N.C. First Lady Mary Easley to speak at WFU convocation

Her address is titled, “Competence, Confidence and the Comfort Zone; How to Color Your Life Outside the Lines.”

A professor at North Carolina Central University School of Law, Easley earned two degrees at Wake Forest-a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1972 and a law degree in 1975. As an undergraduate, she graduated magna cum laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. At Wake Forest School of Law, she was a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity.

Married to North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, she has established three main initiatives as First Lady: teacher recruitment, reduction of underage drinking, and infant immunization, especially for the newest North Carolinians with English as their second language.

Easley serves as the spokesperson for McDonald’s “Immunize for Healthy Lives” campaign and she speaks to many groups about the importance of immunizing North Carolina’s children in a timely manner. She also is an active participant in The First Ladies’ Initiative to Keep Children Alcohol Free, speaking out statewide on the dangers of early alcohol use by children.

After law school, Easley served approximately 10 years as assistant district attorney in New Hanover and Pender counties. From 1984 to 1992, she maintained her own practice in the areas of civil and criminal law in Southport in Brunswick County.

At North Carolina Central School of Law, Easley is a full-time clinical professor, teaching appellate advocacy, trial advocacy and criminal trial practice. She also manages the Criminal Law Externship program and is a regular faculty member for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy for the southeast region.

Easley teaches legal aspects of police supervision at North Carolina State University’s Administrative Officers Management Program, a graduate level management course for police executives from throughout the United States. She has lectured on numerous topics related to trial advocacy at North Carolina universities and has taught various continuing legal education courses in North Carolina.

She and Governor Easley have been married 21 years and have one child, Michael Jr.