Patricia Sykes has graduated from the N.C. Institute of Political Leadership.
 
Sykes, a Brunswick County commissioner and resident of Southport, was one of six graduates of the 60th class in May, according to a news release.
 
Officials said the institute is a non-partisan, nonprofit leadership organization with a mission to educate future political and community leaders. It offers two annual fellows classes in the spring and fall, according to the release.
 
Sykes and other graduates of the 60th class join an alumni group of more than 1,000 graduates of the institute's fellows program, officials said.