Liberty Fellowship is governed by a Board of Directors who owe the highest fiduciary responsibility to Liberty Fellowship. Our Board Members are Fellows who generously contribute their time to this service over three-year terms.

Elizabeth A. Fleming (’06)

Chair

Betsy Fleming is an early-stage investor focused on women-led and women-empowering startups and an independent consultant.

As a consultant, she provides strategy, coaching and facilitation services to grow successful, impactful organizations.

Betsy has served in various leadership roles including President of Converse College in Spartanburg, SC from 2005 to 2016, and Executive Director of the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC. Betsy is on the Board of Directors of Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina and CTE, one of North Carolina’s largest privately held companies. In addition, she is on the boards of Davidson College, Spoleto Festival USA, and the General Alumni Association of Phillips Exeter Academy. Betsy is also an Aspen Global Leadership Network moderator.

A resident of Charlotte, NC, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, an M.A. from the Royal College of Art in London, and a Ph.D. in the History of Art from Yale University.

Kerri Forrest (’18)

Vice Chair

Kerri Forrest is the Vice President of Grantmaking & Community Leadership at Coastal Community Foundation. She is responsible for overseeing the Foundation’s program and grant initiatives as well as community and stakeholder engagement to advance community-centered programs throughout the Foundation’s nine-county region.

Prior to this role, Kerri was the Senior Program Director for Equity Centered Leadership and Philanthropy for MDC, a legacy nonprofit committed to equitable systems change in the South. Kerri is a dynamic public communicator, connector, and mentor who brings more than a decade of experience in the non-profit and philanthropic fields including strategy development, strategic partnerships, governance, and professional development. She returned to her hometown of Charleston, SC after a 16-year journalism career with national broadcast outlets MSNBC, NBC NEWS, and CBS NEWS.

Kerri holds a BA in Biological Sciences from Clemson University and a MA in Interactive Journalism from American University. She is a Furman University Riley Fellow, a Liberty Fellow, and a Fellow in the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Michael Allen (’14)

Michael offers more than 19 years of successful architectural business development and project management experience, including LEED and Green Globe Sustainability projects.

Michael’s client relationship development skills and project lead generating suitabilities have helped him win numerous projects throughout his career. His valuable knowledge of project scale and budget stems from opportunities working with a wide range of Higher Education, K-12, Municipal, and Sports & Recreation clients, frequently following projects from conception through completion.

A former Clemson Football player, Michael was awarded the 2019 Brian Dawkins Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in career and community achievements.

Patrick Cawley (’13)

Dr. Patrick J. Cawley is the Chief Executive Officer of MUSC Health and Vice President for Health Affairs of the Medical University of South Carolina.

Prior to being appointed as CEO, Dr. Cawley served as the chief medical officer of the MUSC Medical Center where he led MUSC’s improvement transformation in quality and patient safety. He co-founded the first hospital medicine program at Duke University and later managed a private practice hospital medicine group in Conway, SC. He has served as a consultant to numerous hospitals in hospital medicine program development. Dr. Cawley is a Past-President of the Society of Hospital Medicine and is actively involved in leadership roles in the American Hospital Association, the South Carolina Hospital Association, America’s Essential Hospitals, Vizient, and the health care collaborative, Initiant.

He received his medical degree from Georgetown University, his MBA from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and his Bachelor of Science in Biology and Business from the University of Scranton.

Iris Griffin (’16)

Iris Griffin is vice president of power generation for Dominion Energy South Carolina.

Iris has responsibility for, with the exception of V.C. Summer, an approximately 5,000-megawatt generating fleet serving more than 760,000 customer accounts principally in South Carolina’s Midlands and Lowcountry. Most recently Iris served as the Vice President of Financial Management & Integration for Dominion Energy South Carolina.  Prior to the merger with Dominion Energy, she served as CFO & Treasurer for SCANA Corporation. Prior to joining SCANA, she worked at Scott McElveen in Columbia, South Carolina, and Ernst & Young in Raleigh, North Carolina. Griffin serves the community as Chair of the City Year Advisory Board, Secretary of the Board of Central SC Habitat for Humanity, audit committee chair for the University of South Carolina Business Partnership Foundation, member of the Finance Committee for the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, member of the Executive Committee of the Board for Columbia Museum of Art. She earned a B.A. in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy from the University of South Carolina.

Ann Marie Stieritz (’16)

President & CEO

Ann Marie Stieritz was named President & CEO of Liberty Fellowship in 2019.  She joined Liberty Fellowship as its inaugural Chief Impact Officer in 2017, having served as President & CEO of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness the prior three years.

Ann Marie’s other professional roles in South Carolina include Deputy Executive Director of the University of South Carolina Office of Economic Engagement; Vice President for Economic and Workforce Competitiveness of the South Carolina Technical College System; and Founding Director of the nationally-recognized Apprenticeship Carolina™ initiative.

Long committed to global engagement, Ann Marie previously worked as Vice President of the Ponape Agricultural & Trade School in the Federated States of Micronesia and with the US Peace Corps in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.  She also served as a Political Analyst for the Consulate General of Japan in New York and as an International Trade Associate for the State of New Jersey.

Ann Marie has served on numerous professional and volunteer boards throughout her career.  She is currently a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Columbia Museum of Art; a member of the Tiffany Circle of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement; Chair of the Central SC chapter of the Tiffany Circle of the American Red Cross; an inaugural member of the Governing Board for the newly-founded national non-profit Apprenticeships for America; and a member of the President’s Advisory Council of Xavier University.

Ann Marie received her M. Phil. (A.B.D.) in Politics and her M.A. in French Studies from New York University, a Diplôme d’études from the l’Université de Paris-la Sorbonne, and her B.A. in History and French summa cum laude from Xavier University.  She is a Liberty Fellow from the class of 2016 and an Aspen Institute-certified moderator.

Jason Tompkins (’14)

Jason Tompkins is a founder and Managing Partner of Asana Partners. He has 24 years of commercial real estate experience.

Jason Tompkins is a founder and Managing Partner of Asana Partners. He has 24 years of commercial real estate experience in investments, asset management, operations, capital markets, and institutional investor relations.

Jason has served as lead execution officer on more than $20 billion of private and public real estate and capital markets transactions.

Prior to co-founding Asana Partners, Tompkins was the Chief Financial Officer of EDENS, one of the nation’s leading owners, operators, and developers of retail real estate. Before joining EDENS, Jason held positions as Vice President with Wachovia Securities’ Real Estate Investment Banking, Director with Andersen Corporate Finance, LLC (NASD Broker-Dealer subsidiary of Arthur Andersen), and Vice President of European Mergers and Acquisitions with GE Capital Real Estate in Paris, France.

Jason earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering at Virginia Tech. He lives in Columbia.

Octavia Williams-Blake (’11)

Octavia is the Senior VP & Chief Human Resources Officer for McLeod Health in Florence, South Carolina.

Octavia is the Senior VP & Chief Human Resources Officer for McLeod Health in Florence, SC. Prior to being named CHRO in 2021, she served as the Vice President, Workplace Health & Safety. Octavia previously worked in Human Resources for Sony Electronics, in Park Ridge, NJ, and Pepsi Bottling Group, in Atlanta, GA. Octavia serves on the boards of Antum Risk, First Reliance Bank, Trinity Collegiate School and as a panel member for the Commission on Lawyer Conduct.

Octavia served 12 years on the Florence City Council becoming the first African American elected at large and the first female elected since 1953.

Octavia holds a B.A. in Public Affairs & History from Columbia College, a J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law, and an HR Executive certification from Harvard’s Business School.

Geoff Wilson (’15)

Geoff is Founder and Principal of Wilson Growth Partners, LLC, a strategic advisory firm.

Geoff is Founder and Principal of Wilson Growth Partners, LLC, a strategic advisory firm with a focus on serving clients on strategic revenue growth, performance improvement, and transformational change initiatives.

Prior to founding WGP, Geoff was Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy & Development at Milliken & Company, an innovation-driven diversified manufacturing company. At Milliken, he led corporate strategy, M&A, and special initiatives. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree and his Master of Arts degree from Stanford University. Geoff was a 3-year letter winner and 30-game starter as a football player at Stanford. He subsequently received his MBA degree with high distinction from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.  Geoff lives in Spartanburg.

Meet Our Moderators & Staff

Get to know our professional team and our moderators who facilitate the seminar experience.