"I am proud of the work of my entire cabinet," said Easley. "Their commitment to efficiency and public service has resulted in North Carolina making great progress in difficult times. They have demonstrated their expertise and helped solidify North Carolina�s reputation as a national leader.

"They know the agenda and are committed to building on the progress we have made over the past four years. I am pleased to have the opportunity to continue to work with them."

Easley�s cabinet (in alphabetical order):

Bryan Beatty, Secretary for the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.

Beatty served as the director of the SBI prior to his appointment as Crime Control and Public Safety secretary in 2001.

Beatty is a 1987 graduate of UNC Law School and a 1981 graduate of the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation Academy at Salemburg. A native of Salisbury and a graduate of Salisbury High School, he earned his B.A. in Political Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1980.

From 1981 to 1984, Beatty served as a special agent with the SBI. His assignments included narcotics investigation and security to the Governor of North Carolina. After completing law school, Beatty practiced with the law firm of Johnson, Toal & Battiste in Columbia, South Carolina before joining the North Carolina Department of Justice. At the department, he served as an associate attorney general assigned to represent the UNC Hospital system and as an assistant attorney general in the Motor Vehicles Section. In November of 1997, he was named the first Inspector General for the State, where he was responsible for a staff of attorneys and investigators charged with the investigation, prosecution and prevention of fraud in State public assistance programs. In March of 1999, he served as a deputy attorney general for Policy and Planning for the Department of Justice until he was named State Bureau of Investigation director by Easley in October of 1999.

Beatty received the National Governors� Award for Distinguished Service to State Government in August 2003 for his leadership in North Carolina�s terrorism preparedness efforts. In November 2002, he was honored by UNC-Chapel Hill with the Harvey E. Beech Outstanding Alumni Award, established to recognize black alumni who are "stellar leaders within the University community or in his or her local community."

Beatty and his wife Rhonda have two children.

Theodis Beck, Secretary for the Department of Correction.

Beck is a native of Asheville, N.C. has served as secretary of the department since April of 1999. Prior to that, he served as a deputy secretary, overseeing the department�s Division of Prisons and the Division of Adult Probation and Parole. Before that, he was the director of the Division of Adult Probation and Parole (DAPP). He started his career as a probation and parole officer in Asheville in 1975. In 1983, he was selected as one of the state�s original eight intensive probation and parole officers, providing close supervision to offenders to ensure they obey the conditions of their probation and parole. He has also served as an assistant branch manager for DAPP in western North Carolina, and then as assistant director of the division�s programs and support services.

Beck is a 1970 graduate of NC Central University. He is also a graduate of the NC Public Managers Program, which provides state-sponsored classes on effective management practices. From 1970-72 he served in the U.S. Army, where he rose to the level of sergeant. He also served as a first sergeant for eight years and a drill sergeant for 12 years in the U.S. Army Reserves, and retired in 1997.

Beck and his wife Linda have two children.

Lisbeth C. (Libba) Evans, Secretary for the Department of Cultural Resources.

Evans is a native of Clarkton, N.C. and a 1974 graduate of Wake Forest University. She earned her MBA from the University in 1978.

Prior to her appointment as secretary of the department in 2001, Evans served as the CEO, director and sole shareholder of West Third Street Management Company, Inc., a real estate management consulting company. She is also president, director and majority shareholder of West Third Street, Inc. and Clark, Evans and Tate, Inc., two real-estate holding companies. From 1986 to 1993, Evans served as CEO and then president of Health Equity Properties, a NYSE listed real estate investment trust. Evans resigned in 1993 when the company merged with Omega. Prior to 1986, Evans worked in the investment banking business with Alex, Brown & Sons, Inc. and with Merrill Lynch, Pierce Fenner and Smith.

Evans is an active member of her community and has served as the chairman of the Winston-Salem Arts Council and on the Boards of Penland School of Crafts, Reynolda House, the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, the North Carolina Hospital, Lift Academy, Juvenile Justice Council, Winston-Salem State University Foundation, Prodigals Community and Best Choice Center. She currently serves on the Boards of the Golden L.E.A.F., Inc., and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina. Evans also serves on the Board of Trustees for Wake Forest University, Wake Forest University/Baptist Medical Center, and various boards in her capacity as secretary, among them the N.C. School of the Arts.

Evans is married to James T. Lambie and has three stepdaughters.

Jim Fain, Secretary for the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

Fain is a Hendersonville native and prior to his appointment as secretary of the department in 2001 he served as assistant secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.

As former assistant secretary for the Department of Commerce�s Economic Development, Fain oversaw national and international business and industry development, international trade and its six international bureaus, marketing and customer services, and Commerce's seven regional offices. From 1975 until 1999, Fain worked with First Union National Bank, serving as Triangle Market President from 1998 until 1999 and Raleigh Market President from 1995 until 1998.

Fain graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor�s degree in political science in 1971 and earned a master�s degree in business administration in 1975. He serves as a director of the N.C. Economic Developers Association. In 1999, Fain received the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, A.E. Finley Award and was named the Raleigh News and Observer�s, "Tar Heel of the Week".

Fain and his wife Peggy have two children.

Carmen Hooker Odom, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Hooker Odom earned her B.S. degree from Springfield College and her M.S. degree in regional planning from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Prior to 2001, Hooker Odom served as the vice president for Government Relations with Quintiles Transnational Corporation in Research Triangle Park. Hooker Odom also served as the group vice president for Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS), an integrated health care system with tertiary and community hospitals, rehabilitation and long term care services, physician practices and county public and mental health operations based in Charlotte. Additionally, Hooker Odom serves as an adjunct professor in the UNC�s School of Public Health.

From 1995 to 1996, Hooker Odom worked as a project officer for the Milbank Memorial Fund, a New York based foundation that conducts non-partisan analysis, study and research on significant issues in health policy. While at the Fund, Hooker Odom was responsible for the project titled, "The Oversight of Integrated Health Care Systems." Prior to relocating to North Carolina in 1995, Hooker Odom served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for nearly 11 years where she served on the Joint Committee on Human Services and the Joint Committee on Health Care.

Hooker Odom was the primary legislative author of the 1991 Massachusetts comprehensive health reform legislation, and the first Children�s Health Insurance Plan for children of working families in the state. She also served on a special Medicaid Task Force that spearheaded sweeping changes in the Massachusetts Medicaid program.

In September of 1995, Hooker Odom was appointed co-chair of the North Carolina Health Care Reform Commission. In 1998, she was appointed to serve on the Workforce Preparedness Commission and in 1999, she was appointed as a member of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Roanoke Island Historical Association and the Board of Directors of the Milbank Memorial Fund in New York City.

Hooker Odom and her husband Fountain Odom have six children and 11 grandchildren.

William G. (Bill) Ross, Jr., Secretary for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Ross is a native of Marion, N.C. and was a partner with the Greensboro and Raleigh law firm of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard prior to his appointment as Secretary of the department in 2001. He joined the law firm as an environmental attorney in 1984. During his time with the firm, he spent a substantial amount of time representing businesses, local governments and individuals on environmental law matters. From 1979 to 1984, Ross served as the legal counsel to the Department of Natural Resources.

Ross has been a member and leader of numerous committees and organizations that focus on programs and issues involving parks, open space and the environment, including the Raleigh Greenway Commission, the Nature Conservancy � N.C. Chapter, the Guilford County Parks and Recreation Commission, the Piedmont Land Conservancy and North Carolina Environmental Defense.

Ross received his bachelor's degree from Davidson College in 1969 and his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1972.

Ross is married to Susan Gravely and has two daughters.

George L. Sweat, Secretary for the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Sweat is a native of Winston-Salem and graduated from R.J. Reynolds High School in 1966 and from East Carolina University with a bachelor�s degree in business administration in 1970. He served on the Winston-Salem Police Department for almost 29 years. Sweat was the Chief of Police for 12 years. In 1997, Sweat was appointed to the Commission on Juvenile Crime and Justice. In January 1999, Sweat was appointed as director of the Office of Juvenile Justice in the Governor�s Office. Sweat was appointed as the first secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in September 2000.

Sweat and his wife Lenna have three children and three grandchildren.

Gwynn T. Swinson, Secretary for the Department of Administration.

Swinson is a native of Belhaven, N.C. and earned a Master of Laws degree in 1986 from Duke University School of Law. She also received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Antioch College and a Juris Doctor Degree from Antioch School of Law.

Prior to her appointment as secretary of the department in 2001, she served as a special deputy attorney general for Administration in the Department of Justice. In that role, she oversaw many of the personnel and budgeting functions of the department. In addition, she served in the Health and Public Assistance Section of the Administrative Division and then as a section head for the Citizens� Rights Section. Before joining Easley�s staff in 1993, she was the associate dean for admissions and student affairs at Duke University School of Law.

From 1991 to 1992, Swinson was an international lecturer at Kyoto Comparative Law Center in Kyoto, Japan. She is an adjunct law professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and has taught at N.C. Central University. Swinson also worked for the U.S. Department of Justice for five years where she received numerous awards and served as an assistant branch director for the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division.

A 2002 inductee in the YWCA Academy of Women, Swinson has been News 14 Carolina�s Carolinian of the Week and recipient of the Triangle Business Journal Women in Business Award. She recently lectured at the Doshisha University Law School in Kyoto, Japan.

Swinson is the mother of two daughters.

Lyndo Tippett, Secretary for the Department of Transportation.

Tippett is a native of Emit, N.C. and a long-time resident of Fayetteville. He is a graduate of Corinth-Holders High School and earned his B.S. with a concentration in accounting from Barton College. Tippett served on active duty in the U.S. Army for six years.

Tippett is a Certified Public Accountant and was a partner with the firm of Tippett, Padrick, Bryan, Merritt and Raynor in Fayetteville where he worked prior to becoming Secretary of the department in 2001. He also has previously served as CEO of Bybon, Inc. and was affiliated with Ernst & Young. He is currently a Trustee Emeritus with Methodist College and serves on the boards of the Fayetteville State University Foundation, the Airborne and Special Operation Museum, New Century Bank and Landmark Builders. Tippett served as a State Board of Transportation member for eight years.

Tippett and his wife Lou have two children and two grandchildren.

Norris Tolson, Secretary for the Department of Revenue.

Tolson is an Edgecombe County native and a graduate of North Carolina State University. Prior to his appointment as secretary of the N.C. Department of Revenue in 2001, he served as secretary of the N.C. Department of Commerce from 1997 to 1998 and secretary of the N.C. Department of Transportation from 1998 until 1999. As transportation secretary and as commerce secretary, Tolson was charged with reorganizing the departments. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1994 to 1997 representing Nash, Edgecombe, Pitt and Wilson counties.

Tolson worked at E.I. Dupont from 1965 until his retirement in 1993. He worked in various research, marketing and sales assignments in the company�s agrichemical business for 28 years. He was assigned both domestic and international business responsibilities and lived in Europe for several years.

He and his wife Betsy have three children and four grandchildren.

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