Chair
George M. Milner

A passionate children’s advocate, George Milner and wife Karen have fostered more than fifty children and have four adopted grandchildren who had once been in the Foster Care system.  In 2007, George co-chaired The Governor’s Taskforce on Children in Foster Care & Adoption, and he currently serves on the National Governor’s Association Foster Care Policy Academy and the South Carolina Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children.

Co-chair
Teresa C. Arnold
Legislative Director, AARP-SC

The former SC DSS Director of Governmental Affairs, Teresa is also a foster parent, adoptive parent, grandparent and a volunteer House Parent at an Emergency Shelter for abused and neglected children.  She was previously on the boards of Safe Kids and SC Association of Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and a founding board member of SC Professional Society on the Abuse of Children.

Secretary
Rachel E. Silver
Community Volunteer

Rachel retired from Chernoff Newman after 21 years in account service and supervision.  A member of Richland County Foster Care Review Board since 2002, she was named SC Review Board Member of the Year in 2007 and served on the Governor’s Task Force on Children in Foster Care and Adoption the same year.

Becky Airheart
Assistant Vice President, Security Federal Bank

Carl Brown
Executive Director, SC Foster Parent Association

Carl and wife Mary began fostering in 1974, and Carl chaired the steering committee that launched the SC Foster Parent Association one year later.  Since that time, the couple have fostered more than 130 youth.  They also have three biological and six adopted children.  Carl has served as President of the National Foster Parent Association, Vice President of the International Foster Parent Association and last year co-chaired the Governor’s Taskforce on Children in Foster Care and Adoption.

Jane W. Daniel
Executive Director, The Hospice & Palliative Care Foundation

A former educator, Jane has served on the Greenville County Foster Care Review Board (FCRB) for 20 years.  She formerly served on the State FCRB and SC Commission for National & Community Service.

Kay Taylor Hightower
Esquire

Kay is a native New Yorker who has devoted her career to public service. For seven years, she defended consumers as an attorney with the NY State Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Trade Commission. Since moving to SC in 2004, Kay has devoted herself to helping the community through work with various non-profit organizations like AARP and the National Kidney Foundation. In 2007, Kay was hired to coordinate SC Health Integrated Data Services (SCHIDS), a state program dedicated to the elimination of health disparities.  Kay received her BA from Smith College in Northampton, MA, and her JD from NY University School of Law. She resides in Columbia with her husband, Stephen P. Hightower, Esq. and her daughter Bailey.

Elizabeth G. “Libba” Patterson, JD
Professor, USC School of Law

After four years as State Director of the SC Department of Social Services, Libba returned to USC where she has been a Professor of Law since 1980.  A long-time child advocate, she was instrumental in creating the Children’s Law Center, the Children’s Committee of the SC Bar, and USC’s Research Consortium on Children and Families.  Libba has been active in reforming South Carolina’s laws relating to family and health issues, and drafted much of the state’s 1996 Child Protection Reform Act.  While at DSS, she was a member of the Board of Directors of the American Public Human Services Association and of the Executive Committee of the National Council of State Human Service Administrators.  In 2003 she was presented with the Commissioner’s Award for “outstanding leadership and service in the prevention of child abuse and neglect” by the US Department of Health & Human Services.

Dr. Kay W. Phillips
Executive Director, Dorchester Children’s Center

Kay holds a PhD and Masters in Social Work from the University of South Carolina.  She previously held a teaching position at Charleston Southern University and practiced private clinical counseling.  Kay has 25 years of administrative, personnel, and management experience.

Cynthia N. “Cindy” Poe
Legal & Governmental Affairs, RBC Insurance

A long time advocate for children’s issues, Cindy is a former Department of Social Services employee and Guardian ad Litem volunteer.  Currently she manages community and governmental relations, as well as litigation, for RBC Insurance.

Blanche Richey
Community Volunteer

Following graduation from the School of Law at USC, Blanche worked as a family court attorney with the Richland County Public Defender’s Office.  She later moved to the Children’s Law Office where she conducted training and prepared resource materials on matters related to juvenile justice.

Henry “Tripp” Swinney
Development Associate,  All-In Foundation

James Fletcher Thompson

Attorney at Law, Thompson Law Firm

Jim is a former Adjunct Professor of Law at USC School of Law where he taught a class entitled “Parents, Children and the Law.”  He is a private practice attorney with offices in Spartanburg and Charleston.

Jane W. Trinkley
Attorney at Law, McNair Law Firm, P. A.

Jane is a longtime board member of Family Service Center of SC and former board Chair of Children Unlimited, a special needs adoption agency, whose mission is permanency for children and teens.  She currently serves as Secretary to the board of Birthright of Columbia and board member of St. Peter’s Catholic School.

Willis (Trip) Gregory III

Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Palmetto Health

Trip Gregory is senior vice president, Human Resources of Palmetto Health. Prior to that, he was vice president of Human Resources at Palmetto Health Baptist. Gregory began working at Baptist Medical Center in 1991. He has more than 30 years experience in healthcare human resources administration. Gregory received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Furman University and a master’s degree in industrial psychology from Francis Marion University. He is certified as a senior professional in Human Resources.

John Denise

President, Advanced Automation Consulting

John Denise is a passionate entrepreneur and the founder of several companies including South Eastern Brewing, AAC Utility Partners, Advanced Aviation Consulting, and Advanced Automation Consulting, Inc.

Outside of work John is active in the community.  He has been a Rotarian since he was 22, supports a variety of charitable causes, serves on several boards, and is a strong proponent of growing the knowledge economy as the cornerstone the Columbia regions economic development activities.

Steven Ertz

Member, GOALL & Foster Care Alumni

Steven is a former foster youth and currently attending community college.  He is and active member of GOALL (Go Out and Live Life), a group of former foster youth who advocate for the rights and well-being of other youth in the foster care system.

Randy Harling,

Sr. Pastor First Baptist Simpsonville

Randy Harling is Children Come First’s newest Board member and joins us with high recommendation from those who know him well.  He is a B.A. graduate of Furman University, and has a Masters in Divinity from South-Western Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

He is now the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Simpsonville, a dedicated congregation of 4,000 members.  His church launched a partnership with the South Carolina Department of Social Services to help foster care adoption and support those at the front line of the task called “A Home for Me”.

His personal dedication reaches home where he is the proud husband of wife Sherri, father of two grown sons, and a foster parent.