Columbia Children’s Shelter is under new leadership

Palmetto Place names Lawson Executive Director

Palmetto Place Children’s Shelter announced Jill Lawson has been named the shelter’s next Executive Director.

Lawson is filling the seat left vacant by former director Erin Hall, who left her position at the shelter to advocate for organizations like Palmetto Place at the Palmetto Association for Children and Families. Palmetto Place was fortunate to have Hall serve as executive director for the last five years. Lawson will continue to build on the shelters mission of providing a safe and supportive environment for the state’s most vulnerable children and teens.

Lawson has a Masters in Social Work from the University of South Carolina and is a Licensed Master Social Worker. Lawson has spent the last 12 years working with at-risk youth in various roles including case management, community outreach, school social work, and individual and group counseling.

Lawson has been a part of the shelter’s mission for the last 10 years and most recently served as the Director of Client Services. In her previous roles at the shelter, Lawson oversaw and implemented programs for children in foster care and homeless teens. She has diligently worked on development and grant writing and helped secure new federal funding to provide a Basic Center Program for homeless teens in our West Columbia house. Prior to serving Palmetto Place Lawson worked with Palmetto Healthy Start and Richland School District Two, and began her career at the Children and Family Healthcare Center, where she first became involved with Palmetto Place by doing health education groups.

“We are extremely excited that the new executive director comes from within; we appreciate Jill’s professionalism, stability, and guidance while she served as interim executive director,” Rodney McClure Palmetto Place board chair, said. “We all know Jill to be strategic and proactive with social services and are confident the Shelter’s services and programs will continue to grow even stronger under her leadership.”

In her new role as executive director, Lawson will continue to lead the shelter’s projects and programs as well as incorporate valuable community feedback into a sustainable plan for the Shelter’s future.

Palmetto Place

Since April of 1977, Palmetto Place has been a home for children and teens who are experiencing crisis. We provide a safe, loving environment where children who have been abused or neglected can heal from the wounds of their trauma. We prepare teens to live independently and help them reach self-sufficiency. In 2016, we expanded our shelter from one house with 20 beds to two houses with more than 50 beds. At Palmetto Place we help children succeed, their grades improve and their behaviors stabilize. Here, the state’s most vulnerable children and teens are home.