Board of Directors

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.

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.

Lauren Briles is the franchise owner of Primrose School of Greenville and Primrose School of Midtown Greenville. As such, she is involved in all aspects of the daily operations of the schools and is a passionate advocate for quality early education.  

Lauren has also been very involved in the Greenville community volunteering with a variety of organizations. She currently serves on the South Carolina Children’s Theatre board and has held leadership positions with Greenville First Steps, Christ Church Episcopal, Augusta Road Business Association, A Child’s Haven Volunteer Board, and the Junior League of Greenville. 

Originally from Austin, Texas, she settled in Greenville after graduating from Furman University with a Bachelor of Arts in communication studies. 

Lauren represents the 3rd Congressional District on the Board of Directors.

Marc Brown is the managing attorney with the Marc Brown Law Firm, a personal injury law firm that serves clients throughout South Carolina and Georgia. Prior to opening his firm, Marc worked for a national law firm defending multinational corporations. 

Marc is also a member of the United Way of the Midlands’ Young Leaders Society and serves on Communities in Schools of South Carolina’s Advisory Committee.

He has an interest in raising visibility and awareness of child abuse prevention in ways that can impact fundraising and advance policies to better protect children in South Carolina.

He graduated from the University of South Carolina with dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and criminology. He went on to attend Emory University School of Law, where he graduated with honors.

Marc is an at-large member of the board.

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.

Christopher Hanson is a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Greenville, chairing the firm’s FDA Regulatory Compliance & Litigation practice group. He specializes in tackling high-stakes regulatory issues across many product categories, including medical devices, human and animal drugs, in vitro diagnostics, conventional foods, dietary supplements, cosmetics, radiation-emitting electronic products and clinical laboratories.

He currently serves as vice chair of SCbio’s Board of Directors. And he was nominated and chosen to participate in the 2023 class of Leadership South Carolina.

Christopher is passionate about Children’s Trust’s mission, as it aligns with his pro bono work in issues related to child well-being, poverty and housing. He is eager to apply his divinity school education and legal training to the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

He is an honors graduate of Yale University and received a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard University as a Presidential Scholar. He also holds a law degree from Northwestern University, where he graduated with honors and was inducted into the Order of the Coif.

Christopher is an at-large member of the board.

Cheryl Holland is the founder and president of Abacus Planning Group, a holistic fee-only financial planning and investment advisory firm managing over $1.7 billion in assets.

Cheryl serves as Chair of the Clemson University Foundation Investment Committee, a member of the American Bible Society Board’s Investment Committee, the South Carolina Special Olympics Board, and United Way of the Midlands Board.

With extensive experience in finance, entrepreneurship, management, strategic planning and fund development, she seeks to develop a more successful model for long-term sustainability at Children’s Trust while citing her passion for the organization’s mission.

Cheryl is an at-large member of the board.

In this video, Cheryl shares why she is passionate about child abuse prevention and why she has been involved with Children’s Trust for more than a decade.

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.

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.

Tim Lyons is the partner-in-charge (PIC) of the Columbia office of Mauldin and Jenkins. As the PIC, Tim is responsible for leading a team of approximately forty professionals providing audit, tax and advisory services throughout the Carolinas.

He specializes in serving state and local governmental entities and not-for-profit organizations and is currently a member of the AICPA’s State and Local Government Expert Panel.

Tim is interested in bringing his knowledge and experience to help Children’s Trust define and measure mission impact and to ensure long-term sustainability.

He is a graduate of Furman University and obtained his master’s of accountancy from the College of Charleston. 

Tim is an at-large member of the board.

In this video, Tim explains why he’s passionate about giving his time and resources to Children’s Trust as a monthly donor.

Steve Moon is an attorney and shareholder at Rogers Townsend & Thomas in Columbia. He has worked for many years as counsel for businesses and health care entities while representing clients in all levels of court in South Carolina. Steve earned his undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of South Carolina.

He has frequently worked in professional and community associations over the years, including chairman of the South Carolina Bar Lawyer Physician Relationship Committee, chairman of the Continuing Legal Education Committee, and currently outgoing chairman of the Health Care Law Section. By appointment of the chief justice, Steve was a member and then chairperson of the Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization. In the community, among many endeavors, Steve has served as an officer on the board of the Carolina Ballet.

Recently, Steve completed the Governing for Nonprofit Excellence course at Harvard Business School. He has given numerous educational presentations to lawyers, businesses and health care providers on topics from risk management to the current opioid crisis.

Steve represents the 6th Congressional District on the board.

Erin Pate is project lead with EHP & Associates serving a variety of clients in the conservation field. She was the former North Coast Office Director for the Coastal Conservation League.

A graduate of the University of South Carolina, she has had a career in nonprofit leadership and management to include serving as the CEO of SC Association of CPAs and prior to that was the founding executive director of the S.C. Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

She also currently serves on the board of the Black River United Way, the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum, Saluda Shoals Park and Horry County Rising.

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

Watch a video of Erin sharing why she is a champion for children.

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.

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 the vice chair of the Board of Directors.

Additional board members are appointment pending.