(Oxford, N.C.) Wil Glenn joined the Biofuels Center staff this week as its director of communications and public affairs, bringing with him over a decade of experience in government communications at the state and local levels. Seasoned in varied communication strategies and channels, Glenn most recently served as public affairs manager with Wake County Government, where he functioned as the liaison for the county’s elected officials, county manager, and department heads.

His expertise and leadership were valuable in Wake’s Public Affairs Office, where he provided public information and education about Wake County by creating, writing, and editing publications, producing video packages about county employees and programs, and coordinating a variety of special events. Glenn was responsible for advising, consulting, and coordinating two other employees as well as developing communications plans.

Before joining Wake County, Glenn was a public information specialist for Durham County, where he also filled in as director of public information on an interim basis in 2004. He began his government public affairs career as the assistant director of communications at the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC). During his time at the NCACC, in addition to coordinating media relations, managing the website, and developing publications, he worked with legislative representatives and other elected officials across the state to implement counties’ priorities and goals.

Glenn, a native of Greensboro, N.C., received both his bachelor’s in Media Journalism and master’s in Information Science from North Carolina Central University.

A high resolution image of Wil Glenn can be obtained from the Biofuels Center website in the Media section.

Background information about the Biofuels Center of North Carolina

In 2007, the North Carolina General Assembly and other state leaders recognized that biofuels offered enormous agricultural, economic, and strategic value to the state over time and that an entire new sector must as a result be created across the landscape. Following recommendations of North Carolina’s Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership, the General Assembly created the Biofuels Center of North Carolina, the nation’s only agency working comprehensively over time for all aspects of biofuels development.

A private non-profit corporation funded permanently by the North Carolina General Assembly, the Center is charged with charting North Carolina’s path over years to gain large capacity for alternatives to petroleum-based liquid fuels. The Center assists all parties statewide involved in the science, growing, production, and logistics of biofuels, and in addition addresses the educational, public information, and policy issues of a growing new sector.

The Biofuels Center is based in Oxford on North Carolina’s Biofuels Campus, a partnership project with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Over the next decade, the Campus will take shape as the nation’s only large-acreage site for biofuels trial-growing, company incubation and partnerships, demonstration facilities, and public education.