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2022 Building OneSouthCarolina Forum
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Riley Institute deputy director Jacki Martin chats with eventgoers before the start of the forum. She moderated two panels at the event.
Phil Feisal, president of Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, chats with others prior to the start of the forum. He spoke on a panel about building an opportunity infrastructure.
Michael Williamson, president and CEO of Northside Development Group, and Mitch Kennedy, assistant city manager of City of Spartanburg, speak with an eventgoer prior to the start of the event.
Gary Clary, Clemson University chief judge, shakes hands with Shannon Stephens of United Community Bank.
Juan Johnson, Diversity Leaders Initiative facilitator, greets graduates of the program at the door. The event was attended by many Riley Fellows from across the state.
Wanda Cheeks Holmes, a long-time community activist in Spartanburg, speaks to eventgoer about the initiative.
The Hon. Lillian Brock Flemming joins Sec. Dick Riley in conversation before the event.
Roland Gardner, CEO of Beaufort-Jasper-Hampton Comprehensive Health Services, shakes hands with Sec. Riley. Gardner will receive the Riley-Wilkins OneSouthCarolina Award for Excellence in Civic Leadership in 2023.
Sec. Dick Riley greets the crowd at the start of the forum.
During the first panel, principals spoke about building trust and collaborating with partners.
As assistant city manager for the City of Spartanburg, Mitch Kennedy has helped lead collaborative gatherings and regularly engages with Northside residents to build trust and solve problems. Bill Barnet, NDG board chair, championed extensive coalition-building and a strategic approach for the initiative, one that focused on improving healthcare access, housing and community assets, and educational, social, and economic opportunities for residents.
Curt McPhail, former project manager for the Northside Development Corporation, looks on at the speakers.
Tammie Hoy Hawkins sat on two panels at the forum. As the project manager for Northside Development Group from 2013 to 2020, Tammie Hoy Hawkins oversaw day-to-day operations, led master planning efforts, and implemented a multi-tiered housing strategy.
Mitch Kennedy, assistant city manager of City of Spartanburg, shares an impassioned story about the impact a public pool has had on Northside youth.
Carol Naughton, president of Purpose Built Communities, moderates a panel about creating an opportunity infrastructure.
Russell Booker, president and CEO of the Spartanburg Academic Movement and former superintendent of Spartanburg School District 7, speaks about the ways in which the Northside Initiative has worked to strengthen the relationship between the community and its schools.
Sec. Dick Riley presents the OneSouthCarolina Partners in Progress award to Tony Thomas, community engagement coordinator of Northside Development Group.
Those involved with the Northside Initiative stand on stage as the initiative is honored with the OneSouthCarolina Partners in Progress Award.
Northside Development Group leadership over the years: Curt McPhail, Tammie Hoy Hawkins, and Michael Williamson.
Building OneSouthCarolina Forum and Presentation of the Partners in Progress Award
May 10, 2022 | Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center
Sponsored by United Community Bank
9 a.m. Coffee, Croissants, and Connecting | 9:30-11:30 a.m. Forum and Award Presentation | 11:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Audience Q&A session
On May 10, 2022 at its first annual Building OneSouthCarolina forum, the Riley Institute presented the inaugural OneSouthCarolina Partners in Progress Award, an award that recognizes a landmark collaborative achievement contributing significantly to social and economic progress in South Carolina, to the Spartanburg Northside Initiative.
Stakeholders offered their thoughts on the collaborative effort's origins, successes, failures, key takeaways, and hopes for the future.
Read Speaker Bios
Read coverage from The Post and Courier
We at the Riley Institute extend our great thanks to South Carolina ETV for the network's ongoing partnership and for its video production for this event. We would also like to thank AV Connections for its technical support of this event.
About the 2022 OneSouthCarolina Partners in Progress Award Winner
Spartanburg Northside Initiative
An ongoing, comprehensive, "inside-out" transformation of a neighborhood long beset by poverty's challenges, the Spartanburg Northside Initiative is committed to increasing wellbeing and opportunity for the people of the Northside. This collaborative effort honors the Northside's history and cultural identity while improving healthcare access, housing and community assets, and educational, social, and economic opportunities for its residents.
Coffee, Croissants, and Connecting
Dick Riley, former U. S. secretary of education and S.C. governor
Dixon Woodward, state president of South Carolina and coastal
Georgia, United Community Bank
The Spartanburg Northside Initiative: Toward Community Transformation
Produced by South Carolina ETV
Moving at the Speed of Trust: Building Relationships and Collaborating with Partners
Moderator: Jacki Martin, deputy director, The Riley Institute
Discussants:
Bill Barnet, Northside community champion; board chair,
Northside Development Group
Tammie Hoy Hawkins, former project manager, Northside
Development Group
Mitch Kennedy, assistant city manager, City of Spartanburg
Tony Thomas, community engagement coordinator, Northside
Development Group; member, Northside Voyagers
Place Matters: Building an Opportunity Infrastructure for the People of the Northside
Moderator: Carol Naughton, president, Purpose Built Communities
Russell Booker, Ph.D., former superintendent, Spartanburg School District 7; president and CEO, Spartanburg Academic Movement
Phil Feisal, president, Spartanburg Regional Medical Center
Tammie Hoy Hawkins
Mitch Kennedy
Tony Thomas
Sustainability and Hope for the Future
Moderator: Jacki Martin
Russell Booker, Ph.D.
Michael Williamson, president and CEO, Northside Development Group
Presentation of the OneSouthCarolina Partners in Progress Award
Adjourn, audience members are invited to stay for a 30-minute Audience Q&A session
About our speakers and moderators
Bill Barnet
As mayor of Spartanburg, Bill Barnet helped bring the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) to Spartanburg's Northside, and VCOM became the catalyst for the redevelopment of Spartanburg's Northside with the vision of a thriving, diverse community. When Junie White succeeded him as mayor, he asked Bill to champion extensive coalition-building and a strategic approach to creating a revitalized northside community, one that focused on improving healthcare access, housing and community assets, and educational, social, and economic opportunities for the residents of the Northside community. As a founding member and the board chair of the nonprofit Northside Development Group, the backbone organization managing the redevelopment of Spartanburg's Northside community, Bill has filled the critical role of a community champion of the Spartanburg Northside Initiative.
Russell Booker
Dr. Russell Booker has been a key collaborator in advancing the vision of the Spartanburg Northside Initiative. From 2010 to 2020, he served as superintendent of Spartanburg School District 7. During his tenure, he partnered with the Northside to launch innovative program models at the Cleveland Academy of Leadership as well as the construction and operations of The Franklin School. Following his retirement in 2020, Dr. Booker was named executive director of the Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM), a nonprofit organization committed to ensuring Spartanburg's youth reach academic and life success by convening partners, aligning resources, and driving equity outcomes. SAM is currently leading a $5.6 million investment strategy to support an equitable pandemic recovery and the development of an economic mobility investment strategy within the Northside and Highland communities.
Phil Feisal
Phil Feisal is president of Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, adjunct instructor of government and international affairs at Wofford College, chair of the OneSpartanburg, Inc. Executive Board, and a board member of Spartanburg Academic Movement. Spartanburg Regional was among the first partners in the Spartanburg Northside Initiative, and since 2010, Spartanburg Regional has invested millions of dollars in the neighborhood redevelopment efforts. Moreover, Spartanburg Regional's Access Health has moved into office space physically within the Northside community, it has opened a dental clinic residency program adjacent to the Northside, and members of staff at the medical center have created a construction apprentice program for Northside residents.
Currently the chief executive officer of CommunityWorks, Tammie Hoy Hawkins served as the project manager for the Northside Development Group's Northside Redevelopment Initiative in Spartanburg from 2013-2020. Tammie oversaw the day-to-day operations and business strategy for the organization and worked with a team of community leaders and small but mighty Northside Development Group staff as they successfully developed a plan focused on housing, education, health and wellness, while integrating it with what the community wanted. In addition to leading the master planning effort, she worked with her team to develop and implement a multi-tiered housing strategy, implement key community economic development projects, and manage several supportive services programs. Prior to coming to Spartanburg, Tammie was the executive director of the Lowcountry Housing Trust in Charleston, now known as the South Carolina Community Loan Fund, where she found her passion for affordable housing, growing the organization to one of Charleston's lead entities in neighborhood stabilization.
Mitch Kennedy is the assistant city manager for the City of Spartanburg. The City was a partner in the Northside Initiative from the start, working in a supportive role alongside the Northside Development Group and other non-profit, corporate and community stakeholders. Mitch has helped lead collaborative gatherings, including the neighborhood charettes, works with partners to navigate complex funding processes, and regularly engages with the people of the Northside to build trust and solve problems. A native of Spartanburg, Mitch is heavily invested in his community, serving on several boards and working to support the vision of developing a community of choice, rooted in people.
Tony Thomas, a longtime resident of the Northside, has been an integral member of the team of partners strategically planning and implementing the transformation of the Northside. An original member of the Northside Voyagers, a resident leadership team passionately interested in the growth and betterment of the Northside community, Tony has been involved in improving the health and wellbeing of his fellow community members since before the birth of the Spartanburg Northside Initiative. Currently, Tony serves as community engagement coordinator for the Northside Development Group (NDG), a role in which he continues to ensure trust is maintained between NDG and the residents of the Northside.
Michael Williamson
Michael Williamson became chief executive officer of the Northside Development Group (NDG) in March 2020 and is responsible for leading the team in executing NDG's mission and goals. He focuses heavily on managing the redevelopment initiatives of NDG, while also supporting the staff on community engagement and economic mobility programs. Prior to joining NDG, Michael was project manager for economic and community development for the City of Greenville from 2013- 2020, working to address both the City's affordable housing needs and the needs of the neighborhood residents, including neighborhood master-planning and owner-occupied repairs.
Jacki Martin
Jacki Martin joined the Riley Institute as Deputy Director in 2009. Martin has extensive experience in community development issues. She has provided project management, communications and strategic services for policy-centered initiatives connected to downtown development and land use, with an emphasis on large-scale, multi-partner initiatives. She has held positions with the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street USA program, the S.C. Coastal Conservation League, and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, and has worked with the Urban Land Institute, the I'On Group, LS3P Associates, and Keane & Company. She also has considerable experience in public education, having directed communications for the Technical College of the Lowcountry and catalyzed the growth of the Riley Institute's Center for Education Policy and Leadership.
Carol Naughton
Carol Naughton is the chief executive officer of Purpose Built Communities, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving racial equity, economic mobility, and health outcomes in communities across the country. Since 2010, she has worked alongside the Northside Development Group, their partners, and community members to plan and implement a sustainable, equitable and holistic neighborhood revitalization of the Northside neighborhood of Spartanburg. Carol previously served as executive director of the East Lake Foundation, the community quarterback for Atlanta's East Lake neighborhood revitalization. Prior to joining the East Lake Foundation, as general counsel for Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA), she was a key member of the leadership team that transformed AHA into a national leader in community development.
More information about the Northside Initiative
Read about the initiative in part one and part two of a 10-year retrospective story published by the City of Spartanburg in August.
View SNI Master Plan