New Board Members Coming to Play at TCMU

GREENVILLE, SC – It’s an exciting time for The Children’s Museum of the Upstate (TCMU) as they usher in the following experienced community leaders as board members.

Chase Eldridge is a Key Account Manager for Michelin North America.  A graduate of Clemson University, he is involved with Clemson Young Alumni, Downtown Symphony Club, TreesGreenville, Upstate Forever, and is the newest member of the TCMU Board of Directors.

Jacquelyn Austin is a Federal Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Greenville Division.  In her new role, Austin oversees a wide range of legal matters, including criminal arraignments, pre-trial criminal matters, pretrial matters in referred civil cases, and social security appeals. Prior to her appointment as U.S. Magistrate, Austin worked for Womble Carlyle as a business litigation attorney representing clients in intellectual property litigation matters including DNA sequencing, anti-counterfeiting technology, and software. She has also been involved in several class action matters, engineering malpractices case, health care fraud cases, and has also handled a number of ERISA matters. In addition to her outstanding work on behalf of her clients, Austin also is active in her community. She has served on the United Way Women’s Attorney Committee, and the LEAD Academy Board of Directors. Austin has been an active supporter of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, serving as a panel speaker at events targeting aspiring attorneys. She also is a former Member of the South Carolina Bar’s Judicial Qualifications Committee.  Austin has two children.

Richard O. Barrett is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, Richard specializes in flex office and industrial brokerage at Colliers International’s Greenville, South Carolina, office. Richard is a 1975 graduate of the University of Georgia and received his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Hartford. Prior to joining Colliers, he was associated with another national brokerage firm for four years and was Vice President of Sales for Hubbell Lighting as part of a 30 year career there.  Richard has an extensive background in corporate relocation and sales, acquisitions, business development and landlord representation.  He holds the Master of Corporate Real Estate (MCR) designation from CoreNet as well as holding membership on their Knowledge Committee for the Manufacturing & Industrial Industries, an advisory group for CoreNet membership.  He is a member of the Greater Greenville Association of REALTORS® (GGAR) and is currently completing his candidacy as a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). Richard is immediate past President of the Greenville Breakfast Rotary and executive advisory board member of the University of Georgia’s Terry School of Business Sales and Marketing Department, their Upstate Alumni Association, as well as a member of the university’s Arch Foundation and Sigma Chi Delta Chapter House Corporation for the Athens campus.  Richard is a former Deacon at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Virginia.

Peter Barth is an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, where he studied computer engineering.  After school he moved to Manhattan and became an options and securities principal at Duke & Company before moving over to Morgan Stanley.  After a couple of years on Wall Street, he realized that he really was a hacker at heart so he moved to Indianapolis and took a development position with SinglePoint.  He worked his way up to CTO then purchased a stake in the business.  In 2006, Peter relocated to Greenville, SC and has taken a leadership role in the development of NEXT, the NEXT innovation Center, InternGreenville, and the Iron Yard.  Peter married his college sweetheart and has 5 children.

Adele Seymore is an active community volunteer and mother of two young children.  Seymore is a geologist.  Seymore and her husband are working together in the development of ECO Waste, Inc., a new waste management business.

Gaye G. Sprague is a member at-large on the Greenville City Council.  She is a graduate of Clemson University with Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Civil Engineering. Gaye is the owner and principal of Sprague & Sprague Consulting Engineers and has worked as a civil engineer for 30 years with experience in traffic engineering and transportation planning. Gaye is active in the Institute of Transportation Engineers and has served in all offices in the South Carolina section and Southern District as well as on the International Board of Directors. She is also an active member in the American Society of Civil Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers. Gaye served on the South Carolina Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors from 2002 to 2008 and was named the 2006 Engineer of the Year for the Piedmont Chapter of the South Carolina Society of Professional Engineers. Gaye has served as chair of the Greenville Transit Authority Board and the Greenville Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee. She has also served as a Cub Scout den leader, as co-president of the Augusta Circle Elementary PTA and Hughes Middle School PTSA, and as co-chair of the beautification committee and projects proposals chair for Greenville High School PTSA. Gaye was named South Carolina PTSA Volunteer of the Year in 1996. An elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Gaye is a native of South Carolina and has resided in Greenville with her husband Joel and son Jay since 1983.

“The museum feels fortunate to have such expertise on the board,” states Nancy Halverson, President and CEO at TCMU. “I believe that together with the executive staff and employees, this board will be able to guide the museum toward exciting new partnerships and set the museum on a path towards financial sustainability for years to come.

For a complete list of all board members, please visit:

http://www.tcmupstate.org/about/our-leadership/meet-the-2012-board-of-directors/

The Children’s Museum of the Upstate sparks a lifelong passion for curiosity and learning through play.   Conveniently located in downtown Greenville on the cultural campus of Heritage Green, visitors experience 20 exhibit galleries with more than 100 hands-on activities in the arts, humanities, science, health, nutrition and the environment. At 80,000 square feet, TCMU is the 7th largest children’s museum in the country and the nation’s only children’s museum in the Smithsonian Affiliations program. There are new and exciting programs developed for every age level to stimulate creativity and stir the imagination. This state-of-the-art museum is designed to encourage learning and exploration, inspiring curiosity for a lifetime.  For more information, visit www.tcmupstate.org.