City Year Columbia Welcomes New Advisory Board Members
March 22, 2015
City Year Columbia welcomes long-time supporters, Alan James and Elliott Epps, to the Advisory Board
COLUMBIA, SC – City Year Columbia, an education-focused organization that unites young adults for a year of service in high-need urban public schools, has added two new members to their advisory board: Alan James and Elliott Epps.
At the most recent quarterly meetings, the City Year Columbia advisory board voted on and unanimously approved the appointment of long-time City Year supporters and advocates, Alan James and Elliott Epps, as their newest board members.
Elliott Epps is an alumni of City Year Columbia, having served in the 1994 corps as an AmeriCorps member working on physical service projects in local housing developments. His dedication to the organization did not end there; he later served as the Executive Director of City Year Columbia. Since then, Epps has maintained a strong relationship with the City Year staff and corps, regularly hosting events at his home and making himself and his resources available to the organization and its members. Epps is an active community leader, and has proudly worked on race, youth, and community issues for the Palmetto Project, is a den leader for Cub Scouts, and is currently serving as board chair for the Greater Columbia Community Relations Council. He is married to Dr. Amy Epps, and has three sons, John Elliott (13), Thomas (10), and Sullivan (6).
Alan James has also been a long-time advocate of City Year, and has coordinated with the organization for multiple initiatives. For City Year Columbia’s 2014 Ripples of Hope Gala honoring BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina CEO David Pankau, James was asked to deliver the ask of attendees to further support the organization. James is currently a Senior Account Manager with SC Biz News, and actively spends his off time giving back to the community. He currently serves with the Midlands Reading Consortium and spends time weekly reading with a second grader at a local elementary school. James is also involved in the United Way’s Blueprint for Leadership, a professional development course targeting future community leaders. “I’m humbled and excited to be working with City Year,” said James of his new advisory board position, “and I look forward to the journey and the challenges that it will bring.”
City Year Columbia is grateful to have the continued support of their current and past advisory board members. This year, 24 City Year Columbia AmeriCorps members serve in South Carolina public schools to provide support to students who face the greatest risk of dropping out. Working side-by-side with teachers, corps members use research-based tools to improve students’ attendance, behavior and course performance in math and English. Corps members also lead afterschool programs and school-wide initiatives to improve school culture.
To donate to City Year Columbia and help support our work in South Carolina Schools, please visit www.cityyear.org/columbia/support-us
WHAT: City Year Columbia welcomes two new advisory board members
WHO: Alan James and Elliott Epps
About City Year
City Year is an education-focused organization founded in 1988 dedicated to helping students and schools succeed. City Year partners with public schools in 26 urban, high-poverty communities across the U.S. and through international affiliates in the U.K. and Johannesburg, South Africa. Diverse teams of City Year AmeriCorps members provide high-impact student, classroom and school-wide support, to help students stay in school and on track to graduate from high school, ready for college and career success. A proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network, City Year is made possible by support from the Corporation for National and Community Service, school district partnerships, and private philanthropy from corporations, foundations and individuals. Learn more at www.cityyear.org.
