Career Area: Leadership

  • Carol Black-Lemon

    Carol Black-Lemon

    “Avoid comparing yourself to others—learn from them instead.” 

    Quick Facts

    Level of Education: Undergrad/Associate 

    Years of Experience: 25 Years

    About

    Carol Black-Lemon is a multidisciplinary visual artist who creates expressive, story-driven work that explores heritage, identity, and human connection. She fosters creativity and community through the art and outreach of others, taking pride in her own creative freedom. Carol balances her own artistic exploration by serving her community through collaboration, exhibitions, and creating spaces for the nurturing and sharing of creativity.  

    Carol prides herself on embracing challenges and committing to her art. From an early age, she had been drawn to art as an outlet to express herself and make sense of the world around her. Carol says she “didn’t wait for a seat at the table” and made her own, choosing instead to create, exhibit, and engage in art her own terms. At sixty-nine years old, Carol views her life as a powerful continuation and wants to set an example by living life creatively. 

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  • Augusto Gil

    Augusto Gil

    “Lifelong learning and collaborative projects are the best way to gain insight into our own craft and how others who are successful in it do what they do!” 

    Quick Facts

    Level of Education: Graduate at University of South Carolina 

    Years of Experience: 10 Years

    About

    Augusto Gil is an Artistic Director who teaches, performs, and conducts choral and contemporary music within and beyond the Midlands. He affirms the uniqueness of directing choirs at the professional level while maintaining the most difficult part is making music and the process accessible to everyone.  

    As a child performing in church and school, Augusto had always been interested in and performed music. He was encouraged by the professionals around him and believes that had been the first step toward his current career. He emphasizes how “lifelong learning and collaborative projects” are the best way to gain experience into one’s craft while understanding where success blossoms. 

  • Steph Sneed

    Steph Sneed

    “If you get bored, they’ll get bored.” 

    Quick Facts

    Level of Education: High School; Conservatory 

    Years of Experience: 5 Years

    About

    Steph Sneed is the founder and director of an arts education program serving children, teens, and adults across Darlington and neighboring counties in South Carolina’s PeeDee and Grand Strand region. Her path to this work began not in a classroom but in a living room, where she babysat a family of girls and did art with them every day. When they moved away, the realization came quickly: she didn’t want to stop. That impulse became a vocation. 

    Steph designs all of her own programming and works exclusively in small groups of six, a deliberate choice that allows for the kind of depth and individual attention that traditional art education settings rarely offer. Alongside her after-school classes, she creates specialized programming for teens in foster care and brings a particular dedication to neurodivergent artists, meeting each student where they are. 

    Before founding her program, Steph trained as a ballet dancer and performed professionally. Letting herself step away from the discipline she had devoted her life to, and permitting herself to draw in her room, to follow an emerging interest, was one of the hardest and most important decisions she ever made. “If I didn’t do that,” she reflects, “I would have held myself back from discovering an even bigger passion.” 

    Her advice to fellow educators and creatives is simple and hard-earned: stay engaged, stay present, and never phone it in. The students will always know the difference. 

  • Taylor Emmons

    Taylor Emmons

    “Start, even if you are unsure of where.”  

    Quick Facts

    Level of Education: Graduate School

    Years of Experience: 10 Years

    About

    Taylor Emmons was the Art School Coordinator for the Spartanburg Art Museum, where she weaved art and culture “into the fabric of all facets of life.” After graduating with a BFA in Art History and an MA in Islamic Art, she established her own LLC to blend academic rigor and community into art history.  Now, she is the CEO of Tailored Impact: An Art and Culture Firm.

    Her academic pursuits, combined with her personal experiences, helped shape Emmons’ interest in community-based work. As a working mom, and the daughter of working-class parents, her passion for the arts is rooted in her own memories. “My formal academic training gave me a unique skill set of looking and training my eye to be able to identify style, medium, time period, and artist,” she says, “but my life experience shaped my interest in community work.”  

    Emmons aspires to use her platform as an art historian to emphasize the inclusion of arts into everyday life and cultivate communities that celebrate diverse upbringings and experiences. “When I started to study art history, I was confronted with the stereotypical questions, ‘what are you going to do with a degree in art history?’” she says. “I have taken that question and turned it into ‘what can’t I do with a degree in art history?’” 

  • Aldrena Hicks

    Aldrena Hicks

    “Build your connections and your network. No one works in isolation especially creatives.” 

    Quick Facts

    Education Level: Graduate School

    Years of Experience: 20+ Years

    About

    Aldrena Hicks is an artist and designer whose work spans cultural storytelling, visual design, and event stationery. As the founder of Only Lovely Creative, she creates meaningful visual experiences that connect people to their stories, whether through design projects, cultural initiatives, or personalized celebrations. 

    Her journey into the field was shaped by a lifelong connection to creativity. Growing up within a family of artists such as makers, musicians, and fiber artists, creating was always a part of her world. She shares that, “An art class in high school first sparked my interest, and I went on to study Studio Art at Columbia College SC. During my second year, I took my first graphic design course and realized that design was the lane where my love of art, storytelling, and problem-solving all came together.” 

    Aldrena prioritizes time and research on the story behind her current projects, whether it is an organization, cultural initiative, or a couple planning a wedding. This allows her to understand the depth of the client’s story and helps her unique creative process. She explains that “Understanding the people and context helps guide the creative direction. I also still build paper prototypes and explore ideas by hand before moving fully into digital design. That mix of research, storytelling, and hands-on experimentation shapes the way I approach every project.” 

    Storytelling and cultural identity are central to her work. As a South Carolina creative, she explores how design can help people celebrate who they are and the moments that matter in their lives. Her graduate thesis, “Little Brown Girl,” focused on identity and representation in design and later evolved into her self-published book, “You Are a Queen,” which speaks to young Black girls and the young girl within about identity, worth, and self-definition. 

    Aldrena emphasizes the importance of collaboration, connection, and understanding the business side of creative work. She encourages emerging creatives to build strong networks, seek feedback, and recognize that sustainable creative practice requires both artistic and professional awareness.  

  • Angela Thomas Smith

    Angela Thomas Smith

    “Stay true to your authentic voice, and don’t be afraid to share your story even if it feels imperfect or unfinished.” 

    Quick Facts

    Education Level: Graduate School

    Years of Experience: 6-7 Years

    About

    Angela Thomas Smith, CEO and founder of Queen of Collaborations, works across writing, publishing, storytelling, and podcasting to create platforms that empower individuals and amplify underrepresented voices. Her work focuses on connecting people, sharing untold stories, and building spaces where creativity becomes a tool for transformation and community impact. 

    Her journey into this field was shaped by personal experience and resilience. She shares, “Life experience is what truly led me to this work. After overcoming personal challenges and setbacks, I realized I needed a new beginning…that personal transformation inspired me to help others do the same and set me on the path to empowering, uplifting, and connecting people through my platform.” 

    The uniqueness of her work comes from how she blends authorship, advocacy, event production, and community-building. She explains, “I blend authorship, advocacy, event production, and community-building to create spaces where overlooked voices are celebrated and empowered. I don’t just publish books or host events; I intentionally connect people…My process is deeply collaborative, spiritually guided, and centered on leaving a legacy of hope and transformation for generations to come.” 

    Angela emphasizes authenticity and growth in the creative journey. She encourages emerging creatives to stay grounded in their voice, embrace continuous learning, and surround themselves with supportive communities. She highlights the importance of resetting when needed and recognizing that each individual perspective holds value. She also believes strongly in the role of creativity in human expression and development, stating that the arts are essential across all stages of life and that creativity is a fundamental part of who we are. 

  • Ronald J. Rossmann Jr.

    Ronald J. Rossmann Jr.

    “Create relentlessly, and don’t be afraid to fail. Failure isn’t the opposite of success; it’s a necessary part of it.”

    Quick Facts

    Years of Experience: 10 Years

    About

    A writer, director, and producer with ten years of experience, Ronald J. Rossmann Jr. Is the Owner and Creative Director of Be Your Own Hero Productions, LLC, a York, SC-based independent film and storytelling company. His passion for science fiction and horror was ignited in his early years by his uncle who cemented Ronald in classic genre films such as “Thing from Another World” and “Forbidden Planet”. Though he spent years crafting stories privately, it wasn’t until Ronald’s late thirties and forties that he began sharing his work with the world. 

    His filmmaking journey began with a web series shot in a single take for its first two seasons, eventually expanding to over forty episodes. He then moved into feature filmmaking, starting with a fan film before writing and directing his first full-length horror feature, “You’re It”. For Ronald, storytelling is not just a passion; it is essential. He describes it as “a lifeline” he cannot imagine existing without. What sets his creative process apart is a deep investment in developing complex, authentic characters audiences can genuinely connect with. From there, the story reveals itself. “In many cases, the characters begin to guide me,” he says, “revealing their choices, their struggles, and the paths they’re meant to take.” 

    One of the most meaningful aspects of Ronald’s journey is the origin of Be Your Own Hero Productions. It began as a cosplay collective, a group of performers dedicated to appearing at charity events and community functions, always fully in character and committed to creating immersive, joyful experiences. The mission: to bring heroes, hope, and smiles to people who need it most. Over time, those bonds and that shared creative spirit carried over into filmmaking. The name was born from a period in Ronald’s own life when he had to find a way through darkness. With the mission to bring light to other, he often reflects, “Sometimes you must be the one to stand up, to push forward, and to pull yourself out of the darkness.” 

    Outside of filmmaking and writing, Ronald serves as COO of a major staffing firm. He draws a clear distinction between the two sides of his life; the first building futures for others and the second producing worlds from the inside out. He encourages emerging creatives to understand their own capacity, receive and apply constructive criticism, develop the skill of self-editing, and above all, avoid comparing themselves to others. “This isn’t a competition,” he says. “It’s a craft.” 

  • Bonnie Harris-Lowe 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe 

    “Learn as much as you can online” 

    Quick Facts

    Education: University of South Carolina

    Years of Experience: 6 Years

    About

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe is the creative director of Basking Bee, a gaming company dedicated to collaboration and self-determination, as well as a full-time instructor at the University of South Carolina. Her studio works to produce independent games while taking on freelance work for interactive projects. Bonnie has a passion for making the gaming industry a space for girls and people of color, and she is determined to change games for the better. 

    Bonnie has been playing video games since the age of six, but she felt a sense of hostility toward her race and gender. After experiencing the “Gamer Gate harassment scandal” in high school, she took classes in multiple forms of media production and decided she wanted to change the world of gaming, starting with creating her own company. She highlights the importance of “learn[ing] as much as you can,” especially to be able to “meet likeminded creatives.” 

    There is more than what meets the eye at Basking Bee Games. While most gaming studios choose between creating content or doing contract work, Bonnie’s does both.  Bonnie proudly states, “Basking Bee was designed as a hybrid studio with the goal to build a collective portfolio for industry newcomers through independent games,” while working as a full-time instructor. 

  • Kathryn Lawrie

    Kathryn Lawrie

    “Focus on what you love, focus on what makes you happy. What makes you wake up in the morning?” 

    Kathryn Lawrie is the VP of Marketing at Springs Creative, and their newly spun-out company Springs Digital. She focuses on leads and revenue generation and handles corporate marketing and corporate communication for the company. 

    About

    Kathryn Lawrie studied art at Winthrop University, with a double minor in art history and psychology. She originally planned to be an art therapist. After graduating, she moved to Columbia, where she worked retail at a jewelry store while learning from the jeweler behind the scenes. She spent months giving her resume to every arts-related employer she came across. Lawrie recalled, “To be quite honest, for a couple of months there, I was walking around town handing out my resume to every art gallery and museum and graphic design contact that I could make, and basically saying, ‘I have a degree in unemployment, can you help me?’” Her persistence paid off when one of her contacts helped her get a position at Scene Weaver, a subsidiary of Springs Creative,  

    Lawrie has been working at Springs Creative, across multiple positions, for eighteen years. She started out in product development in the graphics department, “really focused on the metadata and the tagging of all of the graphic files and how to resize and rescale things. Just maintaining that graphics archive.”  

    She branched out into marketing, and while keeping her “hand on the pulse” of product development, was able to improve her e-commerce skills, teach herself cinematography for marketing purposes, and take several trips to China while growing her department. Now, as VP of Marketing, she works with her content development teams and maintains communication between different segments of Springs Creative, and the newly spun-out company, Springs Digital. 

    When asked what skills young people aspiring to her role should acquire, Lawrie immediately answered, “I think soft skills are essential,” saying that they aren’t something taught in schools. She advises students to be their authentic selves, and “focus on what you love, focus on what makes you happy… what makes you wake up in the morning, and hone those skills.”  

    She also recommends students check out the designer-guided tours Springs offers of their textile archive, saying it’s “a great place to be inspired.” She promises that “it’s okay to be an aspiring artist,” and that students should never feel like they have a degree in unemployment like she did. 

    “Go for it,” she says. “Don’t let people shy you away from it.” She also says, “Springs Creative is always open to internships, and so anyone who’s in a creative field can definitely contact us with their resume and portfolio, and we could discuss opportunities for interning here at Springs.”  To check out the work of the newly spun-off Springs Digital, follow this link: https://springs-digital.com/creative-services-1.