Workshop 5 Speakers

Latria Graham is a journalist and fifth generation South Carolina farmer. Her work stands at the intersection of food, social justice, sports, and culture. She’s written longform pieces about everything from NASCAR to chitlins. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College, and later earned her MFA in Creative Nonfiction from The New School in New York City.

After years of traveling the country to cover systemic injustice in underrepresented communities, she recently decided to turn her focus to small towns in the American South at risk of disappearing due to gentrification and Southern expansion. In 2019 she was awarded the Great Smoky Mountain Association’s Steve Kemp Writer-in-Residence position, and for two years she has been in and out of conservation spaces, intent on unearthing long forgotten Black history that she finds crucial to the narrative we tell about the American South.

She was the University of Montana’s 2022 Kittredge Distinguished Visiting Writer, and is currently in Augusta, Georgia serving as Augusta University’s Faculty Inclusive Excellence Initiative Visiting Professors. Her work has been featured in the NYT, LA Times, The Guardian, espnW, Southern Living, and The Atlantic. You can find more of her work at LatriaGraham.com

Photo credit: Carlo Nasisse

Marilyn L. Hemingway, CEO/President and Founder of the Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce, is passionate about Social Entrepreneurship, business development and economic vibrancy in her beloved community.

A native of Georgetown, SC, Hemingway’s maternal family hails from Beaufort, Hampton, Bamberg, Charleston counties and her paternal roots are found in Horry and Georgetown counties. She is a lover and student of her roots and culture.

Hemingway brings an extensive amount of experience in marketing, communications, broadcasting and political campaigns. She is founding partner of the The Hemingway Group, a public relations, advertising, marketing and political advocacy firm. She most recently served as Public Relations and Fund Development Coordinator with Fetter Health Care Network. Marilyn was a vital part of re-branding the Community Health Center which recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary providing healthcare services through 21 locations in four counties in the Lowcountry.

Steve was raised in Athens, Georgia where he received a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources (Timber Management) from the University of Georgia, followed by a Master of Science (Forest Soils) from the University of Florida. Steve then moved to the South Carolina Lowcountry, where he worked in the forest industry for 38 years. While with the forest industry, Steve’s work involved research and technical support focused on soil management and silvicultural practices to improve sustainable forest productivity.

Steve joined the Center as a forester in July 2016 where he helped landowners manage their family land sustainably to build generational wealth. He was promoted to his current position as Director of Forestry Services in June 2018.

Steve is a Registered Forester in South Carolina. He is a member of the Society of American Foresters (Edisto Chapter), the Soil Science Society of America, and the Forestry Association of South Carolina.

Cheryl joins American Rivers with a long history as an advocate for clean water and healthy communities. She is a strong voice for equity focusing in the areas of race, gender, and cultural equity. She is a member of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition and has been a grassroots organizer for Clean Water South Carolina. She is the Vice Chief of the Waccamaw Indian People and Chairperson of SC Idle No More; a committee under the SC Indian Affairs Commission, which focuses on protection of the environment, cultural preservation, and indigenous sovereignty. She has been working with communities across the SC North Coast to improve their resilience to climate change especially working to address flooding issues that many of the communities are faced with.

She is also a small business owner (Coastal Carolina Signings, LLC) providing notary services in the North Coast. She is a leader on the Indigenize SC Education Task Force and a tribal consulting member of SC State Museum project which endeavors to be more inclusive of all Native Americans in the state.

Keisha Long is the Environmental Justice Coordinator for the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). She is an advocate for vulnerable communities and is responsible for helping environmental justice communities build capacity, identify resources, and establish collaborative partnerships.

Keisha has been with DHEC for over 20 years. Previously, Keisha worked as a DHEC Project Manager in the Superfund program and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act program (RCRA). Keisha holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Clemson University, is an active Toastmaster, and is a former co-Chair on the advisory board of the ITRC (Interstate Technology Regulatory Council).

Omar has worked as a community advocate and activist since 2007 as a volunteer for the Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC). He has served as LAMC’s web-site content coordinator and community engagement liaison. Currently, he serves as LAMC’s Executive Director. Omar completed a 9 month training with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) Region IV’s Environmental Justice Academy and was selected Valedictorian for the inaugural class. He is also a past participant in a joint EPA Region IV and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Leaders in Environmental Action Pilot (LEAP) inaugural class. He has successfully lead efforts to engage the LAMC communities through various outreach strategies. Omar has successfully funded community research initiatives to train residents, conduct a community-based health survey to assess health service gaps at the community level, conduct a zoning analysis for Environmental Justice communities and several other Citizen Science projects. Omar has been instrumental in leveraging relationships with academics and governmental agencies.