September 10, 2007, Greenville, SC— Liberty Fellowship, the statewide leadership initiative sponsored by Hayne Hipp, Wofford College and the Aspen Institute, today announced the 20 accomplished South Carolina leaders who will serve as Mentors for the Class of 2009.
Each Fellow in the leadership class is provided with a mentor, who provides principled guidance throughout the two-year Fellowship. “We are very thoughtful and deliberate in our pairing of Mentors and Fellows,” says Hayne Hipp, founder of Liberty Fellowship. “The role of Mentor is to challenge, motivate and provide counsel, but it goes beyond that. We have hand-picked Mentors who are inherently inspiring both personally and professionally, and whose impact on the lives of their Mentees is likely to be profound.”
The Mentors selected for Liberty Fellowship’s class of 2009 are:
Paula Harper Bethea is Director of External Relations for the McNair Law Firm, P.A. She serves as Chair Emeritus of the United Way of America's Board of Governors, having been Chair in 1996-1997; she also serves as a former Chair of the United Way of South Carolina. Bethea is a Board Member of First Financial Holdings, Inc. and a Founding Board Member of the Palmetto Institute where she serves as Secretary. She is a life member of Independent Colleges and Universities of South Carolina; a member of the Board of Presbyterian College; and past Chair of the Board of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and Columbia College (1998-2000). Bethea will mentor Cedric Green of Charleston, Southern Division Manager in the Gas Business Unit at South Carolina Electric & Gas Company.
Terry S. Brown is Chief Executive Officer of Edens & Avant, one of the largest owners, operators and developers of shopping centers in the United States. Before joining Edens & Avant, Mr. Brown was the Chief Executive Officer of Andersen Corporate Finance LLC (Arthur Andersen’s NASD Broker-Dealer subsidiary). He is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Brown is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization; Real Estate Roundtable; Urban Land Institute (ULI) and is a Trustee of the International Council of Shopping Centers. He was a member of the Inaugural Class of the Liberty Fellowship. In addition, Terry serves on the Board of Directors of Edens & Avant, Consolidated Steel Industries, National Bank of South Carolina, Hammond School, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the South Carolina Business & Industry Political Education Committee and the Columbia Museum of Art. Brown will mentor Todd Abedon of Sullivan’s Island, Managing Partner of Chartwell Holdings/Churchill Forge Properties.
Merl F. Code is an attorney with Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., as well as a Municipal Court Judge, Certified Mediator, insurance company founder, and owner of a precision tool manufacturing facility. Judge Code was the first African American to serve as a Municipal Court Judge in Greenville; the first recipient of the Young Lawyer of the Year from the SC Bar; first African American Chair of Greenville County United Way Board of Directors; he was inducted into the SC Black Hall of Fame in 1999. He played professional football and was a promoter of rhythm and blues shows. Board affiliations and memberships include Palmetto Institute, Furman University, Phillis Wheatley Association, Greenville Urban League, United Way of Greenville, Blue Ridge Council Boy Scouts of America, University Center of Greenville, Hollingsworth Fund and SC Independent Colleges and Universities. Code will mentor Libby Anne Inabinet of Columbia, South Carolina State Director for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, Inc.
Joe Erwin is President and co-founder of Erwin-Penland Advertising, which represents national and regional clients including BI-LO, Verizon Wireless, Wachovia Bank, Michelin/Uniroyal and Fatz Café, and is one of the 10 largest marketing firms in the Southeast. He is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner, was inducted into Greenville Tech's Entrepreneurs Forum in 2000 and is a Member of the Clemson University Entrepreneurs’ Roundtable. He has served as Communications Vice Chair of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, and was a member of S.C. Governor Jim Hodges’ Commission on Teacher Quality. From 2003-2007, he served as Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party. Joe currently serves on the Boards of the Phillis Wheatley Center, the Upstate Alliance and the BI-LO Charity Classic. He is campaign co-chair for the UNCF, and is a member of the 2007 Diversity Leadership Academy at Furman University. He will mentor John B. Gettys, Jr., a Partner in the law firm of Morton and Gettys, LLC in Rock Hill.
Robert A. Faith is CEO of Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC in Charleston, a company he founded in 1993. After receiving a BS in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and an MBA from Harvard Business School, Mr. Faith began his real estate career with Trammell Crow Company and served as a partner in their Charlotte, NC office. Faith co-founded Starwood Capital Partners, L.P., a private investment company, and founded and served as CEO of Homegate Hospitality, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMGT) – a national owner and developer of mid-priced, extended-stay hotels. From 2002 to 2006 Faith served as Secretary of Commerce for the State of South Carolina. He is currently a member of the National Multifamily Housing Council, the Pension Real Estate Association, and the Urban Land Institute. He will mentor Robert Trask, President, CEO, and Director of Atlantic Community Bank headquartered in Bluffton, SC.
Carl Falk is President of Falk-Griffin Foundation. Prior to this, he was Founder and President of Global Trading Web, an industry association representing leading B2B marketplaces around the world, and Senior Vice President for Commerce One, where he was responsible for global operations and marketplaces. From 1987 to 1997 Falk was with Fluor Daniel where he was president of a new of its subsidiaries. Falk chairs the Boards of the Lowcountry Foodbank, Habitat for Humanity for Georgetown County, and the Palmetto Family Council. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, and his Juris Doctorate from Northern Kentucky University. Falk will mentor Timothy E. Scott of Charleston, President and CEO of Tim Scott & Associates, Inc., an insurance agency affiliated with Allstate.
George Fletcher is Executive Director for the SC Council on Competitiveness. Prior to being named the Council's first Director, Fletcher was founder and President of Fletcher Group, Inc, a group of environmental engineering and management companies headquartered in Greenville. He is a Diplomate in the American Academy of Environment Engineers and a Professional Engineer registered in five states. Fletcher's community involvement included serving as Chair of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Greenville County United Way Campaign, President of the American Council of Engineering Companies and some twenty other regional or statewide Boards and Commissions. Fletcher has Bachelor's degrees in Business and Civil Engineering from the University of Kansas, and a Masters Degree in Environmental Systems Engineering from Clemson. Fletcher will mentor Wendell Jones, Principal in his Nationwide Insurance Agency with offices in Spartanburg and Greenville.
Elizabeth Van Doren Gray is a member of the firm Sowell Gray Stepp & Laffitte, LLC, where she concentrates her practice in commercial and probate litigation. She is a former president of the South Carolina Bar, and a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and serves on its State Committee for South Carolina. She serves on the board of the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation, and has previously served on and chaired the Statewide and Regional Citizens' Advisory Committee of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission. She currently serves as a Member of the Chief Justice's Commission on the Profession. Gray earned a B.A. degree from the University of South Carolina, where she also graduated cum laude with a J.D. degree. She is a previous recipient of the Compleat Lawyer Award Gold Medallion from the USC Law School Alumni Association and the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association’s Jean Galloway Bissell Award. She has been named Best Lawyer in America in Business Litigation, as well as one of South Carolina's leadings lawyers in Business Litigation in Chambers U.S.A. She will mentor Jodie McLean of Columbia, President and Chief Investment Officer of Edens & Avant, a privately held real estate developer.
Raymond S. Greenberg is President of the Medical University of South Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1976 with highest honors in chemistry, completed his medical studies at Duke University in 1979, received a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University in 1980, and completed a doctorate in Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina in 1983. Dr. Greenberg served at Emory University as chair of Biostatistics and Epidemiology in the School of Medicine, and as the first dean of the Rollins School of Public Health. In 1995, Dr. Greenberg was appointed Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at MUSC and then was selected as President in 2000. The author of about 150 scientific publications, Dr. Greenberg is nationally recognized for his research on the causes of cancer. He holds two honorary doctorates and has been appointed to many national scientific advisory boards. Greenberg will mentor Elizabeth McMillan Hagood of Charleston, Director of Conservation Programs for the Coastal Conservation League.
R. Glenn Hilliard is Chairman and CEO of Hilliard Group, LLC, an investment and consulting firm headquartered in Atlanta. He serves as Non-Executive Chairman for Conseco, Inc., and as a Trustee for Columbia Funds. Glenn worked with Liberty Life Insurance Company until 1989, where he served in various capacities including General Counsel, President and CEO, and Chairman. From 1989 until his retirement in 2003 Glenn worked with ING and various ING subsidiaries in many capacities and boards including CEO of Security Life of Denver and CEO of ING Americas. He serves on the boards of Clemson University Foundation, Piedmont Healthcare, the High Museum of Art and the Woodruff Arts Center, and is a member of the Board of Councilors for the Carter Center. He is a member of the American and South Carolina Bar Associations, World President’s Organization, and the Society of International Business Fellows. He was Founding Chairman and is Chairman Emeritus of the Foothills Trail, and Founding Chairman of the South Carolina Governor’s School of the Arts. He received his B.A. from Clemson University and his J.D. from George Washington University Law School. He will mentor Matthew T. Richardson, a Shareholder of Wyche Burgess Freeman & Parham, P.A. in Columbia.
Susan (Susu) Johnson is an active advocate for girls and women and a longtime community volunteer. Before serving as a member at large on the board of directors, Susu’s involvement in Girl Scouting includes chairing the Emerald Circle campaign for two years and co-chairing the “Shape Up Camp Mary Elizabeth” capital drive. In addition, Susu is a founding member of both Emerald Circle and WINGS. She taught at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte for 11 years. Susu earned a BA in English from Converse College and her MA in English from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She currently serves as immediate past Chair of the Board of Trustees at Converse College and is a member of the PRIDE Task Force. Susu is also on the Board of Brookgreen Gardens; has served as Board Chair and Campaign Chair of the United Way of the Piedmont; was elected to Spartanburg City Council and has served on numerous boards and advisory groups including the Charlotte (NC) Commission on the Status of Women, Spartanburg Music Foundation, Pine Crest School Board of Directors, and Broward County Library Foundation. She will mentor Luanne Runge, a shareholder with Gallivan, White & Boyd, P.A. in Greenville.
Bill Masters is founder and chairman of Evolution Kayaks and chairman of Chief Executive Boards International. He previously founded Perception Kayak, which grew to become the world's largest manufacturer of whitewater kayaks. He holds more than 30 patents in boat design, plastic manufacturing, computers, and heat transfer. Masters is also a partner with Highlands Pass, LLC, and Deer Meadows, LLC. He is a former chairman of the Charlotte Federal Reserve Board, and serves on the advisory boards at Clemson and Furman universities and the Greenville Artisphere Festival. Masters earned a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Clemson University. He will mentor Philip Shoopman of Greer, an engineering consultant with his own engineering consulting practice in air pollution and industrial hygiene.
Hugh L. McColl, Jr. is Chairman of McColl Brothers Lockwood. Prior to co-founding McColl Partners, a middle-market mergers and acquisition advisory firm, in 2001, Mr. McColl served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of America. Since retiring from his 42-year career at Bank of America, he has also founded two fine art consulting firms: McColl Fine Art in Charlotte, North Carolina, and MME Fine Art in New York. He earned a bachelors degree in business administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1957 and served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1957-59. He will mentor Stephen M. Cox of Rock Hill, a shareholder with Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A.
J. Alex McMillan recently retired as Hipp Chair in The Citadel School of Business from 2003 to 2006. He represented the Charlotte area in the U.S. House from 1985-95 where he was on the Commerce and Budget Committees, a member for four years of the Republican House Leadership and a leader of the Committee on Economic Development of the NATO Assembly. Previously he was CEO of Harris Teeter and CFO of Ruddick Corp., and has been engaged in investment banking at several periods. He served on the Mecklenburg Board of Commissioners from 1972-74 and has served on a number of business boards as well as the boards of Woodberry Forest School, The Darden School (UVA), Union Theological Seminary, The Levine Museum of the New South, as organizing Chair of Spirit Square Corp and of WTVI Inc. He has written one book, published a second, served as guest columnist for The Charlotte Observer and was a Public Fellow at the UNC Institute for Arts and Humanities. He currently serves on the boards of The American College of Building Arts (Charleston), The Civil War Preservation Trust (Washington), The American Civil War Museum (Richmond) and The Concord Coalition (Washington). He served two years in US Army Intelligence and holds a B.A. in History from UNC and an M.B.A. from The Darden School. He will mentor Richard L. Tapp, Jr., a partner with the Nexsen Pruet, LLC law firm in Charleston.
Benjamin T. Rook, FAIA, chairman and CEO of Design Strategies, LLC, a strategic planning, architecture and engineering firm. He began his career in 1968 with Odell Associates, Inc., which grew to become one of the nation’s largest architectural firms. In 1983 he became president and served as Chairman and CEO from 1986 until his retirement in 2001. While with Odell, the firm received hundreds of design awards for projects nationwide. Rook served as Chair of the national American Institute of Architects Convention in 2002. Upon his return to South Carolina in 2002, he founded Design Strategies, LLC. He is the immediate past chairman of the South Carolina Endowed Chairs Program and currently serves as chairman of Artisphere. Rook has served as visiting faculty at many colleges and universities and currently serves on President’s Advisory Boards at Clemson, Furman and Wofford. He graduated from Clemson University and received masters degrees from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Clemson University. He will mentor Kevin A. Hall, a Partner with the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, in Columbia.
Joel A. Smith, III is Dean of the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. He joined USC in 2000 after retiring from Bank of America, which he joined in 1971. Smith graduated from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, with a B.A. in political science and economics. He serves on the boards of the S.C. Business Center for Excellence in Education, the S.C. ETV Endowment, and the Board of Regents of the University of the South. He is a member and former chair of the Board of Spoleto Festival USA and was a co-chair of its 25th Anniversary Campaign; and he serves on the Board of NetBank. An organizer and director of Carolina National Bank & Trust and of The Palmetto Institute, in 2003 Smith was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor given by the governor of South Carolina. In 2001 he was inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame and in 2000 was named Humanitarian of the Year by the United Way. He received the "Tree of Life" award from the National Jewish Fund, and was awarded honorary degrees by South Carolina State University, Fayetteville State University, and the University of South Carolina, Aiken. He also received Businessman of the Year Award from the S.C. Chamber of Commerce. He will mentor John R. Douglas, Director, Core Market Development for Colonial Life and Accident Insurance Company in Columbia.
Kit Smith has served on Richland County Council for 17 years and recently began her 5th term. She has been active in conservation and land use planning as well as teen pregnancy prevention and the arts. After a career in state government, she was director of government relations for Chernoff/Silver and Associates and is now affiliated with CarolinaPR as a Senior Counsel. She serves on the board of the Southern Environmental Law Center, and served as Chairman of the Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and the Palmetto Conservation Foundation. Smith is also the founder of the Palmetto Trail, a footpath across the state. She graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.A. in History and a Masters Degree in Education. Smith will mentor Deadra Jefferson, Circuit Judge for the Ninth Judicial Circuit in Charleston.
Judge H. Samuel Stilwell, who has served since 1996 on the South Carolina Court of Appeals, earned an A.A. degree from Mars Hill College, and a B.A. and LL.B., cum laude, from the University of South Carolina. Judge Stilwell worked in Washington, D.C. on the staff of the late United States Senator Strom Thurmond and on the staff of the Senate Commerce Committee. He returned to Greenville in 1968 and was in the private practice of law until elected to his current position on the bench. In 1987, Judge Stilwell was elected to the South Carolina State Senate, serving there through the year 1995 when he resigned for the purpose of becoming a candidate for election to the Court of Appeals. He will mentor Steve Shrum, Owner of Holly Tree Animal Hospital in Simpsonville, SC.
Rick Throckmorton is a retired Vice President and Lead Partner of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. where he practiced at the intersection of business strategy and enabling technology. His primary emphasis was the creation of unique business strategies empowered by enabling technologies for large (Fortune 500), mid- and start-up businesses across multiple industries. Since retiring to Charleston, Mr. Throckmorton continues to serve Booz|Allen as a Trustee for the oversight and management of a $1.7B retirement portfolio and as a member of the Medical University of South Carolina Foundation Board of Trustees. He is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the School of Business and Economics at the College of Charleston, was a founding member of the State’s Council on Competitiveness and serves as a business strategy consultant to selected clients. He will mentor John L. S. Simpkins, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of Diversity Initiatives at the Charleston School of Law.
Judge William W. Wilkins served as the Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals until July 1, 2007 when he elected to take senior status. Prior to his appointment to the circuit court, he served as a U.S. District Judge for the District of South Carolina. He served as the first Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission and was Chair of the Committee on Criminal Law of the Judicial Conference of the United States. Prior to being appointed to the federal bench, Judge Wilkins was engaged in the private practice of law; served as the Solicitor for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina; and served as a law clerk to a federal judge and legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator. Judge Wilkins is a graduate of Davidson College and the University of South Carolina School of Law where he was Editor-in-Chief of the South Carolina Law Review and Captain of the South Carolina National Moot Court Team. He is a Distinguished Professor of Law at the Charleston School of Law. He holds an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of South Carolina, an honorary Doctor of Public Service Degree from Coastal Carolina University, and an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the Charleston School of Law. He will mentor Kristopher Crawford of Florence, Medical Director for the Emergency Department at Lake City Community Hospital in Lake City.
