Legal Legend of Color: Pamela B. Cashwell
Governor Roy Cooper named Pamela Brewington Cashwell Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Administration (DOA) in April 2021.
As DOA Secretary, Cashwell oversees the state agency whose mission is to serve as a business manager for the state of North Carolina and a voice for underserved communities through its advocacy programs and boards and commissions.
DOA is a statewide administrator, managing government operations spanning from building construction, facility maintenance, purchasing and contracting and state vehicles to mail services, surplus and state properties. The agency also provides programs and services for North Carolina’s diverse populations including women and youth, American Indians, and historically underutilized businesses. Secretary Cashwell is the first American Indian woman to lead a cabinet department in the state’s history. She hails from the Coharie and Lumbee tribes of NC.
Prior to her appointment as DOA Secretary, Cashwell served as Senior Policy Advisor and Chief Deputy Secretary for Professional Standards, Policy and Planning at the NC Department of Public Safety (DPS). Before joining DPS, Cashwell was the Assistant Director at the NC State Ethics Commission. She has 10 years of federal government service as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division and the Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Dept. of Justice, as well as at the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Cashwell holds a B.A. in economics from UNC–Chapel Hill and a JD from the UNC School of Law. In her role as Secretary she chairs the NC Commission on Inclusion, the Andrea Harris Equity Task Force and serves on the NC Commission of Indian Affairs, the NCWorks Commission, the Information Technology Strategy Board, the NC Interagency Council for Coordinating Homelessness Programs and the Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic/ Latino Affairs.
She lives in Wake County with her husband, David, and two sons, Samuel and Benjamin.