Wendy Jacobs, Commissioner

Commissioner Jacobs is the immediate past Vice Chair (2020-2023) of the Board of County Commissioners. The previous four years, (2016-2020), she served as Chair of the County Commissioners. Commissioner Jacobs is currently serving her third term of office, first elected in 2012 and having been sworn in again on December 7, 2020. She is a graduate of Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts in History, Magna Cum Laude. As a former educator she received her teaching certification from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and taught in the Durham and Caswell County Public Schools as well as Carolina Friends School. She most recently worked as a project manager for Unique Places, a conservation driven real estate company. 

Prior to being elected to office, Commissioner Jacobs was chair of the Erwin Area Neighborhood Group and led the campaign to create Hollow Rock Nature Park, formerly named New Hope Preserve, a 100 acre multi jurisdictional park. She also served as chair of the park master plan committee and six years as a county appointee to the Durham Planning Commission, as well as being an active Durham Public Schools parent volunteer, member of the Superintendent’s Budget Advisory Committee and other community involvements. 

She currently serves in leadership roles on many county, regional and state boards and commissions representing Durham County. She is chair of the Durham County Social Services Board, chair of the Durham Familiar Faces Initiative, secretary of the Upper Neuse River Basin Association (UNRBA), and a member of the Durham Chapel Hill Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHCMPO) and Durham Joint City County Planning Committee. Commissioner Jacobs is co-chairs Durham Joins Together to Save Lives- the Durham County task force to address substance and medication misuse and has been appointed to the NCACC (North Carolina Association of County Commissioners) Presidential Steering Committee "One More Thing" reducing opioid overdose. 

Commissioner Jacobs currently serves on additional boards and commissions including Discover Durham Tourism Development Authority, the Durham Stepping Up Initiative, the CAMPO (Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization), DCHCMPO Joint Regional Rail Subcommittee, and is a member of the North Carolina Central University Board of Visitors. She also serves as chair of the non profit organization Dementia Inclusive Incorporated. 

She was recently selected as one of 13 elected officials to serve as a member of the National Association of Counties (NACo) Officials Familiar Faces Initiative Leadership Network which seeks to address the physical and behavioral health needs of our most vulnerable residents including those who are justice involved, at risk of overdose or experiencing homelessness. 

Commissioner Jacobs is also one of 13 nationally elected officials to participate in NACo’s Peer Justice Learning Network focusing on diverting residents with mental illness from our nation’s criminal justice system. She is a member of the National Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee and was recently appointed to the NaCo Immigration Reform Task Force. 

Commissioner Jacobs is also serves on the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners Environment Steering Committee and Health and Human Resources Steering Committee.  

Commissioner Jacobs completed the Advanced Leadership Corps offered by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government in 2014, a course offered to municipal and county elected leaders each year. Additionally, she has achieved master level status in the Local Elected Leaders Academy (LELA). The LELA is a partnership with the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill, NC Association of County Commissioners, and the NC League of Municipalities offering elected officials the knowledge and skills need to lead and govern their communities.