Black Cultural Arts Festival

He has over 12 regional and national awards, including the 2023 ACPA Diamond Honoree, the first national 2021 Mackes Leadership Awardee by the National Association of Colleges and Employers and NASPA Region III 2020 Outstanding HBCU/MSI Professional Award to name a few. Currently he is serving on the Melvin C. Terrell Foundation, the Region III Director for NASPA, and Chair for the University of Akron National Alumni Association. Dr. Bates is from Cleveland, Ohio and received his Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media Communications with a minor in African-American History from the University of Akron, his Master of Arts in Higher – Education Administration from the University of Akron, and his MBA from Bryan College, and a Doctorate degree from Spalding University. He has served on five (5) non-profit boards, like the National Urban League and United Way and is a member of the greatest organization Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., 100 Black Men, NASPA Student Affairs Administrators, Southern Association of College Student Affairs (SACSA), National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA), National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), and is a Prince Hall Mason.

She is originally from the eastern Caribbean, specifically the island of Grenada, and has spent 15 years teaching in K-5 public schools in Hickory, North Carolina, Greenville, and Spartanburg. Dr. Bauer has lived in the United States for the past 18 years with her husband and two daughters. Her research interest is incorporating technology into teaching to help enhance students’ vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension in early childhood and elementary classrooms. She aims to examine students’ motivation in reading digital books versus traditional books and its impact on reading comprehension.

She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Mu Rho chapter, the South Carolina and American Nurses Association and serves nationally as an on-site evaluator and team leader for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). She also currently serves nationally as co-chair of the CCNE Report Review Committee and on their most recent 2024 Standards Revision Committee.

She is treasurer and member of the Board of Directors for St. Luke’s Free Medical Clinic in Spartanburg, SC. Lastly, she was appointed by legislation and serves on the South Carolina Rural Physician Board. As dean of nursing at USC Upstate she has secured over $4M federal and private funding to support research initiatives focused on creating nursing pipeline programs and in nursing workforce development.

He went on to serve in increasingly crucial roles at Washington State University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, DePaul University, Lipscomb University, and at Morehouse School of Medicine, where he was Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement from 2014 until his appointment at USC Upstate in 2021. Chancellor Harris serves on several civic organization boards, including the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Spartanburg Academic Movement, OneSpartanburg, United Way of the Piedmont, the Franklin School, and NCAA Big South Conference. He also is a member of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce Board and works with the Prisma Health Medical Scholars program. 

She has also served as Assistant Professor, Director of the University of South Carolina Upstate Teacher Education Programs at Sumter and Greenville campuses, and Associate Dean of the College of Education at the University of South Carolina Upstate. She continues to make an impact by serving as Community Outreach Coordinator in the College of Education, Human Performance and Health and as Faculty Ombudsman at the University of South Carolina Upstate.

Dr. Izzard is a celebrated Community Storyteller. She has conducted numerous storytelling presentations at her hometown public library in Kershaw, South Carolina. As a Kaplan educational consultant, Dr. Izzard engaged educators from coast to coast, empowering them with educational tools and methods to ensure early childhood teachers and students alike learn ways to experience and learn about different cultures while finding a sense of belonging. Today, she continues to travel the country, inspiring children and parents through the art of storytelling.

Dr. Izzard enjoys giving back and has served in numerous organizations such as the Spartanburg Housing Authority Scholarship Committee, South Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children (SCAEYC) as a present board member, South Carolina Early Childhood Association (SCECA) as an active member and past board member, Spartanburg Soup Kitchen as a past board member, the Program Coordinating Committee for the Family Self-Sufficiency Program at Spartanburg Housing, and as a Member of the United States Ombudsman Association with special committee service helping faculty build their knowledge about diverse cultures and find belonging. Dr. Izzard is the visionary and founder of the Diversity Conference for preservice teachers at USC Upstate, in collaboration with other higher education institutions across the state. This conference was designed to ensure preservice teachers are workforce ready, with a deep understanding of ways to successfully educate students from diverse backgrounds upon graduating and entering the workforce.

Dr. Izzard has received many awards for her outstanding contributions, with a few recent honors including the Commission Distinguished Service Award, Faculty Excellence in Volunteerism, and the Upstate University of South Carolina Student Organization Advisor of the Year award (REAL MEN ARE TEACHERS).

Dr. Izzard holds an associate degree from the University of South Carolina Lancaster, and has earned her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Carolina Columbia. She is married to Odell Izzard, and they have three beautiful children, three lovely grandchildren, one great-grandson, and two granddogs, Murphy and Maverick.

With a bailiwick in innovative teaching, Walter’s research agenda emphasizes positive enhancement self-concept strategies for learners, which includes multiculturalism, intersections of poverty and race, color-evasiveness, equitable instructional practices, and cultural competence. Lee is the author of many articles including Rising Tides, Sinking Boats – A Focus on Equitable Practices and For the Love of the People: Infusing Culture to Foster Healthy Self-Concepts. Walter teaches courses on curriculum, instruction, assessment, and research and has presented locally and nationally on his theoretical framework for educating African American (and all other) learners.

Expanding annually, Dr. Walt is the owner of DR. WALT’S Company, specializing in producing plant-based skin care products to aid individuals who live with eczema and other related conditions. Made with high-quality ingredients, DR. WALT’S product line ranges from nourishing body butters to moisturizing bar soaps. Featured on TEDx, Dr. Lee is sought after for his high-energy sessions, using humor and practicality to support audiences in conquering negative self-talk, conquering limitations, reframing personal narratives, and adopting healthier self-images. A dual-purpose drives Dr. Lee’s work: first, to help others see themselves at their highest potential and improve their quality of life; second, to advocate for teaching practices that creates transformative opportunities for learners.

She’s a public speaker and often conducts confidence booster workshops off campus, which have been attended by some of USC Upstate’s students. She speaks on the topic of colorism. During last year, her episode where she spoke about colorism was the fourth most downloaded episode of the Humanity Chats podcast for the year!

She was recognized by WYFF4 during their International Women’s History Month on International Women’s History Day! She received a Black History spotlight from WJMZ 107.3 JAMZ. She has been profiled in Essence Magazine as the “Side Hustle of the Month”. She was recognized by the Spartanburg County Foundation for the Black History Trailblazer. Lisa Lopez operates a successful talent agency with nontraditional people in a nontraditional city. Most talent agencies are located in large cities and have several hundred people with years of experience on their rosters and operated by White men. Not Mrs. Lisa’s agency. Stisa Talent Agency is located in Spartanburg, SC and is comprised of aspiring actors from all walks of life and with different abilities. The Stisa family members, as they are affectionately called, range in age from 4-years-old to 67-years-old. They’re made up of Black, White, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Russian, African, German, Irish, and multiple races. Some come from traditional homes with a mom and dad, and some come from single parent homes, and some come from homes with two moms. They include people that are autistic, nyastigmism, club feet, and various other disabilities. Those disabilities do not stop them from landing major roles on popular TV shows and movies. Her actors have worked in supporting roles with Clint Eastwood, Kevin Hart, Jeremy Renner, Sanaa Lathan, Tasha Smith, and Fantasia, as well as other projects for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Paramount Pictures, Harpo Studios, Warner Brothers, Tyler Perry Studios, LifeTime TV, Starz, TV One, Apple TV, and commercials for Fortune 500 companies, including Lexus, Hoover, Bojangles, Google, Microsoft, and Lenovo. Those are not all of the projects, just some of them. She is proud of the diversity that exists within her Stisa family. Because of her hands-on approach, all of the Stisa family members experience career progression and economic advancement. Lisa has been married to the love of her life for over 20 years. She is the proud mother of two successful sons and the proud grandmother of a very sweet grandson. She’s a former Army captain and still believes in making sure that all of the team achieves success.  She maintained a 4.0 GPA in Clemson University’s PhD program which qualified her for admission into the elite Phi Kappa Phi organization. 

She’s also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, where she pledged at South Carolina State University. She’s the recipient of the SC Cares Grant for Small Businesses, the Community Works small business grant, and the PowerUp Spartanburg grant. She’s a former recipient of the ACHI Trailblazer award. She loves living in the state of South Carolina, where she was born and raised, and where she gives other people a chance to make their dreams come true.

Manning was Gaffney High School’s first Black student body president and two-time editor-in-chief of Clemson’s student newspaper, The Tiger. He won 7 student awards from the South Carolina Press Association for news writing, columns, and editorial cartooning and two more awards as a professional journalist at The Herald of Rock Hill and the Greenville News. In addition to his work laying out pages and editing stories, Manning wrote a weekly technology column for the Montgomery(Ala.) Advertiser. 

After a 20-year career in journalism, Manning had opinions published on the websites of The New York Times and Sports Illustrated. In 2020, he embarked on a venture as a contributing commentator for The Island News weekly newspaper in Beaufort and was awarded Best Column in 2024 by the South Carolina Press Association. 

Manning is the multimedia content producer for the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg.

She serves as one of the Board of Directors for Spartanburg Little Theatre and is the Technology and Communications Officer for the South Carolina Association of Colleges and Employers (SCACE). She is the Advisor for the Network8 organization and Co-Advisor for the Computer Science Club at USC Upstate. Georgia was recently casted in a summer film series called “Odd”, with FC Filmz, where she played the character of a school Headmaster.

Georgia has been married to her college sweetheart, Tony, for 10 years. She strives to show students how their dreams should look by breaking educational and generational curses.

She earned her BA in IDS from USC Spartanburg, the previous name for USC Upstate. She joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., in 2002 while attending classes. In 2003, she won the “Unsung Hero” award at awards day picnic.

Ms. Phelps is a mother of 4 and a grandmother of 6. She has lived in Spartanburg County her whole life.  Fun fact: She was a participant in a Saturday morning kids show that aired on WSPA around 1977 called CONFABULATION where she met the original Batman, Adam West, from the TV series  Batman.

She served in the capacity of the Starfish Attendant with the Success Center and truly enjoyed working with the students to guide them on a stronger academic path. That position led her to her current position of Academic Advisor for the College of Education, her true home. She flourishes in guiding students into their future careers as educators. Her qualifications include a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from South Carolina State University, a Master’s in Technology in Education from Lesley University. Among a host of other achievements and certifications, she earned certification in Compassionate Schools. She is the Graduate Advisor on campus for the undergraduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., which allows her the opportunity to work with and advise college-aged young ladies through the sorority’s programs, many community service opportunities, and leadership development. Arian is the wife of Kenneth Peterson for over 33 years, and they have two adult children, Ashton of Columbia, SC and Kennedy of Summerville, SC. They also are proud grandparents to their grand dog, Simba.  When not working or involved in community service projects, Arian enjoys crafting, reading, decorating, traveling, and attending movies or the theater.

Her work has been published in various peer-reviewed journals and books, including the Journal of Education Finance and the Journal of Education Human Resources. Dr. Jackson Smith is dedicated to community service, participating in panels, forums, and discussions that address critical issues in education. She has moderated school board candidate forums and has facilitated discussions on the future of education and teacher shortages. She is actively involved in numerous professional and community organizations, including the League of Women Voters, the National Education Finance Academy, and Public Education Partners of Greenville. Dr. Jackson Smith serves on various boards and committees, all of which advance educational equity and excellence. 

He holds an M.Ed. in Education Administration from the University of South Carolina and has over a decade of experience in education, including roles as a middle school English teacher, department chair, and instructional coach, where he supported teachers in developing effective and engaging instructional practices. Brandon was recognized as the 2022 District Teacher of the Year for Cherokee County School District and was named to the 2019 Class of SC Black Pages Top 20 Under 40 for his contributions to education.

Prior to joining USC Upstate, Williams served for nine years as the public information director for Clemson University, where she created and implemented strategies for communications, marketing and social media content. She served as a division plan administrator for Clemson’s Inclusion and Equity Plan and was the leader of digital communication on the university’s crisis management team. Williams also served as web project manager for Oberlin College, a private liberal arts college and music conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio; communications manager for the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio; and web services manager at The Cleveland Institute of Art. She was a web content manager for Catholic Relief Services, director of communications and online marketing for America’s Promise, and new media manager for The Points of Light Foundation. Early in her career, Williams produced content for Knight Ridder/Tribune properties and Tribune Media Services, and was an intern for The Laurens County Advertiser. She earned a Bachelor of Science in journalism from Northwestern University and a Master of Arts in communications, culture and technology from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She is a native of Laurens County, South Carolina.