About Us
Our Team
Faculty Organizers
Paula McAvoy, PhD
Paula McAvoy earned her PhD in philosophy of education in 2010 at UW-Madison’s Department of Educational Policy Studies. Since then, she has worked as an assistant professor at Illinois State, an associate program officer at the Spencer Foundation and as the Director of the Center for Ethics and Education at UW-Madison. Prior to this, she taught high school social studies for 10 years at the Foothill Middle College Program in Los Altos, California. Contact her at pmcavoy@ncsu.edu.
Christy M. Byrd, PhD
Christy Byrd is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences at NC State. Her research examines how students make sense of race and culture in their school environments. Contact her at christy_byrd@ncsu.edu.
Student Assistants
We’ve been honored to have the valuable assistance of Arine Lowery, Jessica Riddell, Beth Shaver, Syna Sharma, Nada Wafa, and Rachel Waltz.
Our Partners
Dining with Democracy is hosted in partnership with Pack the Polls, which brings together organizations, faculty, students, and staff from across NC State and the greater community that share similar goals of activating students to become civically engaged in elections.
Student Leadership and Engagement is a centralized hub for involvement and engagement on campus at NC State that connects students with meaningful experiences, highlight exciting opportunities, and contribute to their overall sense of belonging.
Facilitators
Thank you to the many student facilitators who have supported our events!
Our History
The Inspiration: Dinner with Democracy
Southern Wake Academy event, Russell McBride and Jeremy Thomas invited students in Mr. McBride’s social studies courses and parents from the school community. About 50 people attended.
2019 Dessert with Democracy
In collaboration with: Mr. Jeremy Thomas (currently at Mills Park MS) and Mr. Russell McBride (currently at Apex HS)
At our first event we discussed lowering the voting age to 16, whether North Carolina make college tuition-free for public universities, and whether North Carolina should allow teachers to be armed.
2020 Virtual Dinner with Democracy
Our 2020 event was held virtually with participants from around the country. We discussed whether the electoral college should be abolished, whether North Carolina should expand Medicaid, and whether the city of Raleigh should reduce the police budget by 20% and use the funds for other social services.
2021 Virtual Dining with Democracy
In 2021 we addressed the minimum wage for teenage workers and COVID vaccine requirements.
2022 Dining with Democracy
In 2022 we emphasized the midterm elections and held our event during early voting. We discussed whether North Carolina should require a photo ID for voting and whether the government should forgive federal student loans.
2024 Dining with Democracy
Our February 2024 event was timed during early voting for the March primary election in North Carolina. We discussed school vouchers and whether colleges should collect information on criminal backgrounds in their admissions process.
This event was hosted by the College of Education, Student Leadership and Engagement, and Pack the Polls.