StraightTalk 2025
Bootstraps: Myths and Solutions to Economic Mobility
PRESENTED BY THE RILEY INSTITUTE AND OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE IN COLLABORATION WITH FURMAN CAMPUS PARTNERS
September 2, 9, and 16
Pull yourself up by your bootstraps is a widely held belief encapsulating the American Dream: anyone, regardless of background, can achieve success through hard work. But is it possible today? Has it ever been? Current studies consistently show that now, more than ever, the most significant predictor of an American child’s future income and wealth is the income and wealth of their family. This series examined challenges within key parts of society—education, work, and place of origin—that make the cycle of poverty difficult to break, driving America’s increasing wealth gap and shrinking middle class. Speakers discussed policies, efforts, and systemic changes needed to create pathways that can lead to upward economic mobility for all.
Series Details
- Tuesday, September 2, 6:30 p.m. | A Look at Education
- Tuesday, September 9, 6:30 p.m. | A Look at Work
- Tuesday, September 16, 6:30 p.m. | A Look at Place
Session I | A Look at Education
Session I Speakers
Melanie Barton ’84 serves as deputy chief of staff and senior education advisor for Governor Henry McMaster. She assists Governor McMaster with policies related to early childhood education, public education, and higher education and oversees the development of the Governor’s annual executive budget. She joined his staff in 2019. Prior to her current position, Barton worked for 19 years for the Education Oversight Committee, where she served as executive director for eight years.
David Trone ’77 is the founder and owner of Total Wine & More and served three terms in the United States House of Representatives, representing Maryland’s Sixth Congressional District from 2019-2025. In Congress, Trone served on the House Appropriations Committee, Budget Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee. Trone’s commitment to education has been a career-long priority during his time in public service and corporate leadership. Total Wine & More employees can take advantage of cost-free education benefits, including earning a college degree.
Julie Dunson Meredith ’01 (moderator) is the director of the Center for Critical Issues at The Riley Institute at Furman University. In this role, she sets strategic direction for events and programs that elevate understanding, dialogue, and change-making on issues critical to social and economic progress.
Week 1 Recap
Speakers at Session I examined the roadblocks to upward mobility within America’s education system and explored how better economic outcomes can be achieved by all children, regardless of background, through various public education policy approaches.
Watch Event Recording
Session II Speakers
Chandra Childers, Ph.D., (keynote speaker) is a senior policy and economic analyst with the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. Her work is primarily focused on supporting EARN’s state and local policy research and advocacy network in the Southern United States.
Ray Lattimore is the founder of Marketplace Staffing and a native of Greenville. Prior to founding the company, Lattimore worked for 15 years at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. A Liberty Fellow and graduate of both Leadership South Carolina and Leadership Greenville, Lattimore has earned the Senior Professional of Human Resources credential and is active on numerous boards and in multiple organizations across the Southeast.
David Lominack is commercial market president of South Carolina for TD Bank, where he is responsible for commercial banking throughout the state. Lominack serves on numerous community boards. He currently serves on the executive committee and board of directors for United Way of Greenville County, as well as the board of directors for the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and Greenville Chamber of Commerce. David also served as co-chair for Greenville County’s Racial Equity and Economic Mobility Commission (REEM).
Julie Dunson Meredith ’01 (moderator) is the director of the Center for Critical Issues at The Riley Institute at Furman University. In this role, she sets strategic direction for events and programs that elevate understanding, dialogue, and change-making on issues critical to social and economic progress.
Week 2 Recap
Economic Policy Institute Analyst Chandra Childers explained how trending labor policies influence increasing disparities and wealth gaps in America’s workforce. After her keynote remarks, Childers and local business leaders discussed workforce policies, efforts, and changes that can lead to economic opportunity and growth for all American workers.
Session III | A Look at Place
Sponsor: Hollingsworth Funds
Session III Speakers
Raj Chetty, Ph.D., (keynote speaker) is the William A. Ackman Professor of Economics at Harvard University and the director of Opportunity Insights, which uses big data to study the science of economic opportunity and how we can give children from all backgrounds better chances of succeeding. Chetty has been awarded many accolades, including a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship.
Terril Bates serves as the CEO of the Greenville Housing Authority, where she leverages partnerships and the strength of HUD programs to offer opportunities for participants to seek improved living situations. Bates joined the affordable housing community in 1989 at the Beaufort Housing Authority, in Beaufort, SC. Her career has allowed her to serve in numerous cities across the United States, including Greensboro, NC; Detroit, MI; Las Vegas, NV; Memphis, TN; Daytona Beach, FL; and many cities in South Carolina.
Tiffane Thompson Davis serves as the chief diversity, equity & inclusion officer at Michelin North America, leading efforts to create inclusive, opportunity-rich environments across the company’s U.S. and Canadian operations. With a background in marketing, entrepreneurship, and community engagement, she champions initiatives that build career pathways and economic mobility, particularly through education-to-employment programs.
Shannon Lavrin serves as the city manager for the City of Greenville, South Carolina. In this role, Lavrin serves as the City’s chief executive officer and is responsible for executing City Council priorities and overseeing day-to-day operations. Lavrin played a central role in shaping GVL2040, Greenville’s comprehensive plan, which guides growth through a shared vision that prioritizes affordable housing, open space preservation and increased mobility.
Gage Weekes (moderator) is president and CEO of Hollingsworth Funds, a Greenville-based philanthropic organization whose mission is to collectively remove systemic barriers that hold people back and to strengthen pathways that propel all people forward. He is responsible for aligning all of Hollingsworth Funds’ assets in pursuit of a Greenville where equitable opportunities exist for all to advance and thrive. He is a Liberty Fellow and currently serves on the board of OnTrack Greenville and the Greenville Chamber.
Week 3 Recap
Dr. Raj Chetty discussed what big data reveals about the socioeconomic outcomes of millions of American children, and how these outcomes link to the neighborhood where each child grows up. Session III speakers then shed light on how a person’s “place” can drive or diminish their economic opportunities and explored what it will take for communities to foster conditions for all children to thrive, not only on a national level, but locally in Greenville and across the Upstate.
Furman University Campus Partners
Center for Innovative Leadership
Department of Business and Accounting
Department of Communication Studies
Department of Economics
Department of Education
Department of Politics and International Affairs
Department of Sociology
Hill Institute
Institute for the Advancement of Community Health
On Discourse Initiative
Poverty Studies Minor
The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities