Meet Kimberly

Kimberly Hardy is a mom, social worker, and professor who has spent her career building bridges to equip people with the tools and opportunities they need to be successful. 

Growing up in a middle class family with roots in eastern NC, Kimberly learned the value of service by watching the work of her father, a Marine Corps veteran who served multiple tours in Vietnam before becoming a police officer, and her mother, who was a Special Agent in Charge with the US Department of the Interior and the State Department investigating fraud, waste, and abuse. Both of Kimberly’s brothers served in the US Armed Forces—one in the US Marines, the other in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, stationed at Fort Bragg. 

While attending community college and working as a secretary, Kimberly saw too many people in her community falling through the cracks, which drew her to social work. She received her Bachelors in Social Work from Morgan State University and her Masters from The Ohio State University and worked for several years as a school social worker, bringing together teachers, parents, and school administrators to find resources and create plans to help students and their families succeed. She then earned her PhD in Social Work at Morgan State University, gaining national prominence in her field for her studies of how African American churches work with people in need of help. 

Since 2016, Kimberly has been a professor at Fayetteville State University,* the oldest Historically Black University in the UNC System and one of the best colleges in North Carolina for student economic mobility, where she has primarily worked with students from NC-07 and surrounding counties. She has been involved in several community organizations, including serving for several years as chair of Sweet Tea Shakespeare Theatre Company, participating in Jack and Jill, and running several food and school supply drives. She is a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

Seeing the ways our region and our hard-working neighbors have been ignored and mistreated by policymakers inspired Kimberly to run for office. She was the Democratic nominee for NC House 43 in 2020, running to protect affordable healthcare (including expanding Medicaid), invest in our public schools, and raise the minimum wage. After that race, she got involved in statewide organizations, including serving on the Board of Directors for Lillian’s List, President of the Democratic Women of Cumberland County, and Second Vice-President of the Democratic Women of North Carolina. Since 2023, Kimberly has been Second Vice Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, where she advocates for the needs and interests of her neighbors in the Sandhills and Eastern NC. The central pillars of her work have been a 30-county listening tour of Eastern NC and advocating for every eligible voter’s vote to be counted, no matter who they voted for.

A public school and now public college mom, Kimberly has cheered at many football, soccer, and basketball games and track meets. She’s seen the cost of feeding teenage boys after a match. She’s witnessed up-close the need for repairs to our school buildings and better paths for our young people, including support for them completing college, learning a trade, and/or building a business, and affordable housing, groceries, and healthcare so they can get a strong start in life. 

*For biographical purposes only and should not be taken as an endorsement by Fayetteville State University or the University of North Carolina System.