SC Humanities is pleased to announce the FY2026 Board Members who will begin their terms on November 1, 2025: Boyd Brown of Columbia, Araceli Hernández-Laroche of Spartanburg, Brian Jones of Mount Pleasant, Meeghan Kane of Columbia, Preston L. McKever-Floyd of Conway, and Alison Mc Letchie or Orangeburg.
Upon graduating from the University of South Carolina in 2007, Boyd Brown was subsequently elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives, becoming America’s youngest state lawmaker at the age of 22. During his time in the Legislature, Mr. Brown was described as a “substantive policy voice,” an “ethics reform champion” and The Washington Post labeled him a “Voice of a Generation” after he delivered a case on behalf of his contemporaries. He was viewed as a bipartisan and pragmatic voice in the House and was appointed to multiple conference committees by the Speaker to help negotiate deadlocked legislation. After leaving elected office, Mr. Brown was asked to serve on the troubled Fairfield Memorial Hospital (now MUSC) board of trustees, where he was instrumental in keeping access to health care in a rural community. He was also appointed to the South Carolina Conservation Bank board of directors by the State Senate, where he helped direct the preservation of hundreds of thousands of acres of land in the Palmetto State, equaling hundreds of millions of dollars in conservation easements. Since 2016, Mr. Brown has been a partner in the bipartisan government affairs firm, Tompkins, Thompson & Brown (TT&B) located on Columbia’s Main Street. Representing nearly 50 clients across various industries and interests, TT&B is recognized as the state’s leading lobbying firm. Mr. Brown is a native of Fairfield County, a former member of the Democratic National Committee and an active member of Eastminster Presbyterian Church (USA) in Columbia. He currently serves on the City of Columbia’s Parks and Recreation Foundation board of directors and the Montreat Development Foundation board of directors in the Blue Ridge Mountains. When not in the office or rooting on the Gamecocks, Mr. Brown can be found spending time with his wife, Lee Ferrell Brown, DMD, their two boys and their two dogs at home in Columbia or on the Carolina coast.
Araceli Hernández-Laroche (UC Berkeley PhD) speaks four languages and is USC Upstate Professor of Modern Languages and founding director of the academic center South Carolina Centro Latino. Its pillars are Latinx Interdisciplinary Studies, Civic Leadership, and the multilingual Public Humanities. Araceli has several publications, including with the Cambridge University Press Journal of Public Humanities and the co-edited PMLA Special Topics on The Theories and Methodologies of Public Humanities. Araceli served as the co-president of the Association of Department of Languages, Executive Committee, and on the Modern Language Association (MLA) Ad Hoc Committee Valuing the Public Humanities. SC Humanities recognized her as 2023 Akers Prize winner for using culture and history to bring people together. 2020 SC Career Woman of the Year, 2024 Woman of Influence, 2024 Advocate of the Year, and Top 12 Most Influential Women in the Southeast are examples of other distinctions. She has participated in leadership programs through her service to several local, statewide, national, and transnational boards and committees.
Brian Madison Jones serves as Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of History at The Citadel: The Military College of South Carolina. As dean, Jones is responsible for the School’s strategic vision, financial health, and academic excellence, serving over 700 students across seven academic departments and more than 300 graduate students. Jones came to The Citadel in 2020, following twelve years at Johnson C. Smith University, where he served as the Dean of the College of Arts and Letters and was a James B. Duke Distinguished faculty member. As an academic leader, Jones has developed curricula and other academic enrichment initiatives, emphasized faculty development, collaborated with governing boards, private foundations, and individual donors, overseen institutional grants, and presided over various leadership, program, and search committees. He has engaged in professional development opportunities through the American Council on Education (ACE), the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the American Conference of Academic Deans (ACAD), and the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Jones earned a Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) in history from Appalachian State University, a Master of Arts in history from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Doctor of Philosophy in history from Kansas State University. As a historian, his primary areas of scholarly study are post-war American history, the nuclear age, and the American presidency. He is the author of the book Abolishing the Taboo: Dwight D. Eisenhower and American Nuclear Doctrine (Helion & Co., Ltd, 2011) and has published articles in The Military-Industrial Complex and American Society and Encyclopedia of the Cold War: A Political, Social, and Military History. He served as a historical consultant for the 3 Road Communications production of “Rescue in the Philippines” (2013) and for A&E’s ‘Biography’ of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Dr. Jones has reviewed scholarly works for the Presidential Studies Quarterly, The North Carolina Historical Review, and The Journal of American History. He has received grants from the University of Michigan, the University of Arizona, and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. Dean Jones is a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and currently lives in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, with his wife, two daughters, and one quite formidable Airedale Terrier, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (Ellie).
Meeghan Kane oversees community engagement at the South Carolina State Museum. In her role, she develops and coordinates public programs, supports and fosters community relationships and partnerships with fellow cultural institutions and organizations, and assists in the museum’s ongoing efforts to Reimagine the Experience. Her work intersects with all the museum’s departments, so she has learned a lot since she began in May 2022. Prior to joining the museum team, Kane taught history at Benedict College for over a decade, where she specialized in African American history, 20th century cultural history, and the history of the American South. She moved to Columbia, South Carolina, from Tampa, Florida, in 2006 to join USC’s graduate program in history after completing her B.A. and M.A. at the University of South Florida.
Preston L. McKever-Floyd is the Founder and C.E.O. of the Dr. Preston L. McKever-Floyd Foundation and Youth Sports Academy in Monrovia, Liberia. The organization was founded April 19, 2015, and incorporated with the Liberian government as an International Non-Governmental Organization in 2017. The prime objective of which is the education of the youth of Liberia and we use soccer as a vehicle for the teaching life and leadership skills. Our motto is Creating a New Future for Liberia One Child at a Time. December 2015 Dr. McKever-Floyd retired after thirty-five years as a professor and two years as Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious studies, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC. During his tenure he co-founded the Women’s and Gender Studies program. He also did visiting professorships at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri in African American Literature and the University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina in Women’s and Gender, African-American, and Religious Studies. Dr. McKever-Floyd holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Virginia State University, Master of Divinity, Duke University, all but dissertation, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Religion and Literature (1985), Emory University and the Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD) in philosophy from the University of South Carolina (2009). Dr. McKever-Floyd is the first African American to earn the doctorate in philosophy from the University of South Carolina. A native of Conway, SC, Rev. Dr. McKever-Floyd grew up in the home of the first full-time Black policeman in the state of South Carolina, Mr. Samuel P. Floyd, Sr. Rev. Dr. McKever-Floyd was one of the first five African American students to graduate from Conway High School in 1968. Rev. Dr. McKever-Floyd currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for CareTeamPlus, medical clinic, serving Horry, Georgetown and Williamsburg counties, and the Palmetto Literacy Council serving Horry County. He believes in the sacredness of all life, and to whom much is given much is required.
Dr. Alison Mc Letchie is an Associate Professor at South Carolina State University teaching anthropology and sociology in the Department of Social Sciences. She has published and presented extensively on calypso, Caribbean Catholic music, religion, la Divina Pastora, Caribbean Carnivals in the Carolinas, and the social and cultural life on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) campuses. She earned a B.Sc. in psychology from South Carolina State University, a MA in anthropology and Ph.D. in sociology along with a Certificate in museum management all from the University of South Carolina.
Board Members continuing to serve are: Jennifer Thomas (Chair) of Greenville; Brenton Brown (Vice Chair) of Columbia; Alli Crandell (Secretary/Treasurer) of Conway; Gina Bennett of Hartsville, J. W. Nelson Chandler of Mount Pleasant; Bill Comer of Lexington; Tom Crosby of Columbia; David Hodges (Past Chair) of Columbia; Charles McDonald of Hanahan; S.C. (Cal) McMeekin, Jr. of Columbia; Lucas McMillan of Greenwood; Dollie Newhouse of Irmo; Otis Pickett of Clemson; David Stone Jr. of Florence; and Melissa Walker of Spartanburg.
SC Humanities bids a sad farewell to several outstanding Board Members who retired from the Board in 2025: Eric Crawford of Orangeburg, Jay Dowd of Bradley, Bonnie Hargrove of Beaufort, George D. Jebaily of Florence, Isaiah McGee of Orangeburg, Floyd Nicholson of Greenwood, and Ashlye V. Wilkerson of Columbia. Their service will be sincerely missed.
The Board of Directors of SC Humanities consists of volunteer academic and public members. Board members initiate and develop projects, seek to make the humanities accessible statewide, and take active roles in fundraising. Open nominations for Board Members occur annually. For more information about serving on the Board of SC Humanities, contact Executive Director Jennifer Gunter at 803-771-2477.