Laura Hogshead, the maligned leader of Rebuild NC, is now out of a job

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The top leader in charge of the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR), which oversees rebuilding efforts following hurricanes Florence and Matthew is no longer employed by the Department of Public Safety.

Laura Hogshead was the director of NCORR and the lack of progress with the program she oversees, Rebuild NC, has been the center of several Troubleshooter investigations since 2022.

Those investigations uncovered the lack of progress for this taxpayer-based program for years. Since 2022, lawmakers have also questioned the leadership of Hogshead. State Senator, Danny Britt (R-Hoke, Robeson, Scotland) said about Hogshead at a legislative hearing, "You failed as a director, you should resign from your position."

NC lawmakers for years questioned not only Hogshead's ability to lead, but also to manage funding, and the lack of progress with Rebuild NC, which falls under the Department of Public Safety. Rebuild NC is a taxpayer-backed program with the goal of getting families whose homes were destroyed during hurricanes Florence and Matthew, back into their rebuilt homes.

Rebuild NC participant Lavonne Merritt reached out to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson after she hit roadblocks with the program.

"People are displaced -- Diane -- for years and nothing is being done," she said.

Fayetteville resident Susan Darnell also contacted Wilson after she said Rebuild NC failed her.

"Wasted taxpayer's money and that's exactly what it is. There's no sense of what Rebuild is doing," Darnell said.

Wilson did reach out to Hogshead about her no longer being employed with the NC Department of Public Safety. She did not respond, but in past interviews, Hogshead never backed down from the criticism.

"This is my job. I want to be held accountable. I want to answer questions. We are doing everything we can to speed the program up, to get more general contractors, and to get more homes completed," she said in a previous interview with Wilson.

This week lawmakers were very critical of Hogshead once again. During a hearing, some lawmakers questioned how the program ran out of federal funding and is now requesting new state funding. Several lawmakers called on Hogshead to resign. As of Wednesday, the state confirmed Hogshead is no longer employed by the NC Department of Public Safety.

The state said Pryor Gibson is serving as interim director of the NC Office of Recovery and Resiliency. Wilson did ask with Hogshead out, what this means for the state as it takes on Hurricane Helene's recovery, but no one from the state or Governor Roy Cooper's office responded to that question.