First spouses — and other political spouses — are rightly being studied in North Carolina, across the country, and around the world as the policy actors they are.
Research in 2024 — “Not just the nation’s hostess: First Ladies as policy actors” — documented who national first ladies speak to, the roles they play, the policies they impact, and how that has shifted since the early 1990s.
In North Carolina, First Lady Anna Stein is utilizing a wide variety of strategies to advance her policy priorities at the state level and beyond.
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Leveraging the office of first spouse to advance policy
Last week, Stein posted on Facebook, where she has 17,000 followers, that “without a driver’s license, it’s hard to find a job, secure housing, receive health care, and so much more.”
She had just visited the Western Correctional Center for Women in Black Mountain along with Oklahoma First Lady Sarah Stitt and North Dakota First Lady Kjersti Armstrong, according to this press release.
The leaders attended a driver’s license restoration clinic and toured rehabilitative programs offered at the prison.
During the clinic, according to the release, staff and volunteers from Pisgah Legal Services and students from the Duke Law School Pro Bono Program provided legal assistance to help incarcerated women begin the process of restoring suspended driver’s licenses.
“Having a valid license means the ability to get to a job or take care of family,” says the release.
Stein previously joined Stitt in Oklahoma to visit the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, that state’s largest women’s prison.
Before the visit to Black Mountain, the leaders had been participating in the National Governors Association 2026 Youth Mental Health Action Lab in Asheville, an event that brought together first spouses to discuss leveraging their offices to advance mental health policies.
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Meet Anna Stein
Stein was born in Elkin in Surry County, but also spent time growing up in Greenville and Winston-Salem. She attended public schools, graduating from R.J. Reynolds High School.
She went on to graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she later obtained both a Juris Doctor and a master’s in public health.
Stein clerked on the N.C. Court of Appeals for Judge Joe John and Judge Robin Hudson and practiced law. Most recently, from 2011-24, she worked as a legal specialist for the Chronic Disease and Injury Section at the N.C. Division of Public Health, specializing in policy surrounding legal substances such as tobacco and alcohol as well as illicit substances, according to her website.
Stein currently serves on the North Carolina Joint Reentry Council.
Stein’s priorities and reach
Stein’s website identifies her three priorities:
End the Stigma | Mental health (MH) and substance use disorders (SUD) affect millions of Americans every year, including over a million in North Carolina. Too often, people experiencing mental health or substance use challenges and their loved ones feel like they must hide these challenges or else be judged in a negative light. These experiences of isolation and shame can make it hard for people to access care and improve their well-being. As First Lady, Anna Stein is working to reduce the stigma by holding open dialogues with state and local leaders and community members and promoting access to treatment and recovery services.
Supporting Rehabilitation and Reentry Programs | North Carolina’s most valuable resource is its people, including those reentering society after serving a jail or prison sentence. People leaving incarceration too often struggle to access employment, housing, and health care. First Lady Stein believes that bolstering programs available to currently and formerly incarcerated individuals can both reduce recidivism and build our North Carolina workforce and the stability of families. She also knows that ensuring improved rehabilitation outcomes necessitates supporting and strengthening our corrections workforce.
Promoting Rural Tourism | From its more than 300 miles of beaches to its beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina welcomes tourists from all over the world. First Lady Stein has spent her entire life traveling throughout the state and soaking up its natural beauty and culture. She appreciates the importance of North Carolina’s tourism industry to its local economies — particularly its rural areas. She is promoting North Carolina’s rural tourism industry by showcasing the state’s unique natural, cultural, and culinary treasures and the people who make the state such a welcoming environment for visitors.
— Website of First Lady Anna Stein
Stein’s interest in promoting rural tourism has been especially important in western North Carolina — which she calls her “happy place,” especially if she is on the water — as she has encouraged people from across the state and the nation to invest their tourism dollars in the region following Hurricane Helene, as you can see in this interview on WRAL.
Additionally, “while not included in her initial platform, Stein is passionate about improving NC public education,” according to an interview in May 2025. “Having a strong public school system is the best way to be a strong state and be competitive economically,” Stein said. “We really need to raise teacher pay. We have not kept pace with other states.”
In her first year as first spouse, Stein conducted a statewide listening tour. By July, she had visited 30 counties and 11 correctional institutions. By the end of 2025, she had visited 40 of North Carolina’s 100 counties and 20 correctional institutions.
In addition to media appearances, you can find Stein giving speeches to policy-relevant audiences like the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, who she recently spoke to during a summit on reducing overdose.
Her reach on social media extends beyond Facebook. Stein has more than 6,000 followers on both Instagram and on Twitter, now X. She posts regular updates on these channels, allowing those that follow her to see all that she is discovering and learning as she travels across the state in addition to seeing her advocate for her priorities.
Early wins
Unshame NC, a public campaign
In July 2025, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Stein launched the Unshame NC campaign to end stigma related to substance use disorder, according to this press release.
Unshame NC has two primary goals:
- To increase knowledge and awareness of substance use disorder, and
- To increase access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) as a treatment option.
“Many people struggling with substance use don’t seek help because of stigma,” said Stein. “This campaign will highlight the stories of people who have experience with substance use disorder and recovery and bring greater awareness to effective methods of treatment for opioid use disorder.”
The Unshame website includes testimonials from North Carolinians sharing their personal stories of substance use, hope, and recovery, according to the release. Facebook and Instagram content will help drive users to the website, which provides links to resources, including information on how to find the right treatment center, and guidance for providers and family members seeking care for a loved one. DHHS contracted with the national nonprofit Shatterproof to operationalize Unshame NC.
People with substance use disorder flourish in environments that offer both community support and multiple pathways for treatment, says the release. If you want to share your story with DHHS and Unshame NC, you can get involved by filling out a Story Sharer Interest Form or joining the Unshame NC coalition.
The collective power of first spouses
On Sept. 11, 2025, Stein signed a bipartisan statement issued through the National Governors Association (NGA) with 37 other first spouses condemning political violence.
As First Spouses of states and territories across the country, we are in a unique position to both witness and experience the contempt that has permeated our culture. Today, we stand together — across political backgrounds — to condemn political violence of every kind.
The soul of America is corroded every time hateful rhetoric or violence takes root. Peacemakers are needed in every corner of our society, especially in our politics. Our children are watching. They desperately need us to show them a better way.
We are committed to seeing every American as a person with inherent dignity and worth. Let us listen more, eliminate hate, and find connection and healing as we seek peace together. Our democracy depends on it, and so does the future of a united America.
— Statement
Federal funding for high-quality postsecondary education and workforce pathways for individuals with histories of incarceration
By January 2026, momentum was building for strengthening rehabilitation and reentry in North Carolina thanks at least in part to Stein’s steady presence across the state.
That month, the N.C. Department of Adult Correction was selected as one of four states in the inaugural cohort of Jobs for the Future’s (JFF) Fair Chance to Advance (FC2A) State Action Networks, an initiative to help states expand high-quality postsecondary education and workforce pathways for individuals with histories of incarceration, according to this press release.
Over the next four years, North Carolina — along with Kansas, Maine, and Oregon — will receive up to $2.1 million in funding.
According to the press release, JFF selected North Carolina from among more than 30 applicants based on its existing efforts to expand economic mobility for individuals with criminal records. JFF highlighted North Carolina’s commitment “to bringing together a range of leaders across state agencies, and a clear articulation for how participating in the cohort would catalyze long-term change in the state.”
Stein said in a separate post, “This is a big win for workforce development in our state and for making sure people leaving prison are successful as they return to their communities.”
Stein’s support is seen as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity
Later in January 2026, NC Health News published an article about Stein’s commitment to rehabilitation and reentry.
“Anna Stein is using her role to spotlight rehabilitation, listen to lived experience and push for stronger support for people leaving incarceration,” writes journalist Rachel Crumpler.
The article quotes Jennifer Jackson, the much respected chief executive officer of Arise Collective, a nonprofit organization in Raleigh supporting women affected by incarceration.
Jackson said Stein’s support has sent a “ripple of excitement throughout the entire reentry community.”
“Everyone understands this is a really unique, maybe once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have someone like her who gives credence, who lifts up the importance of people who have experienced incarceration,” Jackson told NC Health News.
In the coming year, NC Health News reports that Stein “plans to focus on strengthening parenting programs, as about one-third of North Carolina’s prison population are parents with minor children; supporting peer-led initiatives that allow incarcerated people to use their skills to help one another; and expanding the number of community volunteers inside prisons.”
Stein notes that her travels across our state lead to improvements in policy and programs, creating the conditions for change.
Stein will be counted as policy entrepreneur
As researchers and journalists move away from focusing on the ceremonial, marital, and maternal roles of political spouses, the research on first ladies finds that policy entrepreneurs are leaders who are “willing to invest resources in promoting significant policy change.”
As state first spouses are researched in the context of policy entrepreneurship, Anna Stein will be seen as leading the way for her adoption of policy priorities, her substantive policy analysis and expertise, her capacity to build and speak to policy-relevant audiences in person and online, and her willingness to operationalize change through the policy roles she is playing across North Carolina and nationally through the NGA.
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