Our Partnership Board is made up of individuals who care about the Honors College
and our place at the university and in the community. This devoted group of alumni
helps guide the South Carolina Honors College as we grow and continue to rank among
the best honors programs in the nation.
Roger Barnette
Roger Barnette is CEO of MessageGears, an email marketing technology provider that
allows major global brands to deliver individualized experiences to their customers
at scale in real-time. Roger has more than 20 years of experience leading and growing
technology businesses. Prior to MessageGears, he led IgnitionOne (acquired by Dentsu),
Biltmore Communications (acquired by DIRECTV) and eTour (acquired by Ask.com).
Roger has received numerous awards including the Atlanta Internet Marketer of The
Year Award and Emory’s Goizueta Business School Outstanding Recent Alumni Award. He
is a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and is a mentor at Techstars Atlanta.
Roger is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has been featured by national
media outlets including CNN, Fox News, Fox Business, and NBC Nightly News. He earned
an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business and a bachelor of science
degree in computer and electrical engineering from the University of South Carolina.
Roger has been a member of the SCHC Partnership Board since 2013.
Jerry W. Cain
Jay Cain lives in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from the South Carolina Honors College
in 1992 with a degree in International Studies. He received his law degree from the
University of Georgia and currently works as an attorney at his own firm where he
focuses on workers’ compensation insurance defense. Jay served on the Board of the
Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers from 1995 to 1997. He is a member of the Georgia
Bar Association, the Atlanta Bar Association, and the Georgia Defense Lawyers’ Association.
He has been admitted to practice law in the state of Georgia, the United States District
Court (Northern & Middle Districts of Georgia), the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals,
and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has been a member of the South Carolina Honors College
Partnership Board since 2012.
Dan D'Alberto
Dan D’Alberto lives in Columbia, SC and graduated from the South Carolina Honors College
in 1997 with a degree in Political Science. He received a Master of Education in 2000
from Florida State University and a law degree from the University of South Carolina
in 2005. Dan is currently a solo practitioner with D’Alberto Law Firm, manages a
consulting firm known as GrayFox Strategic, and maintains numerous entrepreneurial
activities. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Palmetto Health Foundation
and on the Alumni Council for the USC College of Arts & Sciences. He has been a member
of the South Carolina Honors College Partnership Board since 2012.
Lori Clos Fisher
Lori Clos Fisher lives in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from the South Carolina Honors
College in 1983 with a degree in Finance. She also received a Master of International
Business Studies from the University of South Carolina in 1985. Clos Fisher is a
Managing Director at Bank of America, where she has held a variety of positions over
the past 30 years. She has been a member of the SCHC Partnership Board since 2012.
Kevin Hall
Kevin Hall lives in Columbia, SC and graduated from the South Carolina Honors College
in 1987 with a degree in International Studies. He earned a J.D. in 1990 from Emory
University School of Law. He is a partner at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP,
and has worked at Hall & Bowers, LLP (Partner); Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough,
LLP; BellSouth Telecommunication, Inc., and SCANA Services, Inc. He has been a member
of the SCHC Partnership Board since 2014.
Catherine Heigel graduated from the Honors College in 1992 with a degree in International
Studies and earned her law degree from The Ohio State University School of Law in
1995. Heigel is the president of Carolina Water Service and has more than 22 years
of legal and corporate leadership experience. She performed two years of public service
from 2015 to 2017, serving as Director of the South Carolina Department of Health
and Environmental Control. Heigel has served as Chief Operating Officer at Elliott
Davis in Greenville, SC and as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate
Secretary to American Transmission Company, an electric transmission utility based
in Wisconsin. For 11 years prior to that, she was with Duke Energy Corporation, serving
in various capacities to her last role with the company as president of their South
Carolina operations. Heigel has been a member of the South Carolina Honors College
Partnership Board since 2012.
Steve Hibbard
Steve Hibbard lives near San Francisco, California, where he is a senior litigation
partner with Jones Day, a global law firm. He graduated in 1983 from South Carolina
College as the University's first Harry S. Truman Scholar, first recipient of the
BArSc degree, and as Omicron Delta Kappa’s National Leader of the Year. He received
a law degree from Yale University and has practiced in New York and California. Hibbard
is currently Chairman of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Relations
and a board member of Lawyers Without Borders. He established SCHC’s William A. Mould
and Peter C. Sederberg Scholarship and, in 1997, was an inaugural recipient of the
SCHC Distinguished Alumni Award. Hibbard has served as a member of the Honors College
Partnership Board since 2002.
Anita Hood
Anita Hood lives in Columbia, SC and has been a member of the SCHC Partnership Board
since 2012. A Carolina Scholar, she graduated from the South Carolina Honors College
in 1983 with a degree in Biology. She received her medical degree from the USC School
of Medicine in 1987 and completed her residency at Wake Forest University, serving
as Chief Resident. Anita was an inaugural recipient of the SCHC Distinguished Alumni
Award in 1997. She was also the inaugural recipient of the Superintendent’s Volunteer
Service Award for Lexington-Richland School District Five, and serves on its Health
Education Advisory Board. She and her husband, Honors College alumnus and fellow
Carolina Scholar Charles Hood, recently endowed a new Carolina Scholar scholarship.
Following several years in medical practice, Anita currently is director of pre-med
programs and the combined BARSC-MD program for the Honors College.
Eddie Jones
Eddie Jones lives in Columbia, SC and has been a member of the South Carolina Honors
College Partnership Board since 2008. He is an alumnus of the Honors College class
of 1985 with a degree in International Studies and also received an International
MBA from the University of South Carolina in 1987. He was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma
and a Carolina Scholar. At USC, he has served on the Moore School’s International
Business Advisory Council (2002-2005) and on the board for Innovation in Insurance
(2009-2012). He is past chair of iTs SC, the insurance technology economic development
cluster in Columbia and continues to serve on their executive board. He is Vice President
of Corporate Strategy at Duck Creek Technologies.
Ben Rex
Ben Rex is the chief executive officer and founder of Cyberwoven. Founded in 2001,
Cyberwoven is a full-service digital strategy, design, and development firm that propels
business, builds community, and achieves results. A 2003 graduate of the South Carolina
Honors College, Ben is committed to social progress and economic prosperity in South
Carolina. To this end, he serves on the boards of the Columbia Museum of Art, the
South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the South Carolina Honors College, and South Arts.
Ben, his wife Sidney, son Fritz, and daughter Alice reside in Columbia, SC. Ben is
a Fellow of the 12th class of the Liberty Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global
Leadership Network.
Thomas J. G. Scott
Thomas Scott is Senior Counsel for Cruise Automation, GM's self-driving car startup
based in San Francisco. Thomas graduated from the Honors College with a BArSc degree
in African Development in 2006. While a student, he received the Carolina Scholarship and
the Harry S. Truman Scholarship. He also co-founded the Waverly After-School Program
and studied abroad in South Africa. Thomas went on to receive a J.D. from Stanford
Law School and a Master’s in Public Affairs from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School.
Prior to joining Cruise, Thomas was an associate at the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer in Washington, D.C. Thomas has been a member of the SCHC Partnership Board
since 2012.
Jacob L. Shuford
Rear Admiral Jacob L. Shuford graduated from the University of South Carolina Honors
Program in 1974 with a degree in Arts & Letters. He also received a Master of Public
Administration from Harvard University and a Master of National Security Studies and
Strategy from the U.S. Naval War College. He won the Defense Superior Service Medal
and was an Olmsted Scholar in 1979, where he studied at the Paris Institute of Political
Science for two years. Prior to Shuford’s selection as the 51st president of the U.S.
Naval War College, he commanded the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, and was
the Director of the US Navy’s Senate Office. As Managing Director of a Tampa-based
Government Technical Support Company, Admiral Shuford remains involved with a range
of science and technology initiatives for the Navy. He has been a member of the SCHC
Partnership Board since 2012.
Sherri R. Timmons
Sherri Timmons lives in Greenville, SC and graduated from the South Carolina Honors
College in 1976 with a degree in Journalism. A member of Kappa Tau Alpha, Mortar Board,
Omicron Delta Kappa and Alpha Delta Pi, she served on the University of South Carolina
Board of Visitors and Alumni Board of Governors. She is a former trustee of Christ
Church Episcopal School, Greenville, and served on the board of Artisphere International
Arts Festival. She has been a member of the SCHC Partnership Board since 2012 and
was given the SCHC Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017.
Jeffrey Vinzani
Jeff Vinzani is from Charleston, SC and graduated from the South Carolina Honors College
in 1983 with a degree in Economics. He also earned his law degree from USC. Jeff
has served as the Ninth Circuit Governor on the Board of Governors of the University
of South Carolina, was President of the Charleston County Carolina Alumni Club, and
was also a winner of the SCHC Distinguished Alumni Award in 1998. He served on the
Transition Team for State Treasurer Curtis Loftis as Chairman of the Subcommittee
on the Board of Financial Institutions. Since May 2015, Jeff has served on the Board
of Trustees of South Carolina State University. Vinzani is a partner at Graybill Lansche
& Vinzani, LLC, and a member of the SCHC Partnership Board since 2012.
Marshall Winn, Partnership Board Chairman
Marshall Winn is from Greenville, SC and has been a member of the South Carolina Honors
College Partnership Board since 2002. He graduated from the Honors Program summa cum
laude in 1974 with a degree in English and worked in Honors admissions several years
thereafter, where he was instrumental in the establishment of SCHC. He received his
law degree from Harvard University in 1982 and won the SCHC Distinguished Alumni Award
in 2003. Marshall proposed the Class Connections/Class Captains project in 2006. He
and his wife Jeannette recently endowed a new Carolina Scholar scholarship. He is
an attorney at Wyche P.A., where he has practiced since 1985.
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