Advisory Board
Advisory Board Mission Statement
The purpose of the Board is to contribute professional expertise, community and alumni perspective, financial support, and to advise the Dean, the faculty and students to accomplish the stated mission and goals of the Honors College: providing talented students with a place where they can flourish and grow, a real learning community of teachers and students.Members
David Adams, Chair
Mindy Hong, Vice Chair
Emily Giarrocco, Secretary
Chris Bailey '12, '15
Leilani Brown
Mary Conley '94
Elizabeth Crotty
Jerry Crotty
Lexi Dowd '25, Student Representative
Carolyn Feinberg Draisin
Neil Draisin '65
Mia Fuller
Todd Fuller
Kenny Gardner '08
Sabine Lang
Kalen McNabb '10
Anna Musselman '92
Mark Musselman '93
Isaiah Nelson '12
John Newell
Sam Stafford '68
Derrick Williams '99
Biographies
David B. Adams is Distinguished University Professor of Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). He is a 1969 Cum Laude graduate of the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut and was named a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Chapel Hill in 1973. He obtained his medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia in 1977. After completing his internship and residency in surgery in 1982 at the U.S. Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, Virginia, he was named Chief of Surgery at the U.S. Naval Hospital, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 1983 he returned to the continental United States to the U.S. Naval Hospital, Charleston, South Carolina where he was named Chief of Surgery prior to joining the faculty in the department of MUSC in 1986. He has authored over 150 publications in the surgical literature related to his research interests in gastrointestinal and pancreatic surgery. He has served as Medical Director, One West Trauma Center, Program Director of the General Surgery Residency training program, Chief of the Division of Gastrointestinal & Laparoscopic Surgery, Interim Chair of the Department of Surgery and Co-Director of the Digestive Disease Center. He was the Course Director of the Medical University Department of Surgery Annual Postgraduate Course in Surgery for two and a half decades. He has served as President of the Waring Library Society, South Carolina Surgical Society, South Carolina ACS, Southeastern Surgical Congress, and the Halsted Society. His has been named as the Best Clinical Instructor in General Surgery, U.S. Naval Hospital Charleston, MUSC Faculty member Alpha Omega Alpha, MUSC Faculty Excellence Award, the Paul H. O’Brien Resident Teaching Award three times, the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, and the MUSC Health Sciences Foundation Outstanding Clinician Award. He has been awarded the U.S. Navy Letter of Commendation from the U.S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay and Charleston, South Carolina.
Emily graduated cum laude from the Honors College in 2010 with a B.S. in Biology. She continued her education at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in the Marine Biomedical and Environmental Sciences Program and graduated in 2013 with a M.S. in Biomedicine. During her time at MUSC, she worked as a Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) Fellow, a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow, and a Trainee of the Oceans & Human Health Initiative Graduate Training Grant (NOAA). With a passion for education, she received the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship and pursued a Master of Arts in Teaching in Secondary Education Science. She is currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Biology at the College. She lives in Mount Pleasant with her husband and two kids.
Chris graduated summa cum laude from the College of Charleston Honors College in 2012 with a B.S. in International Business, a B.A. Spanish, and a minor in Mathematics. He also attended graduate school at College of Charleston, earning an M.S. in Environmental Studies, an M.P.A. (Master of Public Administration), and a graduate certificate in Urban Planning in 2015. Chris worked for the Honors College from 2012-2020, serving in various roles including the Director of Marketing and Admissions. In 2015, Chris founded Without Limits Charleston, an endurance sport coaching business with a goal of promoting health, wellness, and performance through quality coaching, mentorship, and teamwork. In January 2021, Chris joined the coaching staff of the College of Charleston cross country and track & field teams. Chris served on the CofC Alumni Board of Directors from 2017-2021.
Leilani is an advisor to executives and boards on strategy, communications, crisis management, inclusion, and equity. Prior to founding her own firm, Leilani was an award-winning executive at leading companies including Stride (formerly known as K12), Starr Companies, The Economist Group, MetLife, and American International Group.
Currently, Leilani serves on the board of Middlebury College, her alma mater where she chairs the strategy and programs committee and co-chairs the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee. Previously, Leilani served on the board of Buckley Country Day School in Roslyn, Long Island as well as secretary for the Executive Leadership Council, the pre-eminent member organization for global Black executives as well as other non-profit and education boards.
Her book From Campus to Career: 25 Tips for Your First Professional Year, is a second edition of the celebrated and definitive career advice guide for interns, new graduates and young professionals and she has been a featured keynote speaker at numerous colleges and universities, companies, conferences, and national events.
Leilani received her Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College and holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from New York University.
Mary graduated cum laude from the College of Charleston Honors College in 1994 with a degree in Marine Biology and a minor in Geology. She then completed a master’s degree in Marine Science, with an emphasis in benthic ecology, at the University of Texas. Mary has used her educational background in marine science to engage in coastal and marine management activities across the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico. She has expertise in strategic planning, facilitation, training, and partner engagement. For the past 16 years, Mary has served as The Nature Conservancy’s Southeast Director of Marine Conservation. She currently leads the Ocean and Coast Network where she guides regional (Virginia to Texas) coastal and marine conservation initiatives focused around ocean protection, coastal resilience, and sustainable fisheries. Prior to joining the Conservancy, Mary worked in Maryland for the state’s Coastal Zone Management Program and the Chesapeake Bay Program.
Elizabeth is a National Board-Certified Elementary School teacher with more than 30 years’ experience in various grade levels at multiple schools in three states. She is currently an English as a Second Language specialist serving three schools in Summerville’s Dorchester District II. Through her career, she has been recognized as a Teacher of the Year, a District Honor Teacher, served on countless school and district-wide committees and task forces, presented at District and Regional conferences, supervised student teachers and mentored new professionals. She has an undergraduate degree from Clemson University and an M.Ed from the University of South Carolina. She is a native of Camden, South Carolina. Elizabeth and her husband Jerry are parents of two Honors College graduates, daughter Kathleen ('17) a PhD candidate at UMass Amherst, and son Patrick ('20) who is in his last term as a Masters candidate at Duke University.
Jerry Crotty works for the Scientific Research Corporation. Before joining the government-contracting world, he served more than 30 years in a variety of higher education administration roles on seven different campuses. Through that career, he was recognized for pioneering work in the development and use of values statements or creeds at colleges and universities, and as a founding member, board member, and newsletter editor for a national association of student conduct officers. He was a consultant, invited speaker, frequent conference presenter, officer, and board member of several national, regional, and state professional associations. He is a Florida native with an undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida and an M.Ed. from Missouri University. Since living in Summerville, he has published a book about its history, and served as a volunteer, officer, and board member several civic organizations and institutions. Jerry, and his wife Elizabeth are parents of two Honors College graduates. Their daughter Kathleen ('17) is a PhD candidate at UMass Amherst, and Patrick ('20) is finishing his Masters at Duke University.
Lexi serves as the student representative to the Honors College Advisory Board. She hails from Poway, CA, is double-majoring in history and political science, and is the current Vice-President of the College's Student Government Association.
Retired teacher Carolyn Feinberg Draisin taught elementary school children in three states over the course of her more than 20-year career as an education. Draisin was born and raised in Opelika, AL, where her parents, Sidney and Francis Feinberg, instilled in her and her siblings a great appreciation for education and respect for educators. After graduating from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science degree in education, Draisin taught elementary school children in Atlanta, GA, for three years. She then moved to Pennsylvania, where she was a grade school teacher in the Cheltenham Township School District for three years. Relocating to Charleston, SC, she held a teaching position at Orange Grove Elementary Charter School. Her longstanding connection to the College of Charleston began by mentoring student teachers. Growing up in the South during segregation and bearing witness to the fight for civil rights, Draisin aimed at creating a level playing field in the classroom. She not only helped shape future educators, she sought to support her own thirst for professional development with continued education, taking graduate courses at the College of Charleston. Draisin and her husband, Neil, have three children, Alison, Leslie, and David.
Dr. Neil W. Draisin is an optometrist who is board certified in children’s vision and visual perception and development, as well as the treatment and management of eye disease. An authority in vision therapy and rehabilitation, Draisin has maintained a private practice in Charleston since 1972. He is a fellow and pas president of the College of Optometrists and of the South Carolina Optometric Association and past president of the Southeastern Council of Optometrists. He established the Head Start Vision Screening program in Charleston in 1976. He serves on the College of Charleston Foundation Board of Directors and was elected to the National Academy of Practice in 2011. He was named Alumnus of the Year for the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 2001, was awarded the American Optometric Association’s Optometric Recognition Award for Excelling continuing education from 1990 to 2016. Draisin was recognized by the College of Charleston as the 2011 Alumnus of the Year.
Draisin graduated in 1965 from the College of Charleston with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and is a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He completed his residency in pediatric optometry and vision therapy at State University of New York.
Mia and Todd Fuller are the parents of current Honors College student and public health major Dara Fuller ’23. Mia is an occupational therapist practicing in Alpharetta, GA, specializing in comprehensive therapy solutions.
Todd FullerMia and Todd Fuller are the parents of current Honors College student and public health major Dara Fuller ’23. Todd serves as a Senior Solution Architect for Rootstock Software in Alpharetta, GA, and is a member and former President of Alpharetta High School Foundation Board.
Kenny is a member of Butler Snow’s litigation department and practices within the Tort, Transportation and Specialized Litigation group. Kenny conducts and manages litigation in State and Federal Courts from filing through the appeals process, counsels clients on statutory and common law rights and defenses as well as litigation strategy, and advocates for clients in motions practice, trial, mediations, and alternative dispute resolutions.
Kenny has been recognized by the College of Charleston with the Distinguished Alumni Award, 2021, Best Lawyers in America, and as a member of State Farm’s Inaugural Rising Stars Academy Member, 2019.
Kenny is a member of the James L. Petigru American Inn of Court. He earned his Juris Doctor from Charleston School of Law and received his bachelor’s degree from the College of Charleston. He is a graduate of Leadership Charleston, the South Carolina Leadership Academy, and the Riley Institute Diversity Leadership Initiative. He is admitted to the South Carolina Bar and the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.
Mindy Hong received her Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College, Columbia University, a Master of Arts from New York University in English Literature, and a Masters of Education from Harvard University. Mindy Hong‘ Doctorate in Education from the University of Pennsylvania explores how cognitive measures of attention, working memory, and emotional well being correlate to academic achievement. She is currently teaching a colloquia at the Honors College based on her doctoral research. Mindy Hong is an educator with 30 years of experience in independent and public schools. Mindy Hong was the Head of School for a PreK through 12th grade International Day and Boarding school in England. She has led departments and divisions in several independent schools in key areas of professional development, faculty recruitment, curricula design and pedagogy, marketing, admissions, advancement, finance, and strategic growth. Most recently, Mindy Hong’s work has focused on institutional transition and transformation, especially in areas of arts education and strategic planning for diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition to the Advisory Board at the Honors college, she also serves on the Gibbes Museum Board of Trustees and the Waring Historical Library Board of Charleston, South Carolina.
Sabine is a former Director with MEKRA Lang North America (MLNA), the company founded in 1994 by her late father, Heirnrich Lang, an international entrepreneur. MEKRA is an independent, world leading manufacturer for vision systems for commercial vehicles with locations throughout Asia, Europe and South America and the corporate office based in Ridgeway, South Carolina. While working with the company, Sabine was the 2006 Global Vision Award Honoree presented by the Columbia World Affairs Council.
Sabine’s son, Justin Lang-Spittler, attended the College from 2015-2017 and her sons, Benjamin Lang-Spittler ’23 and Stephen Lang-Spittler ’26, are both current students. She has a property in Charleston and her primary residence is in Blythewood, SC.
Kalen graduated summa cum laude from the College of Charleston Honors College in 2010 with dual degrees in Historic Preservation & Community Planning and Geology. He received his Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania in 2012. During his time at UPenn, Kalen researched the deterioration and consolidation of an argillaceous limestone column at Mission San José in San Antonio, Texas. Since 2013, Kalen has been employed as an Architectural Conservator with Meadors, Inc. in Charleston, SC. He specializes in the conservation of architectural stone and has worked on multiple nationally registered sites throughout the United States. In 2016, Kalen became an adjunct professor at the American College of the Building Arts co-teaching courses on using the scientific method within the building environment. Kalen lives in downtown Charleston and is currently restoring an 1891 single house with his partner, Dr. Alex Tillotson.
Anna Musselman is the teacher-librarian at Fort Dorchester High School in North Charleston. She graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and Public Communication, but after spending five years in that field, she returned to school, ready for a change. In 1993, she earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from the College of Charleston. For the next 25 years, she completely loved being a middle school science teacher, embracing the joy, moodiness, humor, sarcasm, and wonder of seventh graders. Needing a change from classroom life, she started her second master’s degree at The University of South Carolina. She will earn her Master of Library and Information Science degree in December of 2021. She is pleased to note that 100% of her immediate family has degrees from the College. Her husband, Mark, also has his Master of Arts in Teaching. Her daughter, Olivia (CofC Honors, ’18, summa cum laude), has a degree in Biology, and her daughter, C. Genevieve (CofC Honors, ’20, cum laude), has a degree in Exercise Science.
Mark works as the sanctuary manager for the National Audubon Society’s 18,000-acre Francis Beidler Forest near Harleyville, SC. He grew up in an Air Force family traveling the globe and attending fifteen schools before arriving at the University of South Carolina with a NROTC scholarship. Graduating in 1985 with a degree in History and a commission in the US Marine Corps, he spent four years on active duty and two years in the reserves, including guarding the western front in Oahu, Hawaii during the First Gulf War. He received a Masters of Arts in Teaching (CofC ’93), taught middle school science for several years, was a stay-home dad for eight years, became the educator at Francis Beidler Forest, and subsequently the sanctuary manager. Mark and his wife Anna (CofC ’92) have two daughters, Olivia (CofC Honors ’18) and Genevieve (CofC Honors ’20).
Originally from Northern Virginia, Isaiah Nelson graduated summa cum laude from the College of Charleston in 2012. Isaiah was a recipient of the Bishop Robert Smith Award, highest honor an undergraduate can achieve at the College of Charleston and was active on campus in various organizations, most notably serving as Student Body President his junior year. A White House intern during the summer of 2011, Isaiah followed his passion for politics by working various political campaigns after graduating, including President Obama's re-election in 2012, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards election in 2015, and various other races in South Carolina and throughout the South. He is now a Principal at McKenna Media, a Baltimore based media firm that specializes in making TV and digital ads for candidates and like-minded organizations all over the country. He currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his girlfriend and their dog, but is back in South Carolina and Charleston as often as possible!
John H. Newell Jr. taught history at the College of Charleston for more than 20 years and served as the first dean of the Honors College from 2005 to 2012. The medieval European scholar joined the College’s history department in 1978 and has taught courses that include Women and Love in the Middle Ages; Witches, Saints and Heretics in Medieval and Early Modern Europe; Plague, War and Schism; and In Search of King Arthur and the Holy Grail. Newell is a frequent speaker on medieval studies and on the function of honors classes at universities and has spoken several times to both the Southeastern Medieval Association and the National Collegiate Honors Council. He has served the Southeastern Medieval Association in a variety of capacities – including president, vice president and member of the executive council – and is the past secretary and past-treasurer to the Southern Regional Faculty and Instructional Development Consortium. He served on the editorial board of Medieval Perspectives for many years and on the executive boards of the College of Charleston Phi Kappa Phi chapter and the Lowcountry Phi Beta Kappa chapter. He joined Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi in 1968, when he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia’s honors program. After that, he served in the Air Force until 1972. Newell a longtime member of the American Historical Association, the Medieval Academy of America, the National Collegiate Honors Council, and the Southern Regional Honors Council. He speaks German and is able to read Latin, German, French and Italian. In 2011, Newell worked with LCWA Dean David Cohen to launch the International Scholars Program, which is designed for students who are committed to finding solutions to critical global issues and who want to be comfortable moving between different cultures and languages.
Sam is a member of the Alumni Association Board, Foundation Board, and School of the Arts Advisory Council, a former member of the Board of Trustees, and a Past President of the Alumni Association. Stafford received his M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina and is partner at Mt. Pleasant Dermatology. Served in the United States Navy as a physician for over 20 years. Awarded the 2014 Alumni Award of Honor from the College of Charleston Alumni Association. Established the Dr. Sam and Nancy Stafford ALUMNI Scholarship for an education major at the College. Sam was a 2017 Spring Commencement ceremony speaker.
Former Commissioner Derrick L. Williams is one of the youngest-ever to be appointed to the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission. He was appointed in March 2007, and he served until January 31, 2013, when he decided to return to private practice. He is responsible for spear-heading the effort to make mediation of workers’ compensation available for complex injury by accident cases in South Carolina.
He began his legal career at a mid-size insurance defense firm, where his litigation background included defending workers’ compensation claims for insurance companies, and insurance defense litigation.
Prior to joining the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission, he was an associate at a national law firm based in South Carolina. He practiced in the areas of business litigation, franchise and distribution litigation, and labor and employment.
Derrick currently practices with the firm of Mickle & Bass, where he is a partner with the firm. His practice is devoted to representing injured workers, and he is also a certified mediator.
Derrick earned a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2002, where he was a member of the South Carolina Environmental Law Journal. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in the Honors Program at the College of Charleston in 1999. He ran Cross Country and Track for the College of Charleston, and he was the team captain of both his senior season.
Born in Florence, South Carolina he and his family moved later to Columbia, South Carolina, where he graduated from Dreher High School. He is the Past President of the Riverbanks Zoo Society Board. He is the first black President of the College of Charleston Alumni Association (currently serving) and also serves on the College of Charleston Honors College Advisory Board and the College of Charleston English Department Alumni Advisory Board. He is also an active member in the American Bar Association, where he is involved in the T.I.P.S. Workers’ Compensation Section. He is a member of the John Belton O’Neall American Inn of Court. Derrick also serves on the South Carolina Board of Law Examiners. He also serves on the Executive Committee for the Richland County Bar Association.