Current County Commissioners 

    Scroll down to find biographical and contact information for the Chatham County Board of Commissioners.

    • Karen Howard, District 1, 
    • Amanda Robertson, District 2, Chair
    • David Delaney, District 3
    • Katie Kenlan, District 4 
    • Franklin Gomez Flores, District 5, Vice Chair

    Karen Howard (District 1)

    Karen Howard - Head Shot

    Mailing Address: P. O. Box 1809, Pittsboro, NC 27312
    Phone: 919-545-8540
    Email: karen.howard@chathamcountync.gov

    Elected as county commissioner in 2014, Karen Howard is a former attorney who lives in Northeast Chatham with her two youngest sons. She also had four adult children living in Washington DC, Chapel Hill and The Bahamas, and a granddaughter in Texas. Commissioner Howard served as a member of the Chatham County Board of Education from 2012-2014 and Chair of the Board from 2013-2014 and 2024-2025.

    Commissioner Howard previously served on the Admissions Committee for UNC Kenan-Flagler’s MBA@UNC program and was a member of the Executive Committee of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners from 2017-2024 serving as co-Chair of the Presidential Initiative, Pathways for Disconnected Youth, co-Chair of the By-Laws Committee and most recently as co-Chair of the Legislative Goals Committee. Commissioner Howard is currently serving as a facilitator for the NCACC's statewide Foster Youth Inappropriate Placement working group. 

    Born in New York, Commissioner Howard spent much of her childhood in the Bahamas. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English from Georgetown University and a LLB in Law from the University of Buckingham in England. She was called to the Bar of England & Wales and The Bahamas Bar in 1992. 

    In addition to serving as Chair of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization, Commissioner Howard also serves on the Governor’s Crime Commission, and the Central Carolina Community College Board of Trustees.

    Chatham County Commissioner Amanda Robertson

    Chair: Amanda Robertson (District 2)

    Mailing Address: PO Box 1809, Pittsboro, NC 27312
    Phone:  
    Email: amanda.robertson@chathamcountync.gov

    Elected as a county commissioner in 2024, Amanda Robertson balances her roles as a wife, a mother, and a small independent business owner (she founded and operates an educational media design firm), with her work serving the county as a commissioner. 

     She has been actively engaged in the Chatham community on many fronts – from her service on Chatham County’s Planning Board, to the county’s Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. She also helped organize and served as Vice Chair on Chatham County’s Climate Change Advisory Committee.

     Amanda has lived in North Carolina for over 30 years and is an established Chatham County resident. She’s helped shepherd numerous Chatham County efforts to protect its citizens and its plentiful natural resources. She’s been the Board Chair for the NC Climate Solutions Coalition, led Chatham Clean Path with NC Warn, attended the Climate Reality Leadership Program, and was a founding member of APPPL (the Alliance to Protect our People and the Places we Live), a North Carolina citizen organization to protect our state's citizens from the harms of fracked gas pipelines and big oil development. She has made genuine efforts to preserve Chatham County’s natural resources and to give  county citizens agency in their futures.

     She holds two degrees from NC State University in design, and has taught at NC State in their College of Design for ten years. Commissioner Robertson was appointed as Chair by the Board of Commissioners on December 15, 2025.

    David Delaney (District 3)

    Mailing Address: PO Box 1809, Pittsboro, NC 27312

    David Delaney 2Phone: 919-545-8542 
    Email: david.delaney@chathamcountync.gov

    David Delaney was sworn in on December 5, 2022. David is a cybersecurity and privacy attorney who enjoys outdoor sports, family adventures, travel, and reading. Born in New York and raised in Pennsylvania, David's army, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and academic experiences have made him a resident of nine states. He and his family moved to Chatham County in 2017.

    David has a passion for public policy and building collaborative, innovative approaches to community interests. He is Chair of the NAACP Chatham Community Branch Criminal Justice Committee, past chair of the NC Veterans Business Association, and ex officio board member of Innovate Chatham, which he co-founded in 2021.

    David has taught law and public policy at Brandeis University, Indiana University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated from West Point, Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Boston College Law School with degrees in political science, international security studies, and law.

    Katie Kenlan (District 4)

    Commissioner Katie KenlanMailing Address: PO Box 1809, Pittsboro, NC 27312
    Phone: 919-545-8543 
    Email: katie.kenlan@chathamcountync.gov

    Katie Kenlan was sworn in on December 5, 2022. Katie has called Hadley Township , Chatham County home for her entire life. She attended Pittsboro Elementary, Horton M.S., and Northwood High, taking part in sports and working at local organic farms. She has volunteered with the Haw River Assembly, CARE animal rescue and served as Democratic Party vice-chair for Hadley Township. She has witnessed firsthand the fast paced growth taking place in Chatham and is committed to thoughtful development, without sacrificing the beauty of the natural world and keeping a focus on the long term health and sustainability of our community. 

    Katie studied Spanish and Media Production at Antioch College and graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Latin American Studies, minoring in African American Diaspora Studies. She studied in Buenos Aires, Argentina and completed an internship with Hecho en Buenos Aires, an organization that works with the housing insecure and homeless population. Katie is fluent in Spanish.

    She has worked as a nature based pre-school teacher for many years, and founded an outdoor environmental  education program to help children learn to love nature and gain skills for outdoor living. She is currently interim director of Mi Escuelita, a Spanish language immersion pre-school in Chapel Hill. Her career has focused on early childhood and environmental education, local food security, and cultural exchange to foster a deeper understanding. 

    Vice Chair: Franklin Gomez Flores (District 5)

    Mailing Address: P. O. Box 1809, Pittsboro, NC 27312
    Phone: 919-799-3965 
    Email: franklin.gomez@chathamcountync.gov Franklin Gomez Flores

    Franklin Gomez Flores was born in Guatemala, but was raised here, in Chatham County. His family decided to settle in Siler City in 1999, and have lived there since. From a young age, he has played a significant role in his family's transition to life in the United States that ranged from learning English to assisting in the management and maintenance of family assets.  

    He attended our Chatham County public schools in Siler City; and graduated from Jordan Matthews High School in 2012, where he participated in Varsity Soccer and Varsity Track and Field all four years. Franklin attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he earned his Bachelors' degree in Biology. Originally seeking to attend medical school, he realized that policy and government were of greater interest to him.

    He has been an active community member. He volunteered with Scholars' Latino Initiative, was an Assistant Coach for Los Jets soccer team, and served on Chatham County's Planning Board. Elected at 26 years of age, Franklin is the youngest Board member and the first Latino to be elected and to serve on Chatham County's Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Gomez Flores was appointed as Vice-Chair by the Board of Commissioners on December 15, 2025.