104 Livingston Place
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Phone: 919-923-2342
laurineasthom@gmail.com
Term of Service
2009-2013 (2005–2009)
Biography
Easthom was elected in November of 2005 to the Town Council. She holds a Doctor of Dental Surgery from UNC and currently practices dentistry part time. She attended Davidson College in Davidson, N.C., for her Bachelor of Arts degree, and the University of South Carolina where she earned a Masters of Education. Dentistry is a second career. Prior to that she worked as a vocational rehabilitation counselor assisting injured workers return to the workforce. She was responsible for finding and literally creating jobs for people who had to return to work with a disability.
She has served on Town boards prior to being elected Council, the Transportation Board and the Horace Williams Citizens Committee. She is a member of the Neighborhoods for Responsible Growth and the Orange Chatham Sierra Club.
Easthom was born in Baltimore and has spent most of her life in North Carolina. Her extended family has lived in Greensboro, N.C., since 1856. She lives in the northern part of Chapel Hill with her husband, James, an attorney, and their two girls Emily and Haley, students at Seawell Elementary School. Her father is a neurologist, her mother a retired attorney and current college professor of history in Greensboro. She enjoys running, tennis and painting.
Membership
- Chapel Hill Museum
- Public Art Review Committee for Green Infrastructure
- Council Committee on Economic Development
- Council Committee on Sustainability, Energy, and Environment
- Greenways Commission
- Mayor’s Committee on Council Communications
- Parks and Recreation Commission
- Personnel Appeals Committee
- Public Transit Committee
- Transportation Committee
Duties
The primary mission of the Mayor and Council, as the governing body of the Town is to adopt and provide for the execution of ordinances, rules and regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to protect health, life or property, or to promote the comfort, convenience, security, good order, better government, or the general welfare of the Town and its citizens.
The Mayor and eight Council Members constitute the governing body of the Town. In accordance with the Town’s Charter, the voters elect a Mayor every two years. Council Members are elected to four-year, staggered terms on an at-large basis. Town Council duties include:
- Amendment of previously adopted policies through changes in the Town Code of Ordinances and the Development Ordinance, and by revision of policies and documents.
- Appointment of advisory boards, commissions, task forces and committees.
- Appointment of the Town Manager and Town Attorney.
- Establishment of agreements with other governments.
High Resolution Photograph Available