Meet the Team

BOARD CHAIR

Mike leads overall operations, philanthropist engagement, and strategic partnertship development. His professional background includes a blend of business, higher education, non-profit, and community development. He has also served on numerous boards of social enterprises and community development organizations. Mike has extensive experience in executive fundraising leadership and relationship management.  He holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Furman University and a M.B.A from Clemson University.

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BOARD SECRETARY

Margaret leads impact investing management and entrepreneur ecosystem development. She brings an extensive corporate background to the team. Beyond her years in investor relations and marketing for Global Fortune 500 companies, her work has included consulting nationally with purpose-driven companies and investors to attract and effectively allocate impact capital. Her professional focus is on activating capital to drive social and environmental impact. She holds a B.A in Political Science from Furman University and a M.A. in International Political Economy from UNC Chapel Hill.

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DIRECTOR

Francie is the founder and managing director of Heller Advisory, and is currently a director at Arabesque Asset Management USA, a firm that combines ESG big data with quantitative strategies. She is also an executive team member, specialist for responsible investing at IOR (Investment Office Resources). Francie has over 35 years of financial experience in both the public and private sector. Francie has managed billions of dollars in client assets, holds her FINRA series 7 and 63 licenses, and serves on numerous board leadership positions in areas that include health, community development, culture and human rights, and higher education.

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DIRECTOR

Craig leads Myco Solutions LLC, a firm that provides fractional CFO and Controller solutions to clients. He is also the Director of Business Development for Next Meridian, a corporate advisory and investment banking firm. As a highly experienced corporate finance and accounting executive, Craig brings together teams of advisors with extensive experience in finance, accounting, operations, and sales to help his clients across multiple industries achieve their goals. Dedicated to building community, Craig also serves on the board of the Japan – American Association of South Carolina.

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DIRECTOR

Erin spent her career educating and supporting early stage and growing ventures. Most recently, she served as the Upstate Entrepreneur Ecosystem Director for Ten at the Top where she launched multiple programs to connect ecosystem partners for the benefit of local founders.  Erin wrote a playbook on trust building in ecosystems with a fellow ecosystem builder from Uganda.  And, she has spoken nationally and internationally on this topic. While with Ten at the Top, Erin received the Partner of Distinction Award from the SC SBDC and the Welling Award for Regional Collaboration from Ten at the Top.  Prior to Ten at the Top, Erin served as director of the Spartanburg chapter of VentureSouth. She has also received the Stacey McBride Community Leadership Award from the Spartanburg Area YMCA, the President’s Award and School Age Champion Award for her turnaround work with the Junior League of Atlanta and Georgia School Age Care Association. In 2002, she received the Visionary Award from the Georgia Microenterprise Network as a founder of the organization in 1997.

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DIRECTOR

Carlton has spent 45 years aiding the environment as a founding President & CEO of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities. During his time at the Endowment’s helm, the organization raised $100 million from partners, invested $100 million of its own funds in projects that resulted in nearly $1 billion in programmatic impact, and grew its corpus to more than $230 million. He was the first Executive Director and one of the creators of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, North America’s largest forest certification program. He has earned many awards for his environmental work, including the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest honor, and was appointed by two Presidential Administrations to the Board of the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation.

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DIRECTOR

John is the president and CEO of MDC, an organization that equips leaders, institutions, and communities across the South with the necessary tools and strategies to advance equity and economic mobility. Before MDC, John held various leadership roles at the state, national, and international level. Most recently he was Vice President of the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. A constitutional scholar and practicing attorney, John served in the Obama Administration as deputy general counsel for the White House Office of Management and Budget and general counsel for the U.S. Agency for International Development. John is a native of Lexington, SC and received his AB in government from Harvard College and a JD and LLM in international and comparative law from Duke University School of Law. He is a Senior Lecturer at Duke Law School and is a member of the Liberty Fellowship, an Aspen Global Leadership Network program.

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JD/PhD, Head of Legal for good2grow LLC; owner and operator, Rambling Rosa Farm

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Facilitation & Training Manager; Co.Starters by Finsync

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Retired, Executive Director, Graham Foundation; Executive, Bank of America / U.S. Trust

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Founder, The Black Wealth Summit

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Co-Founder and Dir of Clinical Operations, Klesis Health: Founder, The Good Shepherd’s House LLC

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Partner, Head of FinCorpReg Practice, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough

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Owner, Hart & Partners Public Relations; Impact Investor and Venture Philanthropist

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Executive Diector, Venture Asheville, TEDx Speaker

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Vice President Real Estate and Capital Markets, Greenville Housing Fund

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Senior Commercial Lender, Dogwood State Bank

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Business Development Coordinator, Charleston Regional Development Alliance

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CEO, Loma Capital; Managing Dir & CEO, Echo Base Expeditions.

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Sr. Director Global Executive Engagement & Customer Porgams, UiPath

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