, public broadcasting and the arts. He holds a BA in Philosophy and Geography from Valparaiso University.

This Week: Elected as a Chatham County Commissioner in 2014, Karen Howard is a former attorney who lives in Northeast Chatham in a two-story Greek Revival house built in 1850 called the John A. Mason House. Commissioner Howard served as a member of the Chatham County Board of Education from 2012-2014. Born in New York, Commissioner Howard spent much of her childhood in the Bahamas. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English from Georgetown University and a LLB in Law from the University of Buckingham in England. In addition to serving as Chair of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization, Commissioner Howard serves on the Governor’s Crime Commission, and the Central Carolina Community College Board of Trustees. 

This Week: Sheriff Mike Roberson has been Chatham County Sheriff for 10 years and recently announced his bid for election as a County Commissioner in 2026. A dedicated law enforcement officer who promoted integrity, teamwork, and community involvement by supporting local businesses, churches, and community events, Roberson has training and experience in public safety, crisis response (including group crisis intervention), terrorism response, protecting and serving children, leadership and supervision, communication, diversity (including organizing against racism) and responding to medical emergencies. As a lifelong resident of Chatham County he is passionate about serving his community and is married to his high school sweetheart.

This Week: Thomas Wolf is the author of The Called Shot: Babe Ruth, the Chicago Cubs, and the Unforgettable Major League Baseball Season of 1932 (Nebraska, 2020), finalist for the Seymour Medal from the Society for American Baseball Research, and coauthor, with Patricia Bryan, of Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America’s Heartland.

This Week: Kimberly Sanchez has been a nonprofit leader for over 15 years, having come to Community Home Trust (CHT) as the former CEO of Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida (CLSMF), a nonprofit law firm and legal aid organization, headquartered in Orlando, Florida.  She is a member of the Board of Directors for Dispute Settlement Center, a statewide conflict resolution nonprofit headquartered in Carrboro. She is also a member of the North Carolina Community Land Trust Coalition and a past co-chair of the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition (OCAHC).  Daniele Berman is the Vice President of Strategy and Operations for Community Home Trust. She plays a key role in advancing the organization’s mission through strategic planning, effective program execution, and organizational infrastructure development. Daniele has worked in the nonprofit sector for over a decade and was recognized for her work as a “Hometown Hero” by WCHL in 2016. She represents CHT as a member of the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition (OCAHC) and the North Carolina Community Land Trust Coalition (NCCLTC) and has served as a Peer Coach with Nonprofit Marketing Guide

This Week: Jennie Knowlton is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Quiltmaker Café, a nonprofit and donation supported restaurant in downtown Pittsboro that offers a full menu but no pricing. Having experienced food insecurity several different times in her life, Jennie’s top priority for the Café is to serve delicious, healthy, dignified meals to everyone who needs it in the supportive atmosphere of the restaurant.

James Whalen is an experienced appellate attorney in private practice at Brooks Pierce LLP. Earlier this year, he was part of the legal team that defended Justice Allison Riggs’s win and stopped a dangerous attempt to overturn a free and fair election.