McKenzie manages grants, contracts, and grantee financial oversight. She ensures compliance with grant requirements, monitors expenditures, and provides ongoing financial technical assistance to staff, grantees and partners. 

She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Coastal Carolina University and a master’s in business administration from the University of South Carolina – Aiken. 

My goal is to leave my community in a better position than when I became a member of it. I am proud to be a part of a larger team that strives for a South Carolina where every child thrives by working together on prevention strategies.

Jennifer Medina-Gurrera manages the financial activities for Children’s Trust, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, procurement, and accounting records maintenance and updates. She ensures that financial operations follow all relevant internal and external accounting practices.

Jennifer is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and a member of the volunteer action team with the Columbia Opportunity Resource (COR), a professional group that fosters local pride and boosts talent retention by connecting professionals in the greater Columbia region.

I support the day-to-day finances across Children’s Trust, so that my colleagues can provide trainings and prevention programs to families across South Carolina.

Riyah is responsible for processing accounts by entering invoices, processing procurement card transaction, processing cash receipts by entering deposits, maintaining the staff expense reports, and assisting the human resources department with tracking staff professional development. She is a graduate of Winthrop University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. 

I am committed to delivering attention to detail and support that ensures our partners can collaborate with Children’s Trust to strengthen South Carolina’s families and communities.

Maya Scott works with partners who receive funding from federal grants that Children’s Trust administers. She ensures requests for payments and expenses are processed and tracked accurately. In addition to maintaining data accuracy, Scott is also the first reviewer of sub-recipient spending to be sure it is within budget and is reasonable and necessary as required by the funder. 

Before joining Children’s Trust, Scott worked as a bookkeeper at National Land Realty in Greenville, South Carolina, where she is originally from. She attended S.C. State University and Midlands Technical College. 

As grants accounting associate, Kanisha Tillman processes sub-recipient reimbursement requests and reviews budgets for accuracy. She ensures sub-recipients are following established administrative and financial policies, procedures and sound business practices. 

Prior to joining Children’s Trust, Tillman worked as an accounts receivable specialist at Jushi USA Fiberglass in Columbia. She holds an associate’s degree in accounting from Midlands Technical College. Originally from Bronx, New York, she has lived in Columbia since 2006.

Deb is responsible for grant and contract management, procurement and financial procedures.

A graduate of South Dakota State University, Brookings, Deb also volunteers as the treasurer for ACTS Metro, a Columbia-based nonprofit helping families get to self-sufficiency.