The Spartanburg County Foundation welcomes Travis Wharton

The Spartanburg County Foundation announced the engagement of Travis Wharton as consultant for the Network for Southern Economic Mobility Initiative. In 2017, Spartanburg was selected to participate in a two-year cohort called the Network for Southern Economic Mobility (NSEM), in which MDC is providing resources and technical assistance to seven communities across the southeast. Located in Durham, North Carolina, MDC is a nonprofit organization that has been working with communities and institutions in the South for 50 years to create equitable policies and programs. The Spartanburg County Foundation is the lead facilitator for the Spartanburg Team.

Through this Initiative, The Spartanburg County Foundation will participate in a two-year plan to address economic mobility barriers and build pathways to economic prosperity for youth and young adults, ages 14-24 years, in the lowest income bracket. As consultant, Mr. Wharton will lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of the cohort’s work.

“Over the last ten months, the Spartanburg Leadership Team has been working to understand the barriers that are holding young adults back,” states Mary L. Thomas, The Spartanburg County Foundation’s Chief Operating Officer. “We are excited to have someone on board who wakes every morning thinking about this and works to help our team systemically address economic mobility issues in our community. We believe Travis will bring an array of talents in meeting these goals.”

Mr. Wharton received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education from Claflin University and a Masters of Education in Administration and Supervision from Clemson University. He most recently worked with the Urban League of the Upstate as an Education Coordinator. Travis has over ten years of experience working with youth, serving as a Band Director at College Park Middle School in Berkeley County before moving to Greenville in 2010. In Greenville, he took the position of General Music Teacher & Fine Arts Coordinator at Mitchell Academy. He also spent several years in school administration roles, Reserving as a principal at both Mitchell Road Christian Academy and NEXT High School in Greenville.

Mr. Wharton brings extensive knowledge and leadership experience in community and culture relations, student-teacher relationships, and data-driven decision making to the Initiative. He especially enjoys seeing young people grow and build lives based on the things they find meaningful, valuable and true.

The Foundation looks forward to working with Travis and creating pathways of economic mobility for Spartanburg’s youth and young adults in the lowest income brackets.