Riley Institute recruits Quinn, promotes Martin

The Riley Institute at Furman has recruited Mark Quinn, Director of Public and Member Relations at the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, as Senior Associate at the Institute, and has promoted Jacki Martin, formerly Associate Director of the Riley Institute, to Director of Riley Institute Operations.

At The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Quinn is responsible for strategic communications, advertising, branding initiatives and media relations. As Senior Associate at the Riley Institute, Quinn makes contributions that help shape the Institute’s critical issues programming, including OneSouthCarolina, the Diversity Leaders Initiative (DLI) alumni event, and the four-week Summer Series presented in partnership with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

Quinn is uniquely qualified to make these contributions through his broad and deep experience as a professional journalist in the state. He worked in television journalism for more than 16 years, 13 of which were spent in Columbia. For 11 years, he worked in various on-air capacities for one of the most successful NBC affiliates in the country, WIS-TV.

In 2007, Quinn began work with South Carolina Educational Television, and is the former host of ETV and ETV Radio’s weekly news and public affairs program, “The Big Picture.” Among the highlights of his tenure with SCETV was his on-site coverage of both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions of 2008 and the statewide gubernatorial, congressional, and constitutional officer debates in 2010.

Jacki Martin, Director of Riley Institute Operations, joined the Institute in 2009 as Associate Director. Says Executive Director Don Gordon, Ph.D., “This new classification reflects the true scope of Jacki’s duties. She oversees the daily activities of the Institute’s three centers of work and supervises and supports 10 staff members. In her six years with the Institute she has helped drive and shape many new initiatives in our public education, diversity leadership, and critical issues programming.”

Martin’s background is primarily in policy and program management related to community development issues, including land use, conservation, transportation, and public education in the government, nonprofit, and for profit sectors. Within the conservation and development communities she has worked with the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, the Main Street Association, the Urban Land Institute, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, among other groups. Prior experience in higher education includes directing marketing and communications at Technical College of the Lowcountry.

High-resolution images for Quinn and Martin are available upon request. For more information about the Riley Institute, contact Director of Operations Jacki Martin (864) 294-3578, or jacki.martin@furman.edu. Follow the Riley Institute on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or visit the website to learn more.