Julia R. Hoke joined the Authority in June 1998 as Director of Legal Affairs and General Counsel.  As Director of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, Ms. Hoke serves as the chief legal advisor to the Authority’s executive director, board of directors and senior management, oversees transactions for the agency’s student loan finance program and the State’s 529 college savings plan, and otherwise manages the legal affairs of the agency, including the provision of litigation services. She is also an assistant secretary to the Board. Prior to assuming her current position in June of 1998, she advised and represented the Authority for over nine years as an assistant attorney general in the North Carolina Department of Justice.

A native North Carolinian, Ms. Hoke graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.  She received her Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University in 1986, where she served as a published member and Research Editor of the Wake Forest Law Review.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Hoke has been active in the following organizations:  Education Finance Council (“EFC”), National Council of Higher Education Resources (“NCHER”), the National Association of College and University Attorneys (“NACUA”), and the College Savings Plan Network of the National Association of State Treasurers.  She currently serves as Co-Chair of the Legal & State Affairs Committee of the College Savings Plan Network and is a past chair of the Education Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association.  Through the years, Ms. Hoke has presented on bankruptcy, college savings, student loan, and other financial aid related matters at conferences sponsored by the EFC, NACUA, NCHER, and the National Association of State Treasurers.