NCBA Names Executive Director

Jason Hensley of Morganton has been chosen to serve as the next executive director of the North Carolina Bar Association. The appointment was confirmed Monday during a special meeting of the NCBA Board of Governors.

Hensley comes to the NCBA from Bernhardt Furniture Company, where he serves as Senior Counsel, Director of Real Estate, and Corporate Secretary. He will succeed Allan Head, who is retiring Jan. 1, 2017, after 43 years at the NCBA, including 35 as executive director.

“Jason Hensley is an experienced, proven leader in both his company and the Bar Association,” said NCBA President Kearns Davis. “Allan Head has devoted his career to the NCBA’s mission—seeking liberty and justice in North Carolina’s legal system—and Jason has the skill, judgment, and dedication to pursue those aims into the future.”

In addition to his work at Bernhardt, Hensley is a former chair of the NCBA Corporate Counsel Section and a current member of the NCBA Board of Governors. He did not participate in the Board’s consideration of his candidacy.

Elizabeth Quick of Winston-Salem, a past president of the NCBA, chaired the search committee which unanimously recommended Hensley. “The search committee received applications from all over the country, and personally interviewed nine impressive candidates,” Quick said. “Our committee is confident that we chose the right person to lead the NCBA after Allan’s retirement.”

Hensley is a 1996 graduate of East Burke High School and 1999 graduate of Appalachian State University. He graduated in 2002 from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he served as class president from 1999-2001 and as president of the Student Bar Association in 2001-02. In 2014 he received an MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill and earned the UNC Kenan-Flagler Leadership Initiative Designation.

He has served on numerous NCBA committees, including the Open Courts Initiative, the Legislative Advisory Committee and the Continuing Legal Education Committee. He is also a member of the North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice and for 12 years has served on the board of Communities in Schools of Caldwell County, chairing its Bylaws, Policy and Procedure and Audit committees.

“I’m excited to have this opportunity to serve the members of the NCBA and to support the important work of the NCBA’s leadership, volunteers and talented staff in advancing the legal profession and serving the public,” Hensley said. “It’s a true honor to be chosen to serve in this capacity for an organization in which so many individuals freely give their time and abilities to improve the profession and the lives of others.”