William Pilkington
A veteran public health executive with over four decades of leadership experience, William Pilkington has built his career around transforming public health infrastructure and expanding access to care in North Carolina. He currently serves as the H.O.P.E. program director and a research professor at NC Central University's Julius L. Chambers Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute, where he leads racial health disparities initiatives and directed COVID-19 testing efforts across nine North Carolina counties.
Career Highlights
Pilkington had a 22-year tenure as CEO of Cabarrus Health Alliance, where he converted a county health department into a nonprofit public health authority, grew its budget 300% and staff 400%, and secured over $75M in combined IT and grant funding.
He served concurrently as public health officer for Cabarrus County (1981–2019), pioneering the state's first full-time equivalent (FTE) school nurse program and first community care plan.
His earlier roles include assistant director at Southern Piedmont Health Systems Agency and policy advisor to the NC Governor's Office on health and criminal justice policy.
Recognitions
- Order of the Long Leaf Pine (2016) — North Carolina's highest civilian honor
- Harvard National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (2018)
Academic Contributions
Pilkington has held extensive adjunct and visiting faculty roles at UNC Charlotte, UNC Chapel Hill, George Washington University, Appalachian State, and NC Central, teaching health leadership, policy, and management courses. He has published widely on public health financing, COVID-19 disparities, and homeland security preparedness.
Education
| B.A. | UNC Charlotte | 1973 |
| M.P.A. | Public Affairs, NC State University | 1974 |
| M.P.A. | Public Administration, University of Southern California | 1987 |
| D.P.A. | Public Administration, University of Southern California | 1988 |
| M.A. | Homeland Security Studies, Naval Postgraduate School | 2014 |
Courses
Publications
Journals:
- “Vignettes on the Constitution.” The Bureaucrat, vol. 16(1), (1987).
- “Program Budgeting: Improved Budgeting Through Planned Programs.” Planning For Progress, vol. 7(3&4), 1976.
- “Use of Health Information to Improve Care: The Southern Piedmont Beacon Community Grant.” North Carolina Medical Journal, Vol. 72, No.3. July 29, 2011.
- “Diseases with Health Disparities as Drivers of COVID-19 Outcome.” Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, 19 (October 2020).
- “Public Health Departments Face Formidable Issues During COVID19 Pandemic.” Homeland Security Affairs 16, Article 17 (December, 2020).
Book Chapters:
- “Understanding Effective Management.” How Public Organizations Work, Edited by Bellavita, Christopher. Prager. New York. 1990.
- “A Unique Collaborative Effort at the Washington Public Affairs Center.” Doctoral Education at the Washington Public Affairs Center, Edited by Sherwood, Frank P. IUiniverse, Inc. New York. 2008.
Book Reviews:
- “Improving Health in the Community: A Role for Performance Monitoring.” in Politics and the Life Sciences, (March 2000).
Thesis Research:
- “Risk, Politics, and Money: The Need for a Value-Based Model for Financing Public Health Preparedness” (Chair: Robert Josefek).
Dissertation Research:
- “Selected Determinants of Managerial Effectiveness” (Chair: Christopher Bellavita).
White Papers:
- “Building the PHDSC Web-based Resource Center.” The Web-based Resource Center Work Group. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 20, 2002.
- "A Value Based Model for Financing Emergency Preparedness," Institute of Medicine, Commissioned White Paper, October 30, 2013.
Conference Presentation/Participation:
- “Selected Determinants of Managerial Effectiveness.” Doctoral Roundtable. National Conference of the American Society for Public Administration. Portland, Oregon. April 16-20, 1988.
- “Public Health Departments as Hospital Extenders.” Co-authored with Gerald Pyle and Carolyn Thompson. The Summer School and Conference on Hospitals In Healthcare Delivery. Dubrovnik, Croatia. August 24-27, 2000.
- “Case Managers and Medicaid.” Co-authored with Carolyn Thompson and Gerald Pyle. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C. November 15-19, 1998.
- “Estimating the Likelihood of Unlikely Events.” 9th Annual Dealing With Disasters International Conference. Newcastle, United Kingdom. Northumbria University. September 17-18, 2015.
- “The Business of Coalitions: Building Effective, Sustainable, Organizations.” 4th Annual National Healthcare Preparedness Conference. San Diego, California. December 1-4, 2015.
- “Assessing Drivers of Anti-Terrorism Program Evidence and Funding.” Designing Out Terrorism Conference. London, UK. November 30-December 1, 2016.
Grants
$23M FCC grant recipient for NC Telecommunications Network (2009)
$16M BEACON Community Award (2013)