Midlands leaders selected for Liberty Fellowship Class of 2025
December 12, 2023Two Midlands leaders have been selected for Liberty Fellowship’s Class of 2025. The Fellowship brings together a small group of established leaders with a wide range of thought, professions, geographic locations, and lived experiences. Through a rigorous 18-month process, each Class member will be challenged to understand and embrace their varying perspectives with a growth-oriented mindset.
“Leaders operate in a continually changing landscape and are required to respond swiftly to market forces,” said Ann Marie Stieritz, president and CEO of Liberty Fellowship and a Fellow from the Class of 2016. “This group of dynamic leaders will be a wonderful addition to our global and statewide networks who work together to foster collaboration, innovation, and sustainable growth.”
The Midlands leaders are:
- Kim Smith, Founder and CEO, Health Evolve Technologies, LLC (Irmo)
- Ashely Teasdel, Deputy Secretary, South Carolina Department of Commerce (Columbia)
Liberty Fellowship selects a new Class every two years. Each leader selected received at least one nomination, was interviewed twice, and ultimately selected from a pool of more than 400 nominations.
The other members of the Class of 2025 are:
- George Campbell, Partner, Campbell Teague, LLC, and General Partner, Broad Street Group (Greenville)
- Ashley Cheek, Pastor and Head of Staff at First Presbyterian Church of Hartsville (Hartsville)
- Grayson Dorr, Senior Project Manager, Advanced Technology International (Moncks Corner)
- Bern DuPree, Director, Furman Capitol Advisors, and Shareholder, NAI Earle Furman (Greenville)
- Elizabeth Fly, Director of Resilience and Ocean Conservation, The Nature Conservancy (Charleston)
- Margaret Furniss, Vice President of Brand Experience, Beemok Hospitality Collection (Charleston)
- Jonathan Grzyb, Founder and Managing Partner, Phoenix Holdings Partners (Charleston)
- Mena Mark Hanna, General Director and CEO, Spoleto Festival USA (Charleston)
- Jamilla Harper, Chief Operating Officer, Metanoia Community Development Corp. (North Charleston)
- Lana Kleiman, Executive Director, Charleston Legal Access (Mount Pleasant)
- Maurie Lawrence, Vice President of Sustainability and Associate General Counsel, Milliken & Company (Spartanburg)
- Neetu Patel, Vice President, Sycamore Investment Group (Greenville)
- Estee Perlmutter, Advanced Practice Nurse, Liberty Doctors (Charleston)
- Alyssa Richardson, Founder and CEO, Develop South Carolina LLC (North Charleston)
- Allen Smith, President & CEO, OneSpartanburg, Inc. (Spartanburg)
- Jarrod Tippins, Pharmacist and Owner, The Pharmacy (Florence)
- Maj. Christopher D. Turner, Field Artillery Officer, South Carolina Army National Guard (Beaufort)
- Guang Ming Whitley, Assistant Professor of Law, Charleston School of Law; Chair, Lattice Climbers; and Council Member, Town of Mount Pleasant (Mount Pleasant)
- Gillian Zettler, Founder, G. Zettler Collective (Mount Pleasant)
Learn more about the Class at https://libertyfellowshipsc.org/21-south-carolina-leaders-selected-for-the-class-of-2025/.
The Class of 2025 will begin their Liberty Fellowship experience with a series of five, multi-day seminars in South Carolina and abroad in March 2024. Each Class member will also be required to create an impact venture that establishes positive change for future generations in South Carolina.
Upon successful completion of the initial program, the Class of 2025 will join 330 leaders in the Liberty Fellowship South Carolina Network and 3,500 leaders in the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Through these two networks, they will have lifelong opportunities for engagement and access to an influential group of colleagues and mentors.
FAST FACTS
- The Class of 2025 is the 17th Class of Liberty Fellows since the organization was established in 2004.
- Each Class member is required to complete five seminars in the United States and abroad and an individual impact venture to become a Liberty Fellow.
- A new Class of Liberty Fellows is selected every two years from a pool of more than 400 nominees.
- There are 330 Fellows in the Liberty Fellowship South Carolina Network. 76% of the network is from the business sector, 12% are from the nonprofit sector, and 12% are from the public sector.
- There are more than 3,500 leaders in the Aspen Global Leadership Network from more than 60 countries.
About Liberty Fellowship
Liberty Fellowship is the only state-based Fellowship program of its kind in the United States. The Fellowship activates individual leaders through a deeper understanding of a just, free and equitable society; serves as a convener for bringing together diverse perspectives to advance civil discourse; and provides infrastructure for taking action. There are 330 Liberty Fellows working collectively across South Carolina. Learn more at www.libertyfellowshipsc.org/.
About The Aspen Global Leadership Network
The Aspen Global Leadership Network’s (AGLN) is a growing, worldwide community of more than 3,500 high-integrity, entrepreneurial leaders from over 60 countries who share a commitment to values-based leadership and to using their creativity, energy and resources to tackle the foremost societal challenges of our times. Because of their demonstrated accomplishment and abilities, they have been selected to join one of 13 geographic or sector-specific AGLN Fellowships around the world. Fellows convene annually at the AGLN’s flagship event, the Resnick Aspen Action Forum. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org/agln.