Career
In March 2007, she was appointed by Governor Mike Easley, upon the recommendation of local Democratic Party leaders, to replace state Representative James B. Black, who had resigned. In her second term, Cotham was appointed to Company-Chair the House"s K-12 Education subcommittee. She also represents North Carolina on the Southern Region Education Board, having been appointed by North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue.
Cotham is on leave as an Assistant Principal of Instruction in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System.
Prior to this leadership role, she was a social studies and AVID Teacher, teaching both middle and high school. In 2002, Cotham was honored as the Charlotte Mecklenburg Most Outstanding Teacher.
Cotham served as a Trustee to the North Carolina Teacher Academy. In 2008, she was honored as University of North Carolina Chapel Hill"s School of Education Young Alumna of the Year.
The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) also honored Cotham as an "A+" Legislator.
Cotham chose not to run for re-election in 2016. She later said she would consider running for the United States. House of Representatives in a newly redrawn 12th congressional district. Cotham filed to run for the seat on March 21, 2016.
Cain served as the Minority Leader for the Maine House Democrats.
Cotham and Meek have two sons. Cotham lives in Matthews, North Carolina.
