Sabrina McGee, MSW, serves as Partnership Manager for MDC Rural Prosperity & Investment’s Rural Forward program in Eastern North Carolina, working closely with rural nonprofits, community groups, governments, and local leaders to strengthen and amplify community-driven initiatives. Drawing from her social work background, she provides capacity building, technical assistance, and leadership development support that evolves with community needs. She emphasizes building authentic relationships, utlizing health equity frameworks, and helping organizations develop sustainable structures while staying true to their grassroots missions. She holds MDC’s opioid setlement support initatives across North Carolina, and has been instrumental in facilitatng collaboratve strategic planning processes in Beaufort, Edgecombe, Nash, and Warren countes, while supporting her teammates' engagement in other countes across the state. Her work emphasizes intentional, meaningful, and equitable public engagement and ensures that planning processes incorporate the vital perspectives of those with lived expertise. Through authentically built relationships, she provides space and capacity for rural communities to break down silos between organizations, strengthen connections between local governments and community leaders, and build bridges to regional, state, and federal level resources and activities. Through her opioid setlement work, she aims not only to ensure community voice informs funding decisions, but also to foster lasting partnerships between decision-makers and community members that lead to more equitable, responsive policies across all areas of public investment.