Email: skeene@mailbox.sc.edu
Nicole Skeen is an educator, coach, consultant, trainer, speaker, and program developer with a passion for facilitating the professional growth and individual success of teachers. She served as a middle school teacher, instructional coach, induction coordinator, professional development leader, and adjunct instructor at the University of South Carolina before joining the College of Education faculty full-time. In 2017, Skeen became the college’s founding director of the Carolina Teacher Induction Program (CarolinaTIP). CarolinaTIP is an innovative and groundbreaking program designed to help teachers persevere and thrive in the profession. As the director, Skeen has led the development and implementation of a proven and award-winning coaching and support model specifically designed to meet the evolving needs of novice teachers by addressing educator-identified and research-based factors of teacher attrition.
Email: adbadams@mailbox.sc.edu
Angela is a classroom veteran who has taught science, social studies, and literacy to middle schoolers in the Upstate, Lowcountry, and Midlands of South Carolina. Angela is certified in Elementary Education and Middle Level Science as well as being National Board Certified in the area of Early Adolescence: Science. In addition to being a certified SAFE-T Evaluator and a certified NIET 4.0 Mentor, Angela has presented professional development sessions to groups of teachers at the school, district, and state levels.
Email: edwil.llc.43@gmail.com
Dedicated to both personal and professional growth, LaKeisha has served in various capacities in education. LaKeisha’s journey began in the classroom, teaching middle-level English language arts, where she demonstrated an exceptional ability to engage and inspire young minds. From there, she transitioned into the role of a professional school counselor, providing critical support and guidance to students navigating their educational paths. Recognizing the need to address and prevent student attrition, LaKeisha also took on the challenge of serving as a coordinator of dropout prevention, implementing strategies to keep students engaged and enrolled in school.
Beyond her work in education, LaKeisha is a certified Maxwell Leadership coach, trainer, and speaker, as well as a Gallup Global Strengths Coach. These roles highlight her dedication to leadership development, assisting others in recognizing their strengths and achieving their goals through coaching and training.
Email: morgan@leadingupllc.com
Morgan Lee is a proud alumnus of the College of Education at the University of South Carolina. He has served as a secondary social studies teacher, a middle school principal, a high school principal, and as a leadership development specialist at the South Carolina Department of Education, where he directed the SC Principal Induction Program and a program for teacher leaders. He has worked in rural, urban, and suburban schools in South Carolina. Morgan currently serves on the leadership and development team and is the lead trainer for CarolinaTIP, a program designed specifically to retain teachers in the profession of education. He works to help teachers and coaches to learn, grow, and develop each day. Morgan also works in schools and school districts in the United States to support whole-school change initiatives by strengthening shared leadership, positive relationships, and relational trust within the adult community of schools. He is especially interested in finding ways to help people to learn to live together while also honoring each other’s differences.
Email: sherylh@mailbox.sc.edu
Sheryl Horton serves as the Program Coordinator for Professional Partnerships and has worked for the University of South Carolina for 20 years. Prior to serving in this role, she served as the Student Services Coordinator for the Office of Educational Outreach. Sheryl is gifted at providing customer service assistance to schools, administrators, teachers, and students throughout the state of South Carolina. During her tenure in the College of Education, Sheryl has been honored with the 2013 Hidden Gem Award. She demonstrates a service mentality daily and thrives on helping educators enjoy the benefits of deep partnerships.
Email: stephaniemartin@sc.edu
Stephanie Martin is a seasoned public relations professional with experience in the nonprofit, government, utilities, and higher education industries. Her communication skills have been honed through positions with United Way, the state’s electric cooperative association, and Clemson University youth development programs. She has collaborated to win multiple ADDY awards and a Best of Show from the American Advertising Federation, in addition to several accolades from United Way of America and the Southern Public Relations Federation. Stephanie also taught in the USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications as an adjunct instructor for 6 years. She is now working with the CarolinaCrED programs — CarolinaCAP, CarolinaTIP, mCrED and CarolinaCrED CORE — to tell the many stories of educator successes.
Email: vanburen@sc.edu
Cindy Van Buren has been a SC educator since 1988. She has previously served as the Deputy Superintendent for the Division of School Effectiveness for the South Carolina Department of Education, the Chair of the Department of Education at Newberry College, the Director of Teacher Education at Winthrop University, and as a high school administrator and teacher at Rock Hill High School. Since joining the staff in the College of Education at USC in 2015, she has dedicated her work to building and maintaining partnerships that improve the lives of teachers, students, schools and districts in SC.
