Two Pillars of the Community Join SC Campaign Board

COLUMBIA, SC – The South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (SC Campaign) has officially welcomed two statewide leaders and community advocates to its Board of Directors. Dawn Staley, head women’s basketball coach for the University of South Carolina, and Jenny Horne, a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, begin their three-year terms this month.

“Coach Staley and Representative Horne are well respected leaders in this state, and are both passionate about the young people of South Carolina,” said Forrest Alton, CEO of the SC Campaign. “We are excited that they are willing to continue giving back in this way, and look forward to having their insight and contributions as a part of our ongoing work to reduce teen pregnancy in the state.”

At the helm of the Gamecocks over the last six seasons, Staley has received many honors and awards including National Coach of the Year (2014, Basketball Times) and SEC Coach of the Year (2014, Coaches and AP). Her 97 overall wins in the last four seasons marks the most successful four-year stretch in program history. In addition to her successes on the court, Staley has had equal impact on the communities in which she lives. Following her retirement from the WNBA, the league began awarding the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award in 2007, honoring the player who best exemplifies the characteristics of a leader in the community in which she works or lives. Staley lives that mantra daily not only through individual appearances and encouraging her teams to pursue community services opportunities, but also through co-founding INNERSOLE, an organization which aims to provide new sneakers to children who are homeless and/or in need. After creating The Dawn Staley Foundation in Philadelphia, which was aimed at giving inner-city children positive input through after-school programs, Staley was eager to find a way to fill a need in her new hometown of Columbia.

A native of Dorchester County, Horne represents district 94 in the SC House of Representatives and also practices law in Summerville. In 1994, Horne graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina Honors College and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. As an undergraduate at the University of South Carolina, she worked for four years in the State House as a page and legislative aide. She graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1997 where she served as Associate Articles Editor of the South Carolina Law Review and was inducted into the Society of Wig and Robe. After law school, Horne clerked for federal trial judge Margaret Beane Seymour. She has worked in private practice in law firms in Columbia and Charleston and now practices at her own firm in Summerville, where she is also very active in her community. Horne has served as the volunteer Executive Director for Communities in Schools of Dorchester County, a non-profit organization committed to lowering the drop-out rate by offering free after school programs for at-risk middle school students. She is a former member of the Board for Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union and past president of the South Carolina Women Lawyer’s Association. Horne is a graduate of the Diversity Leadership Institute at Furman University and a member of the Liberty Fellowship (class of 2011).

Sue Rex, chair of the board of directors, is eager to add Staley and Horne to the organization’s leadership team. “The SC Campaign has had significant achievements in reducing teen pregnancies through the efforts of many dedicated staff and volunteers. These two outstanding women will enhance our ability to achieve even more in the months and years ahead.”

.

.