PITT COUNTY, N.C. -- Paula Dance begins her leadership at the Pitt County Sheriff's Office, becoming the first Black female to hold the post and the first to hold the office in our state.
- She began her career with a jail clerk job at the Martin Co. Sheriff's Office and soon set her sights higher to deputy.
- Despite holding the top post, Dance says she's faced a lot of adversity to get here.
- After leaving the MCSO as a deputy, she continued with the Pitt County Sheriff's Office as a sergeant, investigator, lieutenant and major before being elected sheriff.
She began her career with a jail clerk job at the Martin County Sheriff's Office and soon set her sights higher to deputy.
Despite holding the top post, Dance says she's faced a lot of adversity to get here.
"There were people that said, 'Well she's a woman. Women shouldn't lead.' Well I guarantee you those very same people who say that would not have had any problem if they call for help and I was the only one there to help them," Dance said.
Dance is the youngest of eight children, and grew up in Martin County.
She worked throughout her childhood on her family’s tobacco farm. After leaving the MCSO as a deputy, she continued with the Pitt County Sheriff's Office as a sergeant, investigator, lieutenant and major before being elected sheriff.