Three Local Women to be honored as Women of Distinction by Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands
August 17, 2015
GREENVILLE, SC – The Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands will honor three Greenville County women at its Women of Distinction awards dinner on Thursday, September 10, 2015, at CU-ICAR – Clemson University, International Center for Automotive Research. The evening pays tribute to women who exemplify excellence in service, leadership, community visibility, and professionalism.
Of the three prominent local leaders being honored, two are in the Women of Distinction category. They are Dr. Judith Prince, Professor Emerita, University of South Carolina Upstate, and Susan Priester, President, Cliffwood Enterprises. Honored as the Blazing Trails Young Professional, for women between the ages of 22 – 40, will be Jil Littlejohn, President/CEO, Urban League of the Upstate and Greenville City Council Member.
Dr. Judith S. Prince is passionate about education, leadership, and diversity. She graduated at the top of her class from Young Harris Junior College. She then graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in English Education with membership in Phi Beta Kappa. She received both a master’s degree and doctorate degree in higher education administration from the University of Georgia. She has served the University of South Carolina Upstate for 33 years in various roles, including Director of Graduate Regional Studies, Assistant Dean for Graduate and Special Programs, Associate Professor, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and Interim Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. For 10 years, she was Vice Chancellor for the USC Upstate Greenville Campus. Currently, she is Professor Emeritus of USC Upstate.
Prince has been active in the Greenville community for many years, including serving as honorary chair of Women Making History, on the Steering Committee for Upstate International, on the United Way of Greenville Public Policy Committee, as Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Urban League of the Upstate, Coordinator of Upstate Together Regional Steering Committee, Chair of the Vision 2025 Education Task Force, Chair of the Leadership Issues Series for the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce, and Chair of the Board of Regents for Leadership Development Programs. Prince was a member of Class 30 of Leadership Greenville and she participated in Furman University’s Diversity Leaders Initiative. She was the 98th president of the Rotary Club of Greenville. Prince is a member of the Executive Committee for the Greenville Chamber Women@Work, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Greenville Literacy Association.
Among her numerous awards for service in the Greenville community are the 2014 Whitney M. Young, Jr. Humanitarian of the Year, 2013 Mentor of the Year Honoree from United Way, 2011 Calder D. Ehrmann Outstanding Individual Award for Diversity from the Riley Institute at Furman, 2011 Leadership Greenville Alumni of the year, the Amy K. Stubbs Woman of Achievement in Education, 2010 Woman Making History Award, one of Greenville’s 50 Most Influential from Greenville Business Magazine, and the 2008 ATHENA award from the Greenville Chamber of Commerce. She also received the Martha Kime Piper Award for academic leadership, the highest award for a woman in higher education in South Carolina.
Dr. Prince enjoys classical music, educational travel, and writing op-eds for The Greenville News on education, leadership, diversity, and other topics.
Susan “Sue” Priester is a native of St. Louis, MO, and graduated from Denison University (BA, History; Phi Beta Kappa) in Ohio. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh. She and her husband moved to the Greenville area in 1976. They founded Computer Dynamics – a manufacturer of industrial computers and flat panel display systems – in Greer in 1981. She remained Marketing Manager with the company until 2001.
Priester is currently President of Cliffwood Enterprises, a real estate and investment company, and is Trustee of the Priester Foundation (established 1997). She is a co-founder (2006) and current co-chair of Greenville Women Giving (CWG), a women’s philanthropic organization associated with the Community Foundation of Greenville. GWG is a member of the national Women’s Collective Grantmaking Network, and she currently serves as a WCGN Board member.
Priester’s current community service includes Community Foundation of Greenville, Board member and Vice Chair; Metropolitan Arts Council, Board member; and Upstate Forever Advisory Council, member. Past service includes Greenville Symphony, Board member, Board Chair and Advisory Council Chair; Partnership for Tomorrow, Board member; Greenville Tech Foundation, Board member and member of the Greenville Technical College Entrepreneurs Forum; Greer Chamber of Commerce, Board chair; South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, Board member; Greenville Chamber of Commerce, Board member; Warehouse Theatre, board member; and Furman University Advisory Council, member.
Awards presented to Priester include the Individual Donor of the Year, SC Children’s Theater (2014-2015), the Ruth Nicholson Award from the Community Foundation of Greenville (2014) and Put Your Heart in the Arts Award, Metropolitan Arts Council (2002).
Jil Littlejohn was born and raised in inner-city Atlanta, GA. She has an MBA from Webster University and a BA in Intercultural Studies for Business from Wofford College with studies at the Universidad de Sevilla in Seville, Spain. She is fluent in Spanish and studied Japanese.
Littlejohn currently serves as the first female President and CEO of the Urban League of the Upstate. She has served as a member of the Greenville City Council since February 2009 and is the youngest member.
Littlejohn is a 2015 Graduate of the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s Municipal Elected Officials Institute. She has been recognized as a Women Making History honoree, Greenville Magazine’s Top 50 Influential People, Ebony Magazine’s Top Young Leader under 30, the Greenville Chamber of Commerce Young Professional of the Year finalist, Greenville Link Magazine’s Top 50, and Greenville’s Best & Brightest Under 35.
Her community involvement includes participation in Leadership South Carolina, Diversity Leadership Academy, Leadership Greenville, Leadership Spartanburg, Connections: Women’s Leadership Program, and the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University. Littlejohn is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and is actively involved with numerous nonprofits. She is also the founder of the Talented Tenth Greenville Leadership Conference.
For ticket and/or sponsorship information for this fundraising event, please contact LaTanza Duncan, Chief Advancement Officer, [email protected], 800-849-GIRL (4475) x 3731 or visit www.GSSC-MM.org.
For 103 years, Girl Scouting has helped girls develop positive values and become active, responsible leaders in their communities. With emphasis on personal growth and leadership development through service to others, Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts of South Carolina-Mountains to Midlands serves 11,500 girls, grades K5-12, and 4,700 adults in 22 counties of central and western South Carolina, including Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, and Union. ~
