Liberty Fellowship Announces Senior Advisors for the Class of 2012
GREENVILLE, South Carolina (February 22, 2011) – What do the president of Michelin – North America, the state’s premier wellness guru and Chief Judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals have in common? Along with 19 other accomplished South Carolinians, they have been named Senior Advisors for the Liberty Fellowship Class of 2012. In this role, they will provide principled guidance to the Liberty Fellows through the two-year seminar experience and will participate as Senior Advisors on the Liberty Fellowship Forums.
“Tapping some of South Carolina’s most successful and community-focused leaders, we find inspiration and expertise that resonates with our Liberty Fellows,” commented Hayne Hipp, founder of the Liberty Fellowship.
Liberty Fellowship is a life-long commitment on the part of the Fellows. In addition to being matched with a Senior Advisor, Fellows attend four seminars over two years, including one Aspen Institute International Globalization seminar with leaders from around the world. They also commit to a personal project that will have a positive impact on the state. The Senior Advisor relationship is fostered throughout the program components and is beneficial for all involved.
“The value of the relationship is reciprocal,” continued Hipp. “The Liberty Fellows themselves represent a high level of professional achievement and personal investment at the community and state level and have plenty to offer. Paring them with the Senior Advisors, whose experience is a bit more diverse in terms of years or breadth, pays off for both of them.”
Like the Liberty Fellows, the Senior Advisors span broad political, geographic and civic passions. Each has a strong commitment to South Carolina evidenced through community participation and leadership in various areas.
These are the Senior Advisors for the Liberty Fellowship Class of 2012:
Jimmy Addison, Senior Vice President and CFO of SCANA Corporation, will mentor Thad Westbrook, Partner with Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough LLP. Addison and Westbrook share a passion for the economic prosperity of this state and higher education in South Carolina. A member of the inaugural class of Liberty Fellowship, Addison serves on the boards of the USC Moore School of Business Partnership Foundation, the South Carolina Higher Education Foundation, South Carolina Bank and Trust and the Southeastern Electrical Exchange.
Russell Bennett, previous Managing Partner at Drose, Davidson and Bennett, will mentor Blan Holman, Senior Attorney and Co-founder of the Southern Environmental Law Center’s Charleston office. Both Bennett and Holman use their legal education and expertise to work on environmental issues in the low country and worldwide. Since retiring from the practice of law, Bennett has focused on real estate investment and development. Additionally, he was a founding board member of Darkness to Light and is board chair of Wings for Kids. He also is a board member of Worldwatch Institute, an international NGO specializing in environmental research.
David Black, recently appointed Director of the South Carolina Department of Insurance, will mentor Gus Suarez, Associate Attorney with Ogletree Deakins Law Firm. Both men are active in the Upstate community and share a legal background. Previously, Black was President and CEO of Liberty Life Insurance Company. Before assuming those duties, he served as General Counsel. Black is on the executive board for the College of Business and Behavioral Sciences at Clemson University, the board of the Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC and was previous chair of the Urban League of the Upstate.
Terry Brown, CEO of Edens & Avant, will mentor James Smith, Jr., Attorney and South Carolina House Representative. Successful businessmen who carve out time for community and national organizations, Brown and Smith each have a strong, vested interest in economic development in South Carolina. Brown, a Liberty Fellow and co-chair of the Liberty Fellowship Economic Development Forum, is a member of the Real Estate Roundtable and the Urban Land Institute. He serves on the boards of Consolidated Systems Inc., NBSC – a division of Synovus Bank – and the University of Georgia Foundation. Brown was an officer in the U.S. Army, and Smith currently is Captain with the South Carolina Army National Guard.
Lee Bussell, Chernoff Newman Chairman and CEO, will mentor Pamela Baker, Shareholder in the McNair Law Firm. Bussell and Baker have ties to the University of South Carolina, and both are active in the South Carolina business community. Bussell is president of the University of South Carolina Alumni Association and a member of the USC Board of Trustees. He previously chaired the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and is a former board member of the South Carolina Competitive Initiative and the Vision South Carolina Team.
Harris DeLoach, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO of Sonoco Products Company, will mentor Michael Johnson, who is CEO and President of Cox Industries. Leading home-grown, highly successful businesses that have global impacts is the connection between these two. DeLoach also serves on the boards of Sonoco, Goodrich Corporation and Progress Energy, Inc. and has chaired the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the Palmetto Business Forum.
John Few, Chief Judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals, will mentor Scott Porter, MD, Section Chief of the Division of Orthopaedic Oncology, Greenville Hospital System. Both men call Greenville home and, using their legal and medical backgrounds, are focused on justice for the underserved and underrepresented. Few, a Liberty Fellow, is a faculty member with the National Judicial College and serves as visiting professor at the Charleston School of Law.
Marilynn Wood Hill and John Hill will mentor Laura Varn, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Media Relations, Santee Cooper. Varn and the Hills share a love for the Lowcountry and community involvement that reinforces that zeal. Marilynn is an author, historian and community volunteer. She is on the boards of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Schlesinger Library at Harvard, the Foundation for the National Archives and the School of the Arts of the College of Charleston. John is Founder and Vice-chairman of First Reserve Corporation and Director of Devon Energy Corporation and various private companies owned by First Reserve. He is board chair for Putnam Mutual Funds and Sarah Lawrence College and is on the board of the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance at Yale. They both are on the National Advisory Council of Historic Charleston.
Anna Kate Hipp, seasoned philanthropist and community volunteer, will mentor Patricia Ravenhorst, Director and Immigration Attorney, South Carolina Immigrant Victim Network. Hipp and Ravenhorst are enthusiastic supporters of nonprofit organizations and have both seen significant results for their efforts. Hipp is on the boards of the Southern Environmental Law Center, The Community Foundation of Greenville, TreesGreenville and SlowFood Upstate and is past board chair of Mary Baldwin College. She received the YWCA Women of Achievement Award and the Garden Club of American Civic Improvement Award for her fundraising efforts to endow the future of Falls Park in Greenville.
Susu Johnson will mentor Mary Hipp. Both are community advocates with extensive track records in service to the Upstate as a well as the state of South Carolina. Previously, Johnson was a faculty member at Central Piedmont Community College and served on the Spartanburg City Council. She is past chair of the Converse College Board of Trustees, a member of the PRIDE Task Force and served as board chair of United Way of the Piedmont. She is on the board of Brookgreen Gardens and is a founding member of Girl Scouts Emerald Circle and WINGS.
Ann Kulze, Founder and CEO of the wellness education firm Dr. Ann and Just Wellness LLC, will mentor Susan Newman, Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing and College of Graduate Studies at MUSC. Kulze and Newman share a background in healthcare and are in roles that blend their professional expertise with personal passions. Prior to her commitment to wellness education, Kulze worked for 14 years as a family physician. A Liberty Fellow and co-chair of the Health Forum, she has authored two books and is a highly sought motivational speaker. Kulze serves on the boards of the Prevent Cancer Foundation and the Medical Advisory Board for the Wellness Council of America.
Pamela Lackey, State President, AT&T South Carolina, will mentor Tanya Gee, Clerk of Court for the South Carolina Court of Appeals. Both Lackey and Gee are driven to learn more, do more and be more. Lackey’s background includes serving as Senior Executive Assistant to the State Superintendent of Education in addition to her roles with AT&T. She has been involved with the ETV Endowment of South Carolina and the Palmetto Center for Women’s Business Advisory Committee. She is on the boards of the Central SC Alliance, the SC Chamber of Commerce, SC Centers of Economic Excellence Review Board and the Governor’s School for the Arts. Lackey recently served on Governor Nikki Haley’s Transition Team.
Leighton Lord, Partner with Nexsen Pruet, LLC, will mentor Amy Love, Deputy Executive Director of New Carolina. Lord and Love are both tireless champions for economic development in South Carolina, devoting much of their professions toward this end. Lord is a Liberty Fellow and is co-chair of the Environment Forum. He serves on the boards of Santee Cooper and the Healthy Learners Program of Providence Hospital and is an executive committee member of the Urban Land Institute. He is former chair of the Board of Trustees for Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, and he recently served on Governor Nikki Haley’s Transition Team.
Bill Mahoney, CEO of the South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA), will mentor Rich Gaton, Co-founder and President of BDI Pharma, Inc. Gaton is known as an emerging entrepreneur while Mahoney has a resume testifying to his leadership in emerging technologies, giving this pair much in common professionally. Prior to joining SCRA, Mahoney led companies which commercialized “first-of-a-kind” solutions in telecommunications, electronic publishing, and other emerging applied systems markets. He serves on the boards of the National Energy Marketers Association, Midlands Technical College Foundation, the International Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, SC Economics and the SC Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance.
Steve Owings, Partner with Osprey-Lanett, LLC, will mentor Peter Waldschmidt, Founder and CEO of Gnoso, Inc. Flying below the radar but with results that reverberate well beyond South Carolina, Owings and Waldschmidt are both entrepreneurs. Prior to joining Osprey-Lanett, Owings spent the majority of his career in the supply chain side of the technology industry. He was CEO of Gates/FA Distributing and later Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of ScanSource, Inc.
David Pankau, President and CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, will mentor Dan Ballou, Partner with Hamilton Martens & Ballou, LLC. Both Pankau and Ballou are strong, articulate leaders with a desire for meaningful progress in South Carolina. Pankau serves on the boards of Junior Achievement, Midlands Business Leadership Group, Palmetto Business Forum, South Carolina State Chamber of Commerce and the National Institute for Health Care Management.
Chris Przirembel, who recently retired as Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Clemson University, will mentor Robin Stilwell, State Circuit Court Judge and Lieutenant Colonel with the South Carolina Army National Guard. Przirembel and Stilwell are focused and driven, both professionally and in service to their communities. Przirembel championed the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research – ICAR – and currently is on the boards of AnMed Health and Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce. He chairs the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Innovation Committee and the ASME Engineering for Global Development Steering Committee.
Joe Salley, President and CEO of Milliken & Co., will mentor Jamie Fulmer, Vice President of Public Affairs, Advance America. Business acumen and expertise in their respective fields are common threads for these Spartanburg businessmen. A Liberty Fellow, Salley serves on the board of the Citadel Foundation, Society of Chemical Industry Executive Committee and the Palmetto Business Forum. He previously was chair of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and currently serves on the Executive Committee.
Bogue Wallin, Senior Vice President and Director of Real Estate – Pacolet Milliken Enterprises, will mentor Russell Booker, Superintendent for Spartanburg School District 7. Wallin and Booker are movers and shakers, with a shared drive that pushes them to excel professionally and in their individual communities. Prior to Pacolet, Wallin was Vice President at Liberty Property Trust. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and has served on the boards of Dream Big Greenville, Ten at the Top, Furman University and the Greenville Visitors Bureau and is past chair of the Upstate History Museum.
Dick Wilkerson, Chairman and President of Michelin North America, will mentor John Castile, Greenville City Manager. Wilkerson and Castile care deeply about Greenville and find the time to stay involved in a number of organizations that enrich the quality of life in the Upstate. Wilkerson is chair of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Greenville County Board of Trustees. He has served on the boards of the Greenville Urban League, the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, the University Center and the Greenville Symphony.
Ambassador David Wilkins, Partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, will mentor Nick Muzin, Chief of Staff for Congressman Tim Scott. Whether in politics, the legal field or higher education, this pair has a number of commonalities that play out in their professional and personal interests. Former Ambassador to Canada, Wilkins also served in the South Carolina House of Representatives where he was speaker for 11 years. Most recently he was tapped as chair of the Governor Nikki Haley Transition Team. He is chair of the Clemson University Board of Trustees and serves on the boards of Abitibi Bowater, Porter Airlines, the Royal Bank of Canada - North America, the Chamber of Commerce and the Greenville Area Development Corporation.
About Liberty Fellowship
Liberty Fellowship is a statewide leadership initiative founded by Hayne Hipp, Wofford College and The Aspen Institute. The program seeks to inspire outstanding leadership in South Carolina, empowering the state’s leaders to realize their full potential. Fostering a values-based approach, Liberty Fellowship exposes rising leaders, ages 30-45, to diverse perspectives, critical thinking, and intellectual and personal development. For more information www.libertyfellowshipsc.org.
