Location: Western Piedmont

  • Clay Hadden

    Clay Hadden

    Interview

    Transcript

    00:00 Alli Crandell 

    Well, thank you again for your patience. If you just wouldn’t mind just saying your name, what you do, and then we’re going to jump into telling us what you do in sixty seconds or less. 

    00:14 Clay Hadden   

    My name is Clay Hadden. I am a speech pathologist and children’s book writer. I also have an online ecosystem called Mister Clay, “M I S T E R Clay.” 

    00:29 Alli Crandell 

    Excellent. One of the things that we’re really interested in is everybody oftentimes, we have all these creative careers, but we don’t really know what exactly it means. If you wouldn’t mind, we’re going to play a little kind of fun game of “One Career, Sixty Seconds,” where you explain what it is that you do in sixty seconds or less. Are you ready? 

    00:52 Clay Hadden 

    Okay. Oh, I’m ready. 

    00:54 Alli Crandell  

    Okay. All right. Go. 

    00:57 Clay Hadden 

    So, I went to grad school to be a speech language pathologist. I work primarily with pediatrics, mostly with kids who are on the autism spectrum. During the pandemic, when everything kind of got shut down, I started trying to do some other things. I started writing children’s music and doing children’s YouTube, and then that turned into a book deal, and now I also write children’s picture books. 

    01:25 Alli Crandell 

    Amazing. So, what would you say is your typical day as a speech pathologist working with children? 

    01:32 Clay Hadden 

    I would say that the most typical day is that most of my days are not typical. I’m the clinical director of a company, but even beyond that, when I was just a clinician, if I’m being very honest, every day is kind of different. People get sick, and people cancel. There’s a constant reshuffling of schedules, lots of changes that feel almost like weekly changes regarding insurances and different payers and stuff like that.  

    The most typical day would be from about nine. I work in a private clinic. You can work in a school; you can work in hospitals. So, for a private clinic, my day starts about eight-thirty, nine o’clock depending on when my patients start, and goes till about five o’clock depending on the patient’s payer source. Sometimes those sessions are thirty minutes, sometimes they’re an hour, and we help them communicate. Sometimes that looks like just articulation; making sure you’re saying your G’s and your K’s and your R’s right, and sometimes that looks like augmentative communication, communication, which is any other form of communication that’s not verbal. So, everything from sign language to my expertise of using a communication device. Most of the time it’s like an iPad-like tablet with some kind of symbols on it, teaching children how to use that, so it’s a big mix of everything. Most of the kids that I work with are little, and so there’s a lot of floor time and child-led therapy too. 

    03:06 Alli Crandell   

    That’s excellent. And are most of your sessions one-on-one, or do you often do group sessions? 

    03:11 Clay Hadden  

    So, most of mine are one-on-one. The reason for that usually is based in insurance, so in schools, if you worked in a school system, you would not see kids one-on-one. So, I prefer one-on-one. It allows me to give the person in front of me my undivided attention and build a connection with them.  

    I think the artistic piece of this job is almost like improv. If you’re familiar with improv, you have to meet the kid where they are. You have to do a lot of “yes and-ing” and build on what they’re saying in order to make them feel comfortable doing the things that you need to do to educate them, especially with these little ones. Getting a two-year-old down on the ground and just working on flashcards is going to last about a minute and a half. 

    04:05 Alli Crandell 

    So how would you kind of describe how you mentioned that your practice kind of led, and social media presence, led to a book deal? What was that process like? 

    04:14 Clay Hadden 

    I had a buddy and we were writing children’s music during the pandemic as kind of a way to not go crazy. All at the time, my three children that I own, the ones that belong to me, were little. So, there was lots of singing in our house, lots of children’s books, picture books, even outside of work at the house. So, we started writing music. We had one song that I was like, “This isn’t really working as a song.”  

    So, I started doing some research into publishing, and I found a small publisher called Nine Wise Publishing that specializes in picture books for kids from birth to about three or four, with a focus on getting the writers to be SLPs, other educators, stuff like that. It was a really nice relationship. I wrote the words, they found the artist, they produced the book, and then it came out, and it was great, and everybody received it really well.  

    I forget who it is. Gosh, I heard somebody say that once you create something and put it out, it’s no longer yours, right? So, it was very well received, which I feel is a blessing, and won the Independent Book Publishing Awards Gold for best picture book in its age group last year. It was just a really neat process. In working with a smaller publisher, I got to be in on the design of the book, the images. It wasn’t all me, we had an amazing artist, but I was able to give feedback, which was really nice too. 

    05:57 Alli Crandell  

    That’s awesome. Have you ever thought about, even while you were going to school and grad school, like ever becoming an author, or was it this just something really unexpected? 

    06:06 Clay Hadden 

    Yeah, so when I was a teenager, my life goal was to be a writer for Rolling Stone magazine, like that’s all I wanted to do. Math was not my strong suit, writing and psychology and stuff like that; those were not only my interest, but that’s what I was just naturally better at. So, I wrote a couple of short stories that got published in some now defunct online journals and stuff like that. Then, we had kids, and life got busy, and so it was always there.  

    My wife and I joke. Hers is: if she doesn’t get to go outside and do something in nature, there’s like this river that gets louder and louder in the back of her head. For me, it’s that creative piece, right? If I don’t get to do something creative, all my anxiety and stress kind of builds up until I can do that. It’s been a really good outlet for me too, and it is kids’ stuff, right? I mean, it’s not kids’ stuff. Early literature for children is so important, but it’s more fun and a little bit less serious than writing a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel or something. 

    07:26 Alli Crandell 

    Yeah, absolutely. I would just kind of wonder, now that you have kind of this very established and recognized outlet, it’s like, are you now opening yourself to think through like the music that you were creating over the pandemic, or are you thinking about what’s next? 

    04:47 Clay Hadden 

    I think about it all the time, the busyness of life. I think it kind of puts a damper on that sometime. I would love to get back, for example, to my YouTube page. I signed a contract for the sequel to this book, so Nine Wise is going to do that. Then I had another publishing company that I’m hopefully in some early negotiations with for another book.  

    I don’t want to do it fulltime because I don’t think it’s sustainable as a primary income source, but I would love to incorporate writing in early intervention and early reading and all that kind of stuff together for some kind of online platform for families to go to and have access to. I think that’s where my next steps might, might be going. 

    08:40 Alli Crandell  

    Wow, I mean, and it’s such a really interesting journey that you’ve been on. So many of the young folks that we talked to might be interested in this, and something else, right? Whether its arts therapy or something else. Do you have any words of advice for somebody who is either thinking about going into, as you say clinical practice, in terms of speech pathology, or interested in maybe applying some of their disciplinary background into a publishing work? 

    09:16 Clay Hadden  

    I would say do it if so. I’ll address the writing piece first. If there’s something creative in you, do it. Don’t let people hate on it. I mean, even if it does come out cringe, which, trust me, a lot of the stuff that I have done has turned out cringe, you can ask my children, it might still be made for one or two people who need it right.  

    As far as speech goes, it’s a great job. I highly recommend it. I do think that it’s a job, personal face-to-face jobs. I don’t think AI is going to disrupt them as much as it is going to do some of these other things that we’re seeing. Occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy. I would say, look into them. You still get to work with pediatric populations; you still get that teachery kind of vibe, without some of the hassle of being the teacher. My wife’s a teacher, so I think I’m okay in saying that. I like both of the things that I do. My only concern is that there’s not enough of us doing it and reaching out to those families that need it to do it. 

    10:29 Alli Crandell  

    Yeah, and I mean it. I think it takes you, to have like demonstrated such bravery in both, you know, it’s like putting up your.. 

    10:38 Clay Hadden  

    I don’t know about that. First of all, thank you. That’s very kind, and I guess there is a part of somebody who, once you put your art out there, is kind of a brave-ish work. But I’m truly just doing it because I enjoy it, and I think other people might enjoy it. 

    11:00 Alli Crandell  

    Wow, yeah. You do so many so many things, and I really just love the way that you’ve just described, of just, you know, just doing it. Very Nike. But I’m wondering, if you wouldn’t mind, is there any questions that I haven’t asked you that you wish I had asked you? 

    11:21 Clay Hadden  

    Oh, any questions that you haven’t asked me, that I wish you would ask me. I don’t know. I mean, if you’re a parent and you’re reading this or listening to this, read to your kids. Don’t let them watch short form videos on your phone; screen time is okay with boundaries. I tell people all the time, one day your whole house is going to have a stomach bug, and you’re going to let your kid have the iPad, and that’s okay. But we have to be disciplined with things, and good old-fashioned entertainment, like books and being outside, is so good for your kid’s brain. I don’t know why I felt the need to put that message out there, but that’s the only thing I didn’t say that I would like to say.  

    12:12 Alli Crandell  

    Absolutely. Well, I mean, I think that it kind of feeds back into what you were saying, both with AI and the importance of writing and creating books that are targeted to help families. I think that that’s really beautiful. 

    12:24 Clay Hadden  

    Yeah, thank you! 

    12:26 Alli Crandell   Awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking the time. Yeah, apologies, but thank you so much. 

  • Joshua L. Shumak

    Joshua L. Shumak

    Interview

    Transcript

    00:00 Ryleigh Kelley 

    Hello, my name is Ryleigh Kelley, and today we are talking with Joshua Shumak, a professional creative working from and within South Carolina. As we get started, can you tell us your current career and where you’re from? 

    00:23 Joshua Shumak 

    I serve as the tribal liaison for the State Commission for Community Advancement and Engagement, as well as the Assistant Chief for the Wasamasaw Tribe of Barnertown Indians. 

    I am from Monk’s Corner, South Carolina, moved to North Charleston, South Carolina, and ever since I took on my state role, I’ve been in Columbia working statewide. 

    00:46 Ryleigh Kelley 

    Before we get into the details of your profession and what you do, we have this brief little section of the interview called “One Career, Sixty Seconds”, where you describe your job in sixty seconds or less, similar to an elevator pitch. 

    01:03 Joshua Shumak 

    Understood. 

    01:04 Ryleigh Kelley 

    So, let me get my timer started. Alright, are you ready? 

    01:16 Joshua Shumak 

    Yeah, yeah, we’ll see. Maybe I’ll have less than sixty seconds, maybe more. We’ll see. 

     01:21 Ryleigh Kelley 

    Alright, great. Okay, let’s begin. You’re on the clock. 

     01:25 Joshua Shumak 

    I’m Joshua Shumak, and I’m a Native American leader and cultural preservationist from South Carolina. I serve the Assistant Chief with the Wasmassaw Tribe of Warner Town Indians. 

    And for a little bit over the past decade, my work is centered around Native American affairs, where I focus on advancing tribal communities through policy, partnerships, and programming across the state. 

    My work mainly centers on historic and cultural preservation, food sovereignty, expanding opportunities for Native American artists and small businesses across the state. I’ve led some initiatives ranging from statewide cultural programming, film festivals, agricultural and community development projects that directly support tribal citizens. 

    And really, at the core of everything I do, I do it with a commitment to preserving our state’s Native American history and culture, and ensuring that Native American communities are represented, not just for our presence in the past, but as peoples who actively shape the future of the state. 

     02:21 Ryleigh Kelley 

    Oh, perfect! You had three seconds left. That was really good. Thanks for playing! 

     In your profession, is there anything South Carolina, or in your region, or in the city in particular, brings to your work? Does it have a unique influence on you compared to people in the same profession in different states? 

     02:45 Joshua Shumak 

    When we’re talking about Native American affairs, I think it’s really different state to state. I’ve worked in South Carolina for this past decade, but I’ve also talked with some of my correspondence and equivalents in Georgia, North Carolina, Minnesota, and even when I spoke at the UN, I got a lot of different worldviews and perspectives. 

     Each state has its own history, and that history and how it’s worked with its Native people shape where their Native people are today. There are some states where there’s a lot more opportunity, and there are some states where there’s a lot less opportunity. My job has been trying to find out where those opportunities have been in other states, and seeing if I can bring them into our states. Working with our Native American business owners, our Native American artists, seeing if I can put them into some more mainstream art shows. 

    I’ve worked with the Columbia Museum of the Arts. We’ve been doing our Native American Art Marketplace during Soda City for the past four years now. I know that the Native American Studies Center at USC Lancaster has also been a big supporter and are even doing their quarterly art shows now, along with their monthly programming. And there’s just so many different partnerships that are getting built out across the state. And so, even though we started in 2005, with statewide Native American programming and positioning, I think that we are slowly coming along. 

    04:08 Ryleigh Kelley 

    You mentioned that you spoke at the UN, is that correct? 

    04:11 Joshua Shumak 

    That’s correct. 

     04:12 Ryleigh Kelley 

    Could you talk a little bit more about that experience? 

     04:15 Joshua Shumak 

    That was the first time I had been to Geneva, Switzerland. It was a very interesting experience. The food is very different. I love the public transportation. You can just go anywhere by their little train system. 

    It was my first time speaking at that body. I think I was the first representative or tribal delegate from South Carolina to approach that specifically for the expert mechanism on the rights of Indigenous people.  

    The UN Voluntary Fund brought me up to represent South Carolina in that conversation; basically talking about what are the things that we’ve gone through, what are the things we are looking at, those to connect with some of our peers, both in the United States and the Indigenous population across the globe. 

    05:01 Ryleigh Kelley 

    Very cool, very cool. 

    You were talking about the UN and these really interesting experiences, but was there a defining moment in your life which had an impact on your creative journey? 

    And was there any particular project or something you produced which showcased your creativity in a way that it never had before? 

     05:25 Joshua Shumak 

    Well, coming from a Native community, I feel like I’ve been ingrained in the arts and culture since a very young age. I know that since 2005, I’ve been going to our local my tribe-specific culture classes, which are usually monthly culture classes where we do pottery, basket weaving, and beadwork.  

    I’ve been very blessed to have taken some apprenticeships through our cultural preservationist, Tammy Leach, who is a Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award winner, who herself learned some of her artistic skills from Will Goins, who was another Gene Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award winner. 

    And having been able to work since 2005 to present day, and now actively working in our community, I think one of the things that is the best that I have seen come out is some of the programming is what we’ve been able to do with our own youth. 

     For example, we just started our own master apprenticeship program based on the one I was able to take through the South Carolina Art Commission with Tammy, and now I believe we have about fifteen different apprentices being trained by five different masters, all from different tribes, to bring in some of that culture. 

    Something about Native American communities is that, especially on the East Coast, our culture was very targeted and erased due to the Code of Indian offenses, which was a code that existed that basically, illegalized a lot of our ceremonies, a lot of our arts, a lot of our practices. 

    It’s only now recently, within the past twenty to thirty years, we’ve been actively allowed and actively pursuing these practices publicly that had been stripped from us. And so that, all these tribal artists and culture bearers coming together, being able to bring them together, work together with them to re-inject that in our tribe and recultivate that in our youth is something that I think I’ve seen that is very important to my community. 

    07:15 Ryleigh Kelley 

    With this kind of tension that you’ve outlined, especially growing up in Native American community, being ingrained in the arts from such a young age, but also there is that external, cultural erasure slash pressure. Before entering your field, did you have any fears about becoming a creative professional? And if you did, what inspired you to continue beyond them? 

     I know you’ve kind of discussed that  throughout the interview, but, what really inspired you to just work beyond those barriers and try to push against those? 

    07:54 Joshua Shumak 

    I think that your question raises a few good points. I think almost it’s the wrong question, only because from my perspective, coming from a twentieth century child, twenty-first century, I think we are going through life not understanding our history. For me, I really didn’t start understanding the importance of the history of my community or these cultural practices, even though I grew up ingrained in it, until I was about fifteen to my early years in college. 

    When I started to get exposed more to other people, other communities, I started to really appreciate and realize the importance of my own community. And I think for me. The kind of the erasure of community that you see going along throughout the nation, just as urbanization comes with the rise of the internet. Some of the things that are fraying community bonds all across the nation, not just the Native communities. 

    It really helped inspire me. That it was so important to make sure that we were able to keep culture alive, keep practices alive, document it, and try to especially capture and inspire tribal youth. I think that having that cultural identity also can bring a lot of pride and be an anchor in a world that can blow you away. 

    09:15 Ryleigh Kelley 

    You’re talking about talking to tribal youth and bringing awareness to what you do. With that being said, do you have any advice for young adults or students who have an interest in pursuing a similar career in the creative world? Are there any particular skills one should practice or have before entering this industry? 

     09:40 Joshua Shumak 

    I think that we all take ourselves very seriously as people. I have that issue sometimes. I think once you learn it’s okay to make mistakes, it’s okay to be silly, and it’s okay to learn, because I think a lot of things that stops people from getting involved in creativity, or even things that they don’t fully understand, is that discomfort that, “Will I be laughed at, will I pick it up?” 

    You will make mistakes, and it’s okay to make mistakes. I think that’s why it’s so good to have mentors within whatever field you’re trying to go into, and to be able to laugh at yourself.  

    It’s kind of the same thing when you go into public speaking. You have to know how to have fun with it. Otherwise, you’re just going to tremble and just sit there in that discomfort. I think it’s all about a mindset that you have to be okay with. Okay with learning something new, knowing that there are going to be bumps along the way. 

    10:33 Ryleigh Kelley 

    I resonate with that, because it can be easy to take yourself seriously, but I like that piece of advice to have fun with it, and whatnot. So that was the last of my questions. Is there anything particular that you would like to speak on, before we wrap up? 

    10:44 Joshua Shumak 

    I am bad at speaking about myself, but I’m really good at answering questions. So ask away anything that may have piqued your interest that you might want to know a little bit more about. 

    11:07 Ryleigh Kelley 

    I would love to hear about how you mentioned that you didn’t get really into learning more about your community until you were a teenager. Could you maybe talk about that experience a little bit more? 

    11:21 Joshua Shumak 

    Well, for me, up until I started to actually get truly engaged with my community. 

    It almost seemed like a little bit of a chore when you’re a kid, and you’re like, “Oh, why is history important? Why is this important? I want to go play video games; I want to go and do this fun thing over here.” I think it’s that aspect of not knowing what you’re sitting on.  

    It’s kind of like whenever someone in your family dies, or your grandparent dies, and you’re like, “I should have been closer to this person,” and then you hear all the stories about them after the fact. 

     And I feel like it’s kind of like that mindset where you suddenly have that shift, and you see what’s important, especially in your community and your context. And I think that shift happened to me, like I said, end of high school, early college for myself. 

     After that, I was very much involved in my community, working with tribal government, working with the cultural preservation team, bringing in cultural programming and other programming for my tribe, and some collaborations with other tribes around the state. 

    12:24 Ryleigh Kelley 

    Very cool. One common thread I’ve seen, or I’ve noticed, as you’re talking about is the kind of intention that you have behind your creative practice is mindset. And I feel like, especially right now, there’s all these different pressures and external forces. Especially as young adults, it can be easy to get swept up in that. When a young creative is kind of, like, trying to navigate all those spaces and craft their mindset. 

     I know you briefly talked about this a little bit, what are some pointers or just gentle reminders that young adults and young creatives should remember when they’re crafting that mindset, amidst all these different potential distractions and whatnot. 

    13:24 Joshua Shumak 

    I think you have to find joy in what you’re doing. I worked in beadwork with seed beads and master beadwork. I’ve also now started working more seriously in pottery. I find both of them very fun. I think sometimes, for me, some of the hardest things were actually doing hands-on art. 

    13:46 Ryleigh Kelley 

    Yes. 

    13:47 Joshua Shumak 

    Psyching myself up to get started, because I know it’s a long process, and once I get started, I’m good. Then it’s psyching myself up from there.  

    I think it’s a lot about community, too. Like, do you know somebody that you’re willing to go up to and say, “Hey, are you willing to teach me this? Is that available to you? Does your city have an art guild if your community isn’t as involved in it?” 

    I think a big part about Native American art that I feel is that it’s very stereotyped still. In that regard, where it comes from. It’s very hard for emerging Native artists who are practicing folk art specifically to be able to put their art in places contemporarily. Because you see these museums sometimes that — let’s bring up Catawba pottery, for example. That is a very strong folk art. It has a very unique, distinct style to it. 

     And you see sometimes, a museum or an art museum may say, “We have this piece from 1924, why do I need to invest in this kid’s piece from 2026?” And so you see that that does not happen as much. 

     And I think just the fact that folk art is less celebrated across the United States right now means that a lot of these grants that museums have don’t really apply to that category, so sometimes it’s hard to get that breakout for Native artists who specifically are using folk art. 

    I was even talking with South Arts and different programming that could be involved in potentially making funds specifically for African American community, the Native American community’s art acquisition in museums, which I think would be very, very needed. But I think sometimes they can be discouraging, so I think sometimes trying to find these opportunities is very hard for young Native creatives. 

    15:45 Ryleigh Kelley 

    Like you said, that’s kind of hard to find these opportunities for Native creatives. Do digital platforms like social media, the rise of all these technological advancements, do you feel that it might complement young Native artists, or does it complicate their efforts, especially as they’re trying to find more opportunities? 

    16:15 Joshua Shumak 

    I feel like it is adjacent. I wouldn’t say it complements, but I would say it’s adjacent. I feel like it is a way to get them out there to people who do value folk art and the art that is being created, but I do think there is still sometimes that issue when it comes to Native Americans breaking into the contemporary greater art field. It’s very exclusive for Native art for a long time. Because the art sells, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it’s hard for a young Native creative to be celebrated outside of the niche Native American or folk art-specific community.  

    17:00 Ryleigh Kelley 

    You said you talk about poetry, let’s discuss! Feel free to add it, whatever it is about that. Yeah, I can’t believe we missed that. 

    17:11 Joshua Shumak 

    Well, one of the things that I think I was very blessed to have been able to go through is the Berkeley County arts program. I started out getting into the lottery to be able to go to Howe Hall Ames Elementary School for the Arts. Then I went to Marrington Middle their art program, and then I was able to go into the Goose Creek High School art program, where I really started to go into the creative writing field, specifically poetry, and I’ve been able to publish quite a few poems since my high school years. 

     And a lot of it goes around some of that theme of identity, culture, and even into that, what Native communities today are facing, which includes a lot of land loss, cultural loss, trying to reclaim culture and some of the struggles and victories that we face every day. 

    18:04 Ryleigh Kelley 

    Is there any particular style or creative style of poetry that you like? 

    18:11 Joshua Shumak 

    I usually do free verse spoken word, only because my creative writing teacher really hated rhyming poetry. He wanted us to do very different things, sometimes avant-garde poetry, which is all about doing unique poetry writing styles. Sometimes you basically speak around a poem instead of saying the poem. Sometimes it’s the words that are missing in the poem. Things along that line. 

    18:40 Ryleigh Kelley 

    I love to hear that. Very cool to hear about your background in that as well. You have a creative writing component and a hands-on craft component. I’m curious on how all of those flow together in your creative process. Is there one that you feel really speaks to you more? Do they all have some sort of personal component? 

    I do digital work as well as creative work, and those are all in different conversations with each other. I’m curious for you, how do those kinds of mediums of art and your creative practice talk to each other? 

    19:31 Joshua Shumak 

    Of course, poetry, I think, is the only one that actually talks. 

    I think that that one is one that you can go into a lot more different directions with what you are actually saying. I feel like that almost goes hand-in-hand with beadwork. I know that that usually in itself, is like painting a picture, but without words. What am I trying to express?  

    Some of the beadwork I’ve done has been more nature-based. It has more symbolism, especially when you’re talking about making regalia, or sometimes the tribal symbols, putting that together, what that means to the community or myself. And I feel like it’s almost the opposite with pottery. I feel like pottery is almost more of a resilient, defying art form. 

    One of the things I try to incorporate in my pottery is in my slip, which is what we use to bind the different coils of clay together for hand building, I try to include some soil from either the Charleston Peninsula or Edisto Beach State Park, which is our first contact location. And that way, in each of my pieces that I’m creating, there’s a little bit of our history in it.  

    We are basically using the Earth, putting back into the Earth, creating things from nothing. I almost feel like art in itself is just such a big gift. From the creator to be able to create things ourselves. 

    21:01 Ryleigh Kelley  

    I really love to hear how, especially with pottery and the bead making. I love to hear about resilience. I think it’s interesting through something like that it speaks to that, whereas poetry maybe could be more literal, and like, “I’m literally telling you what it is.” 

    21:30 Joshua Shumak 

    I would even say that through poetry and beadwork, those two pieces of art, saying something and painting a picture. I would say pottery is the opposite. Pottery, it tells you what it wants to be and it tells you what it doesn’t want to be. 

    21:47 Ryleigh Kelley 

    Yeah. Alright, well, I love how we went on that little tangent. Thank you for sharing about your poetry background as well. I really appreciate that. 

    Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. I really appreciate it. 

    22:03 Joshua Shumak 

    Will do. Thank you very much. Hope you have a good rest of your day. 

  • Clay Hadden

    Clay Hadden

    “Do it. Get the words down, even if they’re not perfect”

    Quick Facts

    Level of Education: Winthrop University

    Years of Experience: 20 Years

    About

    Speech pathologist and author of multiple picture books, Clay Hadden’s job gives him an interesting perspective into understanding children’s interests. He aspires to provide children with inspiration in order to play with their world through books and music. Hadden believes children benefit from art which connects with them and also respects them. 

    As a young man, Hadden was always writing, which now translates into his career. When he began working with kids, he began writing for them as well. He says the first step he took was merely “sitting down and writing,” and that, “getting the ideas down and focused was so super important.”

  • Ellen Harrison

    Ellen Harrison

    “Grow your vision. Water it with faith. Stretch toward the light of purpose. In time, you won’t chase victory—you’ll become it.”  

    Quick Facts

    Level of Education: Undergraduate School

    Years of Experience: 30 Years

    About

    Ellen Harrison, author of High Notes of Poetry: Finding Your Courage, has been writing for almost 30 years. She fell in love with the craft while in high school and has not looked back since.  

    Recently, Ellen was named the recipient of the “Author on the Rise Award” at the Global Gamechanger Author Awards, hosted by the Pen and Profit Organization. Primarily a poet, her writing practice focuses on transmuting freedom, emotion, and intention through every pause, line break, and silence. Additionally, she was presented with the “Best Poetry Book Award” at the Black Girls Who Write Literary Awards, sponsored by Spotify for Authors.  

    She remarks how the craft is an unusual one, with how personal and universal it is simultaneously. Ellen mentions how she “can write from [my own] lived experiences, yet someone else, somewhere else, can read those same words and feel seen.” For her, poetry bridges the gap, not just through surface level communication, but connecting people across the world.  

    Ellen attributes her love of poetry for its ability to ‘say so much with so little.’ “I listen more than I force,” she says. “I pay attention to rhythm, to feeling, to the unspoken. Poetry often begins where ordinary language falls short, giving voice to what is difficult to explain directly.”  

  • Joshua L. Shumak

    Joshua L. Shumak

    “Stay connected to your community and honor what came before you”

    Quick Facts

    Education Level: Graduate School

    Years of Experience: 10 Years

    About

    Joshua L. Shumak, Vice Chief of the Wassamasaw Tribe, works to preserve and promote Native American culture in South Carolina through leadership, cultural education, traditional arts, and community partnerships. Growing up, he recognized the importance of cultural knowledge, art, and storytelling in sustaining identity. He began by engaging in cultural preservation efforts and learning traditional arts from Native artists and cultural leaders, which developed into a broader commitment to advocacy, education, and community engagement. 

    The uniqueness of his work comes from its intersection of culture, community leadership, and public service. As Vice Chief of the Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians as well as the Tribal Liaison for the State of South Carolina, he operates between tribal communities and state institutions, fostering collaboration and mutual understanding. His work emphasizes “the intersection of culture, community leadership, and public service.” 

    He emphasizes the importance of remaining connected to one’s community and understanding that creativity is not only about producing something new, but also about honoring what came before. For Indigenous artists, creative work carries stories, teachings, and responsibilities. He encourages aspiring creatives to learn from elders and mentors, to understand the meaning behind traditions, and to develop their voice from their cultural roots. 

    Joshua prioritizes the fact that Native cultures are living cultures. The tribe’s traditions, arts, and stories are not just part of history—they continue to evolve and thrive today. He tries to “help create spaces where Native voices, artists, and communities can share their stories in their own words, and ensure that future generations have the opportunity to learn and carry those traditions forward.”