
Where are you from and how long have you lived in Horry County?
I’m from Myrtle Beach and have lived in Horry County my whole life with the exception of College, Grad School and the Peace Corps.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I work closely with our local community partners that run workplace campaigns. I work with individual donors who support our work in Horry County to make sure they feel invested and involved in what we’re doing. I make sure all of our donations are tracked and allocated properly and make sure that both our employment and individual donors feel like they understand what they’re supporting and allow them to be as involved in the great work we’re doing in Horry County as they can be!
What inspired you to work at UWHC?
I’ve been in and out of the non-profit world since graduating college and I was excited to have the opportunity to get back in. I was lucky enough to have some great connections within the UWHC network already that allowed me to make sure that the organization and I would be a good fit for each other. I was excited for the opportunity to learn new skills in fund development that I haven’t had the chance to really focus on before in other roles so the Director of Philanthropy position was very interesting to me. After learning about the work that UWHC has been doing over the past few years, it made the decision to join almost a no-brainer!
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of the job is working with our workplace campaigns. It’s an interesting dynamic when we get to visit and speak with employees about what their company is asking them to support because not only are we there to ask them to donate, but we are often letting them know what services we provide to the community should they or someone they know ever need us. These meeting are where I get to learn about what supporting UWHC means to these individuals and also makes me very proud that these companies are invested in their communities and have included giving back into their business models.
What’s one thing most people don’t’ know about you?
I’m a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV Ghana 2014-2016)
What are your hobbies or activities you enjoy outside of work?
Gardening, pickleball, traveling, cooking, listening to live music and being involved with Junior League of the Grand Strand
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?
“Never Stop Learning” This has let me be open to experiences I might have otherwise been too nervous to try. While I’m by no means a daredevil or a very risky person, I try to be open to new experiences and love learning about new things. I’m definitely more prone to knowing “a little about a lot of things” and only “a lot about a little amount of things”.
What’s the one way you think the Horry County can make a difference together?
I think our community can continue to strive to work together as a team. While different organizations, businesses and government agencies all have their own focuses, coming together when a problem is facing the community as a whole has proven to way more successful than any one of them working on the problem by themselves. Within a community, issues are often multi-faced and have different factors affecting them so having multiple sources of information, resources, and teamwork make these big problems so much easier to tackle.