Cobrand Named to Leadership North Carolina Cohort

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Oct. 23, 2025) – Sheena J. Cobrand, J.D., North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University associate vice chancellor and deputy general counsel, has been named to the 33^rd cohort of Leadership North Carolina (LNC).

Each year, through a rigorous and competitive selection process, LNC chooses a class of established and emerging leaders from across the state in the government, business, nonprofit and education sectors to participate in its acclaimed program.

At N.C. A&T, Cobrand serves as a strategic advisor to vice chancellor and general counsel, Melissa J. Holloway, M.A., J.D., providing legal, compliance, and risk management advice on issues affecting the university. She also offers legal counsel and advice to senior executives, department leaders, faculty and staff on legal and regulatory risks and compliance obligations to ensure alignment with the university’s mission, strategic plan and policies. She serves as general counsel to Aggie Academy, a unit in the university’s College of Education and a public, free laboratory school for third, fourth and fifth graders in Guilford County, North Carolina.

Cobrand joined A&T’s Office of Legal Affairs, Risk and Compliance in April 2020 after more than a decade with the North Carolina Department of Commerce Division of Employment Security (DES), where her representation included judicial review proceedings, injunction matters, employment grievances, discrimination claims and  confidentiality matters. As DES rulemaking coordinator, she drafted and oversaw the adoption of more than 100 rules in the North Carolina Administrative Code. She also led a multi-work unit team that brought DES into compliance with the U.S. Department of Labor’s second-level appeal standards after more than 30 years of monthly noncompliance. The process changes implemented allowed DES to remain compliant for several years, from implementation through her departure from the agency.

Cobrand has successfully brought cases and assisted other attorneys in bringing cases before the North Carolina Court of Appeals, with published opinions that serve as legal precedent for North Carolina state courts.

With additional experience in children’s legal services as an assistant public defender and an attorney in private practice in Florida, Cobrand has litigated hundreds of cases including employment, unemployment insurance benefits and tax, dependency, termination of parental rights and criminal matters. She also presided over and participated in hundreds of administrative hearings.

Cobrand is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Law where she was a member and Articles and Notes Editor for the Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law. She also earned a journalism degree from Florida A&M University. She is a North Carolina-certified public manager and admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in North Carolina. She is also admitted to the Florida Bar and State Bar of Tennessee.

The author of “It’s My Life: My Personal Record of Everything Important,” published in 2024, Cobrand is a 2009 recipient of the North Carolina Governor’s Award for Excellence as well as an active member of the North Carolina Bar Association, National Association of College and University Attorneys, Association on Higher Education and Disability, Association of Title IX Administrators, College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, University Risk Management and Insurance Association, and Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics, among other professional and volunteer organizations.