Converse College Welcomes New Trustees and Vice Chair for 2019
Converse College welcomes four new members to its Board of Trustees: Chris Dorrance, Senior Associate Consultant for School Strategies and Solutions Consulting; Rear Admiral Stephen I Johnson (Ret.), Chair and Executive Coach at Vistage International; Linda Layman Redding ’88, National Sales Manager at Wells Fargo Equipment Finance; and Elizabeth Findlay Vingi ’87, former O’Quinn Schools of Porter-Gaud Board Chair.
Phyllis Perrin Harris ’82 is Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Marsha Harrison Gibbs serves as the Board’s Secretary. Sandra Shearouse Morelli ’78, Senior Vice President and Regional Director of Capital Group Private Client Services, will serve as the Board’s new Vice Chair.
Randall Keith Chambers, Erica P. Moore ’93 (Candy) and Lillian Montgomery Lilly will continue their service with a second consecutive term on the Board of Trustees.
Phyllis Perrin Harris ’82 is a member of General Counsel and Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer for the American Red Cross’s National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. She serves on the Board of Directors for Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is on advisory boards for the Wake Forest Graduate School of Sustainability and Council on Legal Education Opportunity. Her previous board positions include serving on the Board of Directors for the Environmental Law Institute and Theater Squared. She earned a BA in Politics from Converse in ’82 and her JD in ’85 from the University of Florida’s Fredric G. Levin College of Law. Phyllis is married to Raymond Todd Harris and has three children.
Marsha Harrison Gibbs is a Donor and Trustee of The Gibbs Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors for Gibbs International and the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System Foundation. Her previous board positions include Board of Governors for Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Spartanburg County Chair for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Project, and Founding Director of Carolina Alliance Bank. She also served on the Advisory Board for Citizens’ Scholars and is an honorary degree recipient of Wofford College. Marsha resides in Spartanburg, S.C., with her husband Jimmy Gibbs.
Sandra Shearouse Morelli ’78 is Senior Vice President, Regional Director and Portfolio Specialist of Capital Group Private Client Services. Sandra also worked many years at Bernstein Global Wealth Management as Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager. She currently serves as a Trustee for both The Atlanta Opera and Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Her previous board positions include Southern Employee Benefits Conference steering committee member, Orange County Community Foundation and Mercy Investment Program investment committee member, and board member of CredAbility and the Furman University Parents Council. Earning a BA in Chemistry from Converse and an MS in Organic Chemistry from the University of South Carolina, Sandra is married to Peter J. Morell II and has one son.
Chris Dorrance is Senior Associate Consultant for School Strategies and Solutions Consulting where he assists with leadership placement and advises independent school leaders on admissions, marketing, and faculty evaluation. An established independent school leader for many years, he retired in 2012 as Head of Spartanburg Day School (SDS). Under his leadership, SDS was recognized for its progressive outlook on education, and a successful $20 million dollar capital campaign resulted in significant facility upgrades for the school. Chris also served as Assistant Head and Upper School Head at St. Paul’s School in Maryland and Director of Admissions at Columbus Academy in Ohio. Upon retirement he continues to serve on USCU’s Foundation Board and Education Department Advisory Board while teaching education courses at Converse. Earning a BA in History from Amherst College in ’71 and a MAT in History and Education from Reed College in ’75, Chris resides in Spartanburg, SC, with his wife, Alice.
Rear Admiral Stephen I Johnson (Ret.) is Chair and Executive Coach at Vistage International and President of Strategic Business Solutions, Inc. Serving 30 years in the U.S. Navy, Stephen commanded a nuclear submarine and managed a $650 million dollar major defense acquisition program. Upon retirement, he has dedicated his time to helping leaders implement success strategies into their businesses and beyond. Stephen is an active member of Converse’s Board of Visitors and Hospice Home with the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. He is also a business consultant to the Entrepreneurial Management Center at San Diego State University and Technology and Business Advisor for the William J. von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement at the University of California, San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering. He held previous board positions with the Boy Scouts of America Palmetto Council and AFCEA International. Stephen graduated from Duke University in ‘69 with a BS in Physics. Stephen’s wife, Melissa Daves Johnson ’69, is a Converse alumna and twice recipient of the Mary Mildred Sullivan Award from Converse, once as a student and once as an alumna.
Linda Layman Redding ’88 is National Sales Manager at Wells Fargo Equipment Finance in Charlotte, N.C. Prior to her current role, Linda was a Managing Director and held various leadership roles in Wells Fargo’s Corporate and Investment Bank. Her previous board positions include the Converse College Board of Visitors, Girl Scouts of America, Hornets’ Nest Council and The Junior League of Charlotte. Graduating from Converse in ’88 with a BA in Politics and Business Administration, Linda has received several honors and awards from the College, such as Converse 125 and the Converse Career Achievement Award. She is married to David R. Redding and has one child.
Elizabeth Finlay Vingi ’87 has served as community volunteer with numerous organizations in Charleston, S.C., including Life Management Center and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra League, and was Co-Chair of the Fashion Show and Transfer Committee Chair with The Junior League of Charleston. She served on the Board of Porter-Gaud, as President of the Porter -Gaud Parents Guild and Board Chair of the O’Quinn Schools of Porter-Gaud. Earning a BA in Sociology from Converse in ’87, she also worked with prospective Converse students as an Admissions Counselor. Elizabeth is married to Robert Eugene Vingi, Jr., and has three children.
Randall Keith Chambers is Director of Construction for Johnson Development Associates in Spartanburg, S.C. Along with serving on the Maintenance, Enhancement, and Special Projects Committee of the Community Services Associates, Inc. in Hilton Head Island, S.C., he is heavily involved at First Presbyterian Church in Spartanburg, S.C. Graduating from Clemson University in ’83 with a BS in Civil Engineering, Randall is married to Converse alumna Sally Pennell Chambers ’79 and has one son.
Erica P. Moore ’93 (Candy) is Senior Vice President and Southeast Community Relations for Wells Fargo. She is a board member of Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta and the National Black Arts Festival. Her previous board affiliations include United Way of Greater Atlanta, Atlanta Business League and UNCF’s Corporate Campaign Leadership Council. Candy is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta’s Class of 2012 and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She was listed in Atlanta’s 100 Most Influential African-American Women and Atlanta’s 100 Top Black Women of Influence. Candy graduated from Converse in ’93 with a BA in Business Management and Marketing.
Lillian Montgomery Lilly is an independent investment management professional in Hendersonville, N.C. She also worked for the former New York-based investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette as a senior analyst in asset management. Her previous board positions include First Citizens Bank in Hendersonville and Chapter President in Asheville, N.C., for Davidson Alumni Association. She is affiliated with the Rose and Walter Montgomery Foundation and First United Methodist Church of Hendersonville, N.C. An alumna of Davidson College and Duke University MBA graduate, Lillian is married to Dr. Edward G. Lilly III and has four children.