Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands announces new Board of Directors members

Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands has announced the election of six new members to the Board of Directors serving a 22-county jurisdiction.

The six new members elected to serve are Serita Acker-Clemson, Anna Blanton-Cherokee/Spartanburg, Kavita Borsum-Greenville, Barbara Kirkland-Columbia, Courtney Thomas-Greenville,and Shawn Williams-Columbia.

Serita Acker – Clemson/Anderson is PEER/WISE Director for Clemson University.  She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Lander University and a Master of Education in Human Resources and Development from Clemson University.

Before becoming the PEER/WISE Director in August 2015, Serita was Director of the Women in Science and Engineering program. Additionally, she has more than 25 years of experience in higher education in the areas of student support services, mentoring, and diversity programs. She is a certified Global Career Development Facilitator and Academic Coach.

Serita sees the PEER/WISE main role as providing student success programs and services that can equip students with the resources they need to excel at Clemson University and achieve their educational goals so that they are prepared for success after graduation.

Serita has won several state and national awards: Clemson University Woman of the Year, Martin Luther King Jr. Award, Clemson University Board of Trustees Award, WEPAN Distinguished Service Award, Career Communications College Level Promotion of Education Award, Upstate Diversity Award Calder D. Elhmann Outstanding Individual and recently honored as a Girl Scout Woman of Distinction.  She also serves as a MentorLinks Consultant for the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington, D.C. and sits on many state and national boards to promote STEM.  In her spare time, she enjoys reading and traveling.

Anna Blanton – Cherokee/Spartanburg is HR Manager for the Latin American region of the Chemical Division of Milliken.

Anna was born in Tennessee and grew up in Spartanburg, SC.  She attended Wofford College where she majored in International Studies for Business in Spanish after living briefly in Granada, Spain.

After graduation, Anna moved to Columbia, SC where she worked in a customer service role for the Social Security Administration. She returned to the Upstate of South Carolina in 2011 as an Export Logistics Coordinator for Southern States Packaging Co, a paper converter, where her emphasis was primarily in the Latin American and European regions.  She joined Milliken in 2014 as a Human Resource Generalist in the Performance Products Division where she spent a short time in the Specialty Fabrics Division before moving to the Chemical Division in 2017 and serves on the Leadership Team as the Business Partner for Latin America and is currently focused on Global Talent Acquisition.

Anna lives in Spartanburg, SC with her husband, Steven Blanton, CFO at Brown Packing, Co. in Gaffney, SC. They have two little boys, Wells, 3½, and Thompson, 6 months. In her free time she enjoys spending time on the water, reading and cooking.

Kavita Borsum – Greenville is Vice President of Unique Enterprises, Inc.  Kavita has a B.S. Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina.   She is a former Troop Leader in the Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands Council.

Kavita is past President of Greenville Professional Women’s Forum for both 2018 and 2017 and was Logistics Chair 2014-2016; served the Clemson Aquatic Team as Chair and as Secretary; served as Member At Large and Membership Chair of National Association of Women in Construction.  She enjoys being a mentor to adults teaching Sunday School to kids, and developing projects for people and organizations by taking an idea and figuring out how to reach the goal.

Kavita says, “I have a heart to help others succeed in life.  I feel that everyone in America has the opportunity to have a good career, life, and make a difference if they are hardworking and receptive to guidance and support from others.  My parents are immigrants from India.  My father grew up in a very poor and simple lifestyle so he came to America on a scholarship from Oklahoma State University with a trunk and $70.  He made the most of that opportunity and has emphasized to my sisters and me that we need to support those around us and always give a helping hand.

Barbara Kirkland –Columbia is Senior Compliance Manager of Unum.  She has a Master in Forensic Accounting from the University of Charleston, Charleston, WV; a B.A. Accounting from Columbia College, Columbia, SC; and an Associate of Arts from Midlands Technical College, Columbia, SC.

Barbara serves as Evaluation Team Member of United Way of the Midlands Annual Evaluation Team, and previously has served as Steering Committee Member of United Way of the Midlands Young Leaders Society; and Core Team Member of Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands. She says, “As a young girl growing up in the Midlands, I was exposed to community programs and people in my life that implanted a level of confidence I carry with me to this day.  Simply put, I want to carry this forward by helping girls in our communities develop their confidence, as well.  To me leadership, character, courage – it all beings with being confident in who you are and what you know you can do. ”

Courtney Thomas – Greenville is Upstate Liaison for WREN (Women’s Rights & Empowerment Network).  She received a BA in Political Science and concentrations in both African American and African Diasporic Cultures and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Furman University.  Courtney previously served as Assistant Director of Admissions at Furman University.  Her community involvement includes Greenville Black Lives Matter, Do Good Greenville and the Greenville County Young Democrats.

Shawn Williams – Columbia is Chief Human Resources Officer for Richland Two School District.  She received a B.S. in Human Services and Resources from Anderson University in Anderson, SC and earned a M.S. in Management from Southern Wesleyan University, Central, SC.

Shawn has more than 20 years of experience in human resources strategy, compensation and benefits, leadership development, strategic communications and change management in South Carolina public school districts in Edgefield, Chester and Orangeburg counties as well as a variety of private business sectors.   Shawn is currently Chair, Financial Fortitude for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (Greenwood Alumnae) and is President-Elect 2018-2019 for SCASA (South Carolina Association of School Administrators) Columbia, SC. She is past Chair of SCASA Personnel Group Professional Development and the Innovative Ideas Institute Committee.  She serves as Youth Advisor to the Simmon Ridge Samaritan Baptist Association in Edgefield, Saluda and Greenwood counties, and as Vice President of the Women’s Empowerment Conference in Anderson, SC.

 

          

Barbara Kirkland, Shawn Williams, Courtney Thomas

 

The new Board of Directors Members are supported by the following returning and continuing Officers and Members:  newly elected Board Chair Meredith Manning, newly elected Board Vice Chair Hammond Edwards, and newly elected Board Secretary/Treasurer Margaret Young.

Meredith Manning – Columbia is an Assistant Vice President and Sr. Deputy General Counsel with BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. She has been a practicing South Carolina attorney for over 30 years, the last 20 within the BlueCross Law Department. Her primary responsibilities include providing corporate counsel and litigation management to BlueCross and numerous subsidiaries for defense of various insurance products, as well as general corporate and business advice concerning provider contracting and reimbursement, business and tort law and regulatory issues.
Meredith is 1982 graduate of Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia and a 1987 graduate of the University of South Carolina School Of Law. After law school, she clerked for 2 years for a state court judge and then entered private practice with a local law firm for several years before joining BlueCross.

Margaret Young – Spartanburg is a CPA and Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers.  She has a BS in Accounting from Wofford College.  Margaret is a current Board Member of Chapman Cultural Center and has served as a Board Member for Mary Black Foundation, United Way of the Piedmont, Girls Scouts of the Piedmont, and Terrier Club.  As a Girl Scout volunteer, Margaret serves on our Council’s Audit Committee and was a board member and Treasurer on the legacy Piedmont Area Council before returning to Mountains to Midlands as a board member last year.

Returning Board Members include, Laura Allen, Executive Director, The Children’s Security Blanket, Spartanburg; Jackie Blakley, Dean at Tri-County Technical College, Anderson; Ruth Cate,Attorney, The Cate Law Firm, Spartanburg; Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, Vice President of System Planning at University of South Carolina; Frances Griggs, Senior Vice Preside and General Counsel AgFirst Farm Credit Bank,. Camden; Lillian Brock Flemming, Council Member for the City of Greenville, Professional Employment Recruiter for Greenville County Schools, Greenville; Columbia;Debbie Hamm, Interim Superintendent Sumter School District, Sumter; Carolyn Harbison, Community Volunteer, Spartanburg; Michelle Hunt, Director, Supplier Diversity at Denny’s Corporation, Spartanburg; Rebecca Lever, Duke Energy Management (retired); Maggie Meekins, Attorney with South Carolina Department of Social Services, Columbia; Lesley R. Moore, Attorney with Freeman and Moore, PC, Greenville; Phyllis Ward Rich, Sales Director, Fisher-Price, Anderson; Liying Shen, Senior Engineer with BMW Manufacturing Co., Greer; Latrice Spann, Senior Project Engineer at Colgate-Palmolive Company.

 

For more than 105 years, Girl Scouting has helped girls develop positive values and become active, responsible leaders in their communities. With emphasis on personal growth and leadership development through service to others, Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands serves more than 12,400 girls, grades K5-12, and more than 5,100 adults in 22 counties of central and western South Carolina, including Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, and Union.