Six Upstate leaders have completed the requirements to become Liberty Fellows as part of the state’s Liberty Fellowship program.
The 2023 class consisted of 19 individuals from across the state, who completed individual research projects well as five seminars in the United States and abroad. The graduates included:
Upstate Liberty Fellows
- Teresa Goodman of Community Initiatives Inc.
- Shontavia Johnson of Clemson University
- James Jordon of Jordon Construction Co.
- Smyth McKissick IV of Alice Co.
- Brooke Mueller of Walmart Inc.
- Rochelle Williams of Mary Black Foundation
Liberty Fellows outside the Upstate
- Amy Barch of Turn90
- South Carolina Rep. Gary Brewer (R-Charleston)
- Chase Glenn of Alliance for Full Acceptance
- John Gordon of Leroy Springs & Co. Inc.
- Michael Lalich of Lowcountry Labor Co.
- Dominik Mjartan of Optus Bank
- Tiffany Roberts of CenterWell Senior Primary Care
- Aparna Polavarapu of the University of South Carolina School of Law and South Carolina Restorative Justice Initiative
- Tommy Preston Jr. of The Boeing Co.
- Seema Shrivastava-Patel of South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
- Sarah Simmons of CITY GRIT Hospitality Group
- Megan Stifel of Institute for Security and Technology
- Laura Ullrich of Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
All participants were selected from a pool of more than 400 nominees and interviewed twice.
“South Carolina must have highly effective leadership to navigate the increasing interdependence of businesses, technologies, communities and nations, and we must have collaboration to foster sustainable growth,” said Ann Marie Stieritz, president and CEO of Liberty Fellowship. “These 19 individuals bring unique perspectives, skills and leadership to our state. We are thrilled to welcome them officially as Liberty Fellows to our networks here in South Carolina and across the world.”
Each Liberty Fellow is also a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, a worldwide community of more than 3,000 high-integrity, entrepreneurial leaders from business, government and the nonprofit sector in more than 50 countries.
