Anna Stein

About

First Lady Anna Stein was born in Elkin, North Carolina, the Surry County town where both of her parents were raised. She is the daughter of David Harris and Patty and Ron Brown and the big sister of John Harris, Sara Brown Gardner, and the late Laura Brown.

She moved to Greenville as a baby while her parents attended East Carolina University, and later, at age seven, settled in Winston-Salem. Anna attended R.J. Reynolds High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, obtaining both a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Juris Doctor.

Anna met her husband Josh in 1993 while the two were summer legal interns for Attorney General Michael Easley. After graduating from law school, Anna clerked on the NC Court of Appeals for Judge Joe John and then joined Robin Hudson in private practice, later clerking for Hudson at the NC Court of Appeals as well.

After having her three children, Sam, Adam, and Leah, Anna returned to graduate school to obtain her master’s in public health from UNC-Chapel Hill. From 2011-2024, she worked as an agency legal specialist for the Chronic Disease and Injury Section at the NC Division of Public Health, specializing in policy surrounding legal substances such as tobacco and alcohol, and illicit substances.

Growing up in rural North Carolina and then working in public health and law grounded Anna’s goals as First Lady of North Carolina: ending the stigma around substance use disorder and mental health, supporting reentry programs and rehabilitation programs and correctional staff, and promoting rural tourism. Most recently, Anna was appointed to the Joint Reentry Council by Department of Adult Correction Secretary Leslie Cooley Dismukes, where she will participate in the council’s critical work to improve rehabilitation and reentry for incarcerated individuals in our state.

In her spare time, Anna likes to spend time with her husband Josh; her kids Sam, Adam, and Leah; and her dogs Lila and Harper.