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McBryde Joins Catawba County as Budget and Management Director

McBryde Joins Catawba County as Budget and Management Director

Published: November 05, 2025

Catawba County has hired Laura McBryde to serve as Budget and Management Director beginning December 1, 2025. McBryde brings significant local government experience to Catawba County, most recently serving in Mecklenburg County where she supported County leadership by driving citizen engagement around community budget priorities and managing a non-profit grants program in her role as Senior Management and Budget Analyst.

Through her experience, she has worked closely with all organizational departments, managed multiple large-scale projects and teams, administered a $2 million Community Service Grant program, and led the development and execution of a successful budget public engagement strategy.

“Over the course of her public service career, Laura has established herself as a highly motivated, capable, and reliable professional.  We welcome the opportunity to integrate her positive energy and fresh perspective into the foundations of high performance on which Catawba County is built,” said County Manager Mary Furtado.

McBryde’s local government experience started with Lincoln County as a Public Works Administrative Specialist where she assisted with annual department budget creation and managed grant compliance, successfully securing over $20 million in federal HUD Community Development Block Grant funding.

“Having grown up just down the road in Lincoln County, I couldn't be more excited to be able to come back to an area I love to get to do a job I'm really passionate about,” said McBryde. “I believe that fair, transparent management of public funds is at the heart of local government, and I look forward to getting to work for the people of Catawba County.”

McBryde earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Hollins University in Roanoke, VA. She is also a Certified Local Government Budget Officer. She currently resides in Gastonia where she has lived for the last thirteen years.