Philip Vann is a director for Cushman & Wakefield in Columbia with a specialty in tenant representation, lease and sales contracts, site selection and financial analysis.

He is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and a current member of the Central Carolina Realtors Association, South Carolina Realtors Association and National Realtors Association.

In addition to serving as Children’s Trust’s governance committee co-chair, Philip is a former board member of Youth Corps of Columbia and a former volunteer with the Midlands Reading Consortium through United Way.

He received the Judith M. Davis Volunteer of the Year Award from United Way of the Midlands (2018).

Philip is an at-large member of the board and serves at chair of the Board of Directors.

Edward Anderson is the executive director of OnTrack Greenville with United Way of Greenville County, where he oversees the strategic direction and plan for the school-based high school graduation program. As an educator and dedicated advocate for children, he previously served as the principal at Tanglewood Middle School with Greenville County Schools.

Edward’s board and nonprofit experience includes working with Save Our Sons, Greenville County Schools leadership committees, South Carolina Association of School Administrators, Goodwill GoodGuides as a youth mentor, and United Way’s Young Philanthropists Council’s school readiness chair. He is also an active member of United Way of Greenville County’s African American Leadership Greenville (AALG), Young Leaders Society (YLS) and BOLD Leadership Consultants.

Edward was recognized as one of Greenville Business Magazine’s Best and Brightest 35 and Under (2021).

He holds a bachelor’s degree in middle level education, an elementary and secondary endorsement in principalship, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, and a doctoral degree in educational leadership and technology.

He looks forward to strengthening the prevention work and sustainability of Children’s Trust.

Edward is an at-large member of the board.

Erin Boyce is a finance executive with over 15 years of experience in public accounting, state government and healthcare, with a focus on budget development, data analysis, policy implementation and process automation. She is currently vice president of strategic finance at Interwell Health.

Erin has served in various leadership roles in South Carolina, including CFO and VP of healthcare finance at the South Carolina Hospital Association, CFO and chief of state for the South Carolina Department of Health & Human Services and CFO of a local school district.

She has experience on several boards, including the advisory board for CTS Health and the Finance Council at her local church. Erin volunteers with Junior Achievement of South Carolina and at her church, teaching students personal finance skills.

Erin received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of South Carolina. She is a certified public accountant, certified public manager and a graduate of the Milbank Emerging Leaders program.

Erin is an at-large member of the board.

Beverly Hamilton retired as the associate vice president of government contracts at Molina Healthcare of South Carolina after serving almost 10 years with the organization. She has professional experience in both the private and public healthcare sectors.

She has served as a board member for several South Carolina nonprofit organizations, including United Way of the Midlands, Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services and the Boys and Girls Club.

As the chair on the board for Children’s Trust, Beverly is especially interested in using her management experience to help Children’s Trust build a more successful governance model and promote a vibrant governance structure.

Beverly is an at-large member of the board and is the immediate past chair. 

Shawan Gillians is the director of sustainability at Santee Cooper, where she serves to enhance the utility’s efforts in sustainability through the development of a comprehensive corporate strategy and support structure.

She has over 11 years of experience with Santee Cooper, holding several positions including attorney, associate general counsel, treasurer and director of legal services and corporate secretary.

Shawan serves on the Nominating Committee for the South Carolina Bar Association and chairs the South Carolina Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education. She also serves on the boards of the Coastal Community Foundation, Trident United Way, Roper St. Francis Hospital/Berkeley Hospital, Historic Charleston Foundation and the Wofford College Board of Trustees.

She is a graduate of Wofford College, holds a law degree from The College of William and Mary and received a Master of Business Administration from the University of South Carolina.

Shawan is an at-large member of the board and serves as secretary/treasurer for the Board of Directors.

Dr. Ramkumar Jayagopalan is a board-certified pediatrician at Carolina Pediatrics & Adolescent Care in Columbia, SC. He has been a practicing pediatrician for over 20 years.

Dr. Ramkumar also serves as the secretary/treasurer on the South Carolina Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (SCAAP) Board of Directors. He previously served as the foster care liaison and a board member-at-large. His involvement with SCAAP has driven many successes: awarded a grant to promote trauma-informed care in pediatric medical homes, won the SCAAP’s Special Achievement Award (2014), participated in patient-reported outcomes (PROS) studies and partnered with the local school district as the Doc Adopt Champion.

Dr. Ramkumar served on the external board for the SC Office of Suicide Prevention’s Communities of Care grant (suicide prevention initiative) and is a member of the National Improvement Partnership Network (NIPN). He also serves as the medical director for Quality Through Technology and Innovation in Pediatrics (QTIP), a pediatric quality improvement Collaborative in South Carolina.

He attended Kilpauk Medical College in Chennai, India and completed his pediatric residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Ramkumar is an at-large member of the board.

Lakesha Jeffries is an attorney and the owner of Jeffries Law Firm with offices in Orangeburg and Columbia, South Carolina. Her areas of practice include family law, personal injury and workers’ compensation.

Previously, Lakesha served as an assistant attorney general with the South Carolina Office of the Attorney General, where she handled Post Conviction Relief matters and prosecuted criminal domestic violence cases.

She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the South Carolina Bar Foundation,  the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, Board member of Richland County First Steps, Board member with the Midlands Mediation Center, and serves as Vice-President of the South Carolina Black Lawyers Association.  Lakesha has served on the Board of Directors for the Salvation Army of Orangeburg and the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Columbia College and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Lakesha represents the 2nd Congressional District on the Board of Directors.

Dr. David Kahn is the founder, president and owner of The Counseling Center of Florence, LLC. He has more than 35 years of experience in providing counseling services. David has also worked in higher education, previously serving as an associate professor at Webster University’s Myrtle Beach campus and as an instructor and director of counseling and testing services at Francis Marion University.

He is a licensed professional counselor and a licensed professional supervisor. Additionally, David is an ordained deacon in the Catholic Church.

David is the past president of the South Carolina Clinical Mental Health Counselor Association and served as a board member for the South Carolina Licensed Clinical Counselor Association and CHOICES Charter School.

He holds a doctorate in counselor education and supervision from the University of South Carolina. David also earned his master’s in agency counseling from North Carolina A&T University and a bachelor’s degree from Western Carolina University. Most recently, he obtained a Master of Arts in Theology from St. Leo University.

David represents the 7th Congressional District on the Board of Directors.

Paul Kohlheim retired as a management consulting executive at Huron Consulting Group.

Paul has significant experience with non-profit organizations, having held various board positions over the years. He served as board chair of Coastal Community Foundation, Empower Charleston (previously Social Ventures Partners Charleston) and One80 Place.

He has also been a board member of many South Carolina organizations, including Tri-County Cradle to Career, Charleston Promise Neighborhood, Zucker Institute for Applied Neuroscience (MUSC) and Porter-Gaud School. Paul completed the Diversity Leadership Initiative led by The Riley Institute at Furman University (2019).

He is excited to use his financial and operational management expertise and experience in non-profit board leadership to support Children’s Trust’s mission.

Paul represents the 1st Congressional District on the Board of Directors.

Tiffany Santagati is vice president of operations for Greenville Housing Fund. She has spent the majority of her career in the banking industry where she served in a variety of strategic and leadership roles. Tiffany has extensive experience working in both the public and private sectors and is adept at building strong collaborative partnerships.

Tiffany has demonstrated a deep commitment to facilitating meaningful community change, promoting economic development and improving quality-of-life for those facing economic and social challenges. She volunteered in leadership roles at multiple non-profit organizations including Greenville Technical College Foundation, the Hispanic Alliance and the American Red Cross of the Upstate.

Tiffany has been recognized as a top young professional by the Greenville Chamber of Commerce and GSA Business Magazine and is a graduate of Leadership Greenville and Furman University’s Diversity Leaders Initiative at the Riley Institute.

A graduate of USC Upstate with a master’s degree in business administration from Webster University, Tiffany is the immediate past chair on the board for Children’s Trust.

Tiffany represents the 4th Congressional District on our board.

Sharon Teague is the senior vice president of deposit services for Founders Federal Credit Union.

She is a member of the Lancaster Rotary Club, and she serves on the board of directors for the Foundation for Professional Development, which sponsors the STAR Teacher Program.

Sharon is excited about the work Children’s Trust is doing to strengthen families and wants to help communicate the impact of that work while helping ensure long-term sustainability.

Sharon represents the 5th Congressional District on the Board of Directors.