Emily B. McCartha has more than a decade of experience as a policy and research analyst in the fields of the healthcare workforce, public education and finance, and public administration at large. Prior to joining the Center for the Workforce for Health team, Emily served as a Research Associate at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at UNC-Chapel Hill for four years. She conducted healthcare workforce research, primarily focused on the state of North Carolina but also nationwide. Before working at Sheps, she served as a Senior Program Evaluator for the North Carolina General Assembly in the program evaluation division, a non-partisan research group, for five years. She led evaluations related to public education, public health, and organizational structure. She has served as an adjunct instructor for the Master of Public Administration program at the UNC School of Government for the last ten years and continues to do so.

McCartha earned her doctorate in public administration from North Carolina State University, focusing on multi-sector collaborations (like the Center!). She also earned a master of public affairs from the LBJ School at the University of Texas and earned a degree in urban studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

She lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband, two daughters, and two cats.