{"id":1961,"date":"2024-01-24T14:23:09","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T14:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/?post_type=furman-update&p=1961"},"modified":"2024-02-06T19:15:32","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T19:15:32","slug":"forty-eight-midlands-leaders-join-diversity-leaders-initiative","status":"publish","type":"furman-update","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/news\/forty-eight-midlands-leaders-join-diversity-leaders-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"Forty-eight Midlands Leaders Join Diversity Leaders Initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"

FOR INFORMATION:
\n<\/strong>Claudia Winkler
\nDirector of Marketing and Communications
\nThe Riley Institute at Furman University
\n864.294.3368; Claudia.winkler@furman.edu<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

January 24, 2024 \u2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<\/p>\n

FORTY-EIGHT MIDLANDS LEADERS JOIN DIVERSITY LEADERS INITIATIVE<\/strong><\/p>\n

An award-winning program with over 2,700 graduates across South Carolina, the Diversity Leaders Initiative leverages diversity to drive progress.<\/em><\/p>\n

GREENVILLE, S.C. \u2014 Forty-eight leaders from across the Midlands have been selected to participate in the Riley Institute\u2019s intensive 5-month Diversity Leaders Initiative (DLI) program. For over 20 years, DLI has brought together community stakeholders and equipped them with the skills and perspectives necessary to leverage diversity in their organizations in ways that drive social and economic progress in South Carolina.<\/p>\n

Participants are selected following nomination by a DLI graduate and a thorough application and interview process. Each class includes leaders who represent the varied demographics in our state and who seek to institute diverse and inclusive practices within their communities and organizations.<\/p>\n

Juan Johnson, the designer and facilitator of the program, has crafted a curriculum that includes interactive case studies, scenario analyses, and experiential learning tools. With five meetings over the course of five months, this program will explore modules related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.<\/p>\n

Among the topics explored in these discussions are the differences between bias and discrimination, the role of context, differences in mental and physical abilities, generational diversity, and diversity frameworks.<\/p>\n

The DLI program concludes with groups undertaking community action projects. With these capstone projects, this new class of DLI participants will identify challenges in their communities and will work together to address them. Many of our DLI graduates have developed projects that continue to produce tremendous good within their communities.<\/p>\n

Dr. Don Gordon, executive director of the Riley Institute, remarks, \u201cToday\u2019s leaders are responsible for making positive contributions that benefit everyone, particularly the most marginalized among us. This program creates opportunities to tackle challenges faced by diverse segments of our community and introduce enduring solutions and systems-level change within organizations and businesses across South Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graduates of DLI become Riley Fellows and join a diverse community of changemakers in South Carolina.<\/p>\n

Listed below are the participants of the spring 2024 Midlands DLI class.<\/p>\n

Katie Ayers
\n<\/strong>Senior Research Fellow
\nArras Foundation
\nLancaster<\/p>\n

Cayci Banks
\n<\/strong>VP of Strategy & Communications
\n1000 Feathers
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Brenton Brown
\n<\/strong>Deputy Director
\nCommission of Minority Affairs
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Susan Cohen
\n<\/strong>President & CEO
\nSC Restaurant & Lodging Association
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Beth Costner
\n<\/strong>Dean, Richard W. Riley College of Education,
\nSport, and Human Sciences
\nWinthrop University
\nRock Hill<\/p>\n

Chris Cowan
\n<\/strong>Chief of Police
\nCity of Cayce
\nCayce<\/p>\n

Bill Davis
\n<\/strong>Director of Utilities
\nRichland County Government
\nBlythewood<\/p>\n

Dawn Dawson-House
\n<\/strong>Executive Director
\nWeGOJA Foundation
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Linda Distlerath
\n<\/strong>Trustee, Executive Committee
\nSCRA
\nBluffton<\/p>\n

Danny Dorsel
\n<\/strong>President
\nSouth Carolina Governor\u2019s School for Science and Mathematics
\nHartsville<\/p>\n

Liz Duda
\n<\/strong>Large Bank Advanced Examiner
\nFederal Reserve Bank of Richmond
\nCharlotte<\/p>\n

Hammond Edwards
\n<\/strong>Senior Vice President
\nOptus Bank
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Teresa Ervin
\n<\/strong>Mayor
\nCity of Florence
\nFlorence<\/p>\n

Brian Fast
\n<\/strong>Market Executive
\nFirst Citizens Bank
\nFlorence<\/p>\n

Sarah Ford
\n<\/strong>Legal Director
\nSC Victim Assistance Network
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Molly Fortune
\n<\/strong>Executive Director
\nGovernor\u2019s Commission for South Carolina
\nAmerican Revolution Sestercentennial Commission
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Mike Gula
\n<\/strong>President\/CEO
\nColumbia Metropolitan Airport
\nWest Columbia<\/p>\n

Jacqueline Inabinette
\n<\/strong>Assistant Superintendent
\nClarendon County School District
\nOrangeburg<\/p>\n

Ernest Jenkins
\n<\/strong>Associate Professor of History
\nUniversity of South Carolina Lancaster
\nLancaster<\/p>\n

Paul Johnston
\n<\/strong>Senior Director B2B Virtual Sales
\nMichelin North America
\nGreenville<\/p>\n

Tamara King
\n<\/strong>Chief Equity and Engagement Officer
\nRichland Library
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Erika Kirby
\n<\/strong>Executive Director
\nBlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Stephen Legault
\n<\/strong>Senior Director Commercial Sales
\nMichelin North America
\nGreenville<\/p>\n

Robert LeHeup
\n<\/strong>Founder\/Director
\nBullets and Bandaids
\nLexington<\/p>\n

Harry Lightsey
\n<\/strong>Secretary of Commerce
\nState of South Carolina
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Melissa Lindler
\n<\/strong>Chief of Staff
\nSoutheast Crescent Regional Commission
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Jamie Lovegrove
\n<\/strong>Director
\nNP Strategy
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Mary Lucas
\n<\/strong>Associate General Counsel
\nOpen Technology Fund
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Bryanta Maxwell
\n<\/strong>Advance Coordinator
\nU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Ann McBride
\n<\/strong>DEIJ Leadership Consultant
\nThe Neo Project Consultancy
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Tony Megna
\n<\/strong>CEO and General Counsel
\nGenesis Heath Care, Inc.
\nBlythewood<\/p>\n

Bob Morgan
\n<\/strong>President & CEO
\nSouth Carolina Chamber of Commerce
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Kelly Morrow
\n<\/strong>Attorney
\nRobinson Gray
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Kathleen Muthig
\n<\/strong>Attorney
\nHaynsworth Sinkler Boyd, PA
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Rose Newton
\n<\/strong>Chairman
\nBank of Clarendon
\nManning<\/p>\n

Brittany Owen
\n<\/strong>Shareholder
\nElliot Davis, LLC
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Punam Patel
\n<\/strong>South Carolina Liaison
\nScout Motors
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Shaquit\u00e9 Pegues
\n<\/strong>Managing Director
\nChildren\u2019s Defense Fund
\nBennettsville<\/p>\n

Derrek Pugh
\n<\/strong>Councilman, County Council District 2
\nRichland County
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Maayan Schechter
\n<\/strong>Reporter
\nSC ETV and Public Radio
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

William Simon
\n<\/strong>City Administrator
\nCity of Bennettsville
\nBennettsville<\/p>\n

Sammy Small
\n<\/strong>President
\nFirst Palmetto Bank
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Allison Sullivan
\n<\/strong>Attorney
\nBluestein Attorneys
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Helena Tillar
\n<\/strong>Superintendent
\nMarlboro County School District
\nBennettsville<\/p>\n

Ferlondo Tullock
\n<\/strong>Superintendent
\nCalhoun County Public Schools
\nSt. Matthews<\/p>\n

Phil Wahl
\n<\/strong>President
\nSecurity Federal Bank
\nAiken<\/p>\n

T.J. Wallace
\n<\/strong>Assistant Director
\nSouth Carolina Humanities
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

Buck Wilson
\n<\/strong>Public Health Director \u2013 Midlands
\nSC DHEC
\nColumbia<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

About the Riley Institute at Furman University<\/strong><\/p>\n

Furman University\u2019s Richard W. Riley Institute advances social and economic progress in South Carolina and beyond by building leadership for a diverse society, broadening student and community perspectives on critical issues, hosting expert speakers, supporting public education, and creating knowledge through community solutions-focused research. It is committed to nonpartisanship in all it does and to a rhetoric-free, facts-based approach to change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FOR INFORMATION: Claudia Winkler Director of Marketing and Communications The Riley Institute at Furman University 864.294.3368; Claudia.winkler@furman.edu   January 24, 2024 \u2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FORTY-EIGHT MIDLANDS LEADERS JOIN DIVERSITY […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1978,"template":"","update-categories":[11,18],"class_list":["post-1961","furman-update","type-furman-update","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","furman-update-category-diversity-strategies","furman-update-category-news-release"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/1961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/furman-update"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/1961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"furman-update-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/update-categories?post=1961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}