With great excitement CMM presents our second annual Capital Young Professional Awards, honoring some of our community’s finest men and women. This past fall, many excellent, local young professionals were nominated, revealing just how special the next generation of Columbia’s leaders is.
It was a distinct pleasure for CMM to team with United Way of the Midlands throughout a weeks-long process of reviewing the nominations, after which we selected the Top Ten Finalists. Each finalist then went through an interview process before being confirmed. And now we are pleased to congratulate the 2018 Top Ten Capital Young Professionals included in this feature.
We enjoyed a wonderful evening April 24 for our second CYP celebration and would like to thank Senate’s End and DuPre Catering & Events, Something Borrowed, Fern Studios, Morganelli’s, Ambient Media, and Sound + Images for making the night truly special. As the evening ceremony came to a close, we announced the 2018 CYP Awards winner — Lindsay Anne Joyner.
A special thank you to all of our 2018 celebration table sponsors: Barre3, Claflin University, Gallivan White & Boyd, Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation, The Rush Law Firm, SYSTEMTEC, Terminix, Wilson Hall, and Wine & Design as well as Adams and Reese LLP, and Hammond.
The 2018 CYP Awards Winner — Lindsay Anne Joyner
Lindsay Anne Joyner’s list of associations and memberships is a bulging full page. She manages community involvement, church participation, volunteerism, and organizational support, all while maintaining a busy career as an attorney with Gallivan, White & Boyd, P.A. Furthermore, her achievements are all the more poignant and remarkable given that during much of the arduous academic work of law school and passing the bar, she was also enduring a personal tragedy.
“One of my greatest challenges is that I lost my mom in my 20s, which is a tough one,” she explains. “I have a great father and two great sisters and have watched those relationships develop in a different way. There are times I want to ask my mom questions and talk to her about things, but I can’t.”
To address the grief, she forged on. She considers her single greatest achievement running a full marathon for breast cancer. “It was six months after my mom passed away, so it was, kind of for me, a coping mechanism. But it was also a physical and mental challenge. I set out to do it and did it. It was a fun experience, but very challenging.”
Despite such a personal heartache, Lindsay persevered. She just made partner this past December. Her goal is to continue to grow her own practice. “While I love the people I work with, I hope to bring in more of my own work and eventually to lead my own team doing complex business work.”
“She is driven to succeed in all areas of her life,” says J. Clarke Newton, an attorney. “Lindsay has a passion to enrich the lives around her. I’ve known Lindsay since law school, and I’m blessed to watch her grow into an amazing lawyer.”
Lindsay not only has an undergraduate degree in business administration in economics from the University of Georgia, including a minor in Spanish, (Cum Laude, with Honors), but she also obtained a dual juris doctor from the University of South Carolina’s School of Law and a Master of International Business from the Moore School. While entrenched in law school, she attended a Maymester in London, was actively involved in the Student Bar Association, was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of International Law and Business for a year, and was a Dean’s List Recipient for Spring 2008. Plus, during summers in law school, she clerked for multiple firms and interned for the Honorable Patrick Michael Duffy. During her time in the Moore School, she spent an entire semester in Guadalajara, Mexico, learning about business in Mexico and further developing her knowledge of Spanish.
Upon graduation from law school and business school in 2010, Lindsay immediately became a staff attorney for the Supreme Court of South Carolina. In 2012, she joined Gallivan, White & Boyd, P.A., where she has practiced in the areas of business and commercial litigation, professional negligence, financial institution litigation, trust and estate litigation, electronic discovery, and appellate. For her efforts in the field of law, she has already been recognized by the South Carolina Bar, South Carolina Lawyers Weekly, and South Carolina Super Lawyers.
She acknowledges that being hard-wired for action is in her DNA. “My mom battled breast cancer for 12 years, and she was awesome in the way in which she was able to care for us despite her own illness,” she says. “She made us feel we were never without our mom.”
Yet, her mother’s courage in the face of adversity is also what resonates with Lindsay. She wants to be involved, to make a difference. Thus, she enjoys her role as the current president of the Young Lawyers Division of the South Carolina Bar, and she has been on the board of the Columbia Museum of Art, Contemporaries. Lindsay has also served as an elder of Downtown Church, and she is vice president for finance for the Junior League of Columbia. For the Junior League, in fact, she has been involved on a number of levels, including community treasurer and community research and project development. She says she is always looking for her next “niche” regarding philanthropy. Currently, as part of a team for the Young Lawyers Division, she has been raising money and training for the 2018 Trailblaze Challenge, a 28.3 mile hike raising money for Make-A-Wish South Carolina.
It is imperative to Lindsay that she give back to the city she loves. In her interview as a Top Ten Finalist, she shared that one aspect of Columbia that she especially enjoys is that it is so welcoming, and many, including herself, want Columbia to do well.
“Lindsay is a tireless, energetic person who has a work ethic second to none. She applies this same work ethic to her personal life. When Lindsay is in your corner, she is completely in your corner. Lindsay is an advocate you want on your side both in business and in life. She is not afraid to roll her sleeves up and complete a project,” says Amy Hill, a partner with Lindsay at Gallivan, White & Boyd.
But what especially charges Lindsay is volunteerism involving children. “Children’s issues have been my focus, both with the Junior League and with the South Carolina Young Lawyers, she says. “My absolute favorite thing has been my involvement in the iCivics committee for the Young Lawyers Division. Sandra Day O’Connor founded iCivics when she retired from the Court, and she thinks iCivics is the one thing she will be remembered for most, even though she was the first female on the Supreme Court.”
Justice O’Connor worked with educators and programmers to develop online educational games known as iCivics. So, to implement iCivics in South Carolina, the young lawyers go into the schools and teach a civics lesson and let the students and teachers know about these completely free video games.
“We’ve done everything from dressing kids up as witnesses, plaintiffs, and defendants and made the teacher be the judge to explaining the bill of rights to children using shelter dogs as an analogy,” Lindsay says. “Education is important to me. I had a wonderful education, and I want every child to feel that way.”
“Lindsay has been an amazing friend of mine for more than a decade,” says J. Clarke. “She loves her community and actively tries to make it better. She goes out of her way to take care of the people she loves. She’s dependable and smart, cares for her friends and family, and makes you want to be a better person.”
Despite her many job responsibilities and volunteer activities, Lindsay still finds time to exercise, which she admits is a social component as well. “I really love Jamie Scott Fitness and barre3. I get to spend time with people I really enjoy.”
Clearly, people enjoy spending time with her as well. “Simply put, Lindsay is a good friend,” Amy says. “Losing her mom has impacted her significantly, but she uses that experience in a positive way by cherishing her family and friends. Lindsay is a hard-working lawyer, but works just as hard at being a good friend, family member, and community leader.”
The 2018 CYP Awards Finalists
Anthony Broughton, Ph.D., is the assistant director for the School of Education at Claflin University in Orangeburg, where he is a coordinator for Early Childhood and Honors Thesis — among other responsibilities, including teaching.
He is recognized locally and even nationally for his role as the music artist “Mister B” for two CDs that teach children the alphabet through music. His whimsical educational video on YouTube, which includes children, has received more than 200,000 hits. Since January 2017, he has been the director of Claflin’s “Call Me Mister” program that recruits male minority students for teaching positions with kindergarten through eighth grade upon graduation from college.
Anthony earned his Ph.D. from USC in Early Childhood Education. Prior to pursuing his doctorate, he worked as an elementary school teacher for five years. His education led him to also contribute to book chapters and peer review journals and to author educational children’s books.
Anthony has been actively involved with The American Education Research Association, The National Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Southern Early Childhood Association, and more.
Elliott Daniels is an attorney with Murphy & Grantland, practicing in the area of civil defense and representing individual and corporate clients in a wide variety of civil matters in state and federal court across South Carolina.
Elliott also has a unique professional background in the international development and human rights fields, and he maintains a deep engagement in the anti-human trafficking field. He co-founded Legal Assistance for Survivors of Trafficking, which together provided legal consultation and direct representation to 22 survivors of trafficking in 2017. Elliott also chairs the Legal Innovations Subcommittee on the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force, led by Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office.
He worked in Washington, D.C., and abroad for leading organizations focused on combating violence before receiving a certificate in International Law from Oxford University in 2011. Elliott has also partnered with Lighthouse for Life in the Midlands and SWITCH in Greenville, among others, to ensure survivors of trafficking have access to counsel. He is also active with Shandon Baptist Church, Daybreak Lifecare Center, and Athletes in Action Central Asia.
Mary Cothonneau Eldridge is an associate with Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., practicing law in the areas of commercial business and financial services litigation.
Prior to joining the firm, Mary Cothonneau clerked with another local law firm as well as with the United States Department of Justice. While attending the University of South Carolina School of Law, she served as a law professor’s research assistant and worked as an intern with Autism Speaks, where she assisted with the State Government Affairs team’s efforts to pass a bill aimed at providing behavioral therapy coverage for autistic children.
Mary Cothonneau volunteers her time in a myriad of areas, including as a member of the Columbia Museum of Art Contemporaries Board, Junior Achievement of South Carolina Young Professional Auxiliary co-chair, the United Way of the Midlands Young Leaders Society, the South Carolina Young Lawyers Division Special Olympics Committee statewide chair overseeing the committee’s volunteer efforts, the South Carolina Young Lawyers Division Make-A- Wish Committee member, and the Junior League of Columbia.
Hamilton Grant is the vice president of Grant Business Strategies, Inc.
He wears many hats, including responsibilities to prospect and develop clientele with small businesses, for profit, and not for profit entities and to assist the president and CEO with conducting extensive financial analysis of financial statements and budgets. After obtaining an undergraduate degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from South Carolina State University, he achieved his M.B.A. from Alabama A&M University.
Hamilton is president of the Columbia Urban League’s Young Professionals, member of Leadership Columbia Class of 2017, and board member of The Talented Tenth young professionals’ organization founded by Mayor Steve Benjamin. His fiancee’s grandfather was one of the nine who was killed June 17, 2015, in Charleston at Mother Emmanuel AME Church. As a result, Hamilton is now vice president of the Hate Won’t Win Movement that honors the “Emmanuel 9.”
Trevor Knox is vice president of sales and marketing for Terminix Service, Inc.
This position involves coordinating and directing sales activity for six regions, 53 branch operations, and 1,200 employees. Trevor has been involved with Terminix Service since graduating from USC with an undergraduate degree in management and while obtaining a Master’s of Business Administration in 2011, also from USC.
Regarding community involvement and relationships, Trevor has served on the board of directors for Palmetto Place Children’s Shelter since 2012. He served as vice chairman of Palmetto Place’s capital campaign that successfully raised almost $200,000. He has also been active in the United Way of the Midlands, Hammond School, and Leadership South Carolina, and he has volunteered as a mentor to undergraduate students through the Moore School Young Alumni Board. At the United Way, he has been active as a committee member with the Young Leaders Society and more recently was asked to chair the Education Council. Trevor serves the community through his church and through F3: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith.
Tripp Rush, after graduating from Presbyterian College with an undergraduate degree, taught English to kindergarteners in Hong Kong for a year.
Upon returning to his Columbia home in 2010, he decided to enter the University of South Carolina School of Law and pursue a career as an attorney, like his father. In 2014, Tripp joined The Rush Law Firm LLC, where he practices family law.
Tripp has focused hours as a volunteer for Prosperity Project at Gonzales Gardens as a mentor and tutor, S.C. Young Lawyers Division-Lawyers 4 Vets pro bono clinic, and S.C. Commission for the Blind as a mentor. He also has been active for years as a volunteer for the sports ministries at First Presbyterian Church.
Besides loving law, Tripp also enjoys basketball. He is described by his high school basketball coach as exemplifying a “selfless attitude.” He exhibited this character trait not only by tutoring and mentoring children living in Gonzales Gardens through the Prosperity Project, but also by connecting through Sports Ministries on the basketball court.
Lauren Truslow owns both barre3 Columbia and barre3 Lake Murray.
Together, the two fitness studios serve at least 1,000 clients. Among her many responsibilities, Lauren trains 35-plus instructors and staff, plus oversees business and event planning for both studios. Lauren is currently adding a “nail barre” to her studios as a new enterprise for her business.
Prior to becoming a business owner, Lauren was a pharmaceutical sales representative from 2005 to 2012. However, Lauren has always been interested in fitness, and, prior to opening the barre3 studios, she trained to become a barre3 instructor, a registered yoga instructor, a certified personal trainer, and a Les Mills certified instructor.
In addition, she finds time to lead 200-plus women in the execution of 100-plus community events through her work as community president for the Junior League of Columbia. Another passion is Camp Mates, where she is a board member, fundraising event coordinator, and a fitness leader for camp activities.
She is also actively involved with Palmetto Place Children’s Shelter, Children’s Trust of South Carolina, and Epworth Children’s Home. Impressively, while she runs two locations of her business and takes care of four young children, she still has time to stay active in the community.
Ashlye V. Wilkerson is in the process of obtaining her Ph.D. in teaching and learning from the University of South Carolina.
She is also the owner of Learning Adventures, Inc.; is a certified early childhood trainer at the Center for Child Care Career Development; and, she opened a Wine and Design paint studio franchise. Ashlye has also written three very notable children’s books honored by the South Carolina General Assembly, recognized by Richland County District One and The City of Columbia with a proclamation and adopted for the third annual Together We Can Read initiative.
Ashlye volunteers with Transitions Homeless Center, Harvest Hope Food Bank, Sistercare, and Power in Changing diaper bank. At Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital, she hosts a children’s book and teddy bear drive for patients. She participates in several local community service organizations, including Main Street Rotary Club; Junior League of Columbia; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; and, the Columbia Chapter of Jack & Jill of America. Ashlye serves as the youngest member of the Board of Trustees at Winthrop University.
Lyndey Zwing completed her law degree at the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2012 and joined Adams and Reese LLP as an associate in 2013.
She gives back to the community through her pro bono legal services, participating as a pro bono attorney for the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center’s Lawyers 4 Vets Program, the S.C. Bar’s Law Answers Program, Adams and Reese’s Pro Bono Team, and FEMA’s Disaster Legal Services Program. She also serves as a member of the South Carolina Bar, as the Young Lawyers Division’s Fifth Circuit representative covering Richland and Kershaw counties, as well as a member of the bar’s Diversity Committee and Young Lawyers Division’s Bar Convention Committee.
Lyndey was the recipient of the South Carolina Bar’s Young Lawyers Division President’s Award for her service in 2016 and 2017 and recently won the bar’s 2018 Young Lawyer of the Year Award. Her community service outside of the bar includes active membership in the United Way of the Midlands Young Leaders Society, of which she currently serves as chair-elect of the organization’s steering committee, and the Furman University Young Alumni Council, on which she currently serves as secretary.
