Officers & Executive Director

Stephanie Knobel, President

Stephanie Knobel has been involved with the Fine Arts Center for over 5 years. Both of her children participated in the ARMES program and her daughter, Anna Knobel, is currently a Junior in the Theater program. Stephanie is the Executive Director of the YMCA Judson Community Center. She serves on several local nonprofit boards and is active in community initiatives that support youth services. She is very excited and honored to be part of the newly formed Fine Arts Center Partners Board.

Stephanie is the Executive Director of the YMCA Judson Community Center. She serves on several local nonprofit boards and is active in community initiatives that support youth services. She is very excited and honored to be part of the newly formed Fine Arts Center Partners Board.

Dr. Thomas Strange, Vice President

Tom Strange has an extensive background in materials science and is the author of fifty-three patents and numerous papers over the last three decades, covering all aspects of capacitor development. He was a member of a small team of entrepreneurs who developed and produced the pioneering flat medical-grade electrolytic capacitor that made thoracic implantable cardioverter defibrillators possible. Strange has presented numerous lectures/concerts on early piano development in the US and around the world and is a builder and restorer of early keyboard instruments. He now serves as the Executive Director of the Sigal Music Museum in Greenville.

Lindsay Smith, Treasurer

Lindsay is a life-long Greenville resident. He graduated from Wade Hampton High School in 1970, from Furman University in 1974, and the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1977. While at Furman he served as Junior Class President, was awarded the Wicker Award as a freshman, was a member of the Blue Key honor society, and was inducted into the Quaternion honor society. He has been married to Julie Simons Smith for 40 years and they are the proud parents of two sons, Alan and Ellison, of whom Alan is a meteorologist in Jackson, Wyoming, and Ellison (a Fine Arts Center graduate in jazz studies who subsequently attended on scholarship and graduated from the University of Miami, FL with a B.A. in jazz guitar performance) is a mechanical engineer in Oconee County, S.C.

Lindsay practices law in Greenville and is a partner in the trans-Atlantic law firm of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP. He specializes in commercial real estate and real estate finance. He is a past chair of the South Carolina Bar real estate practices section, is a fellow (and past South Carolina chairman) in the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, has been rated as a Band One real estate lawyer (one of only six in S.C.) by Chambers USA, and has been recognized annually for many years in Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers.

Lindsay is an active alumnus of Furman University where, among other things, he was a member of the alumni legal task force that devised and implemented the legal strategy whereby Furman separated from the South Carolina Baptist Convention in the early 1990s. He has served continuously, since its formation in 1997, as the President of The Furman University Foundation, which evaluates, accepts or rejects, and liquidates non-cash gifts for the benefit of the University, and which has become the de facto real estate advisor to the University.

Terri Doiron, Treasurer

Terri Doiron has over 20 years of professional experience in bookkeeping and accounting duties. She is the Office and Financial manager for COR3 Design LLC working alongside her husband, Brian Doiron. She is the mother of 4 adult children, of which 2 are Fine Arts Center Alumni. Her son Jacob is a Senior at Berklee College of Music (Percussion) and her daughter Morgan is an entering Freshman at Boston Conservatory (Dance). Her son Colby works in Connecticut and her stepdaughter Grace is a Sophomore at College of Charleston (Psychology). Terri’s hobbies include running, cooking and travel. She also serves on the festival committee for the Italian American Club of Greenville and volunteers with The Greenville Ballet School, helping with their annual production of The Nutcracker.

Steve Hairston, Secretary

Steve Hairston currently serves as the Assistant Director of Employer Engagement at Furman University. Prior to arriving at Furman, Steve worked at Public Education Partners as their Policy and Advocacy Director. He has spent most of his 20-year career in higher education or affiliated with education in some fashion and has worked at a number of the nation’s most prestigious private and public higher education institutions. Steve holds a Master of Business Administration from Clemson University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hope College. He and his wife, Christen, raise their three children in downtown Greenville and, in his spare time, he loves honing his culinary skills, playing basketball, listening to vintage soul and hip-hop, and spending time with extended family and friends.

Qena Jennings, Secretary

Qena is an educator of over 25 years and a mom of three. Her background includes serving as a classroom teacher, reading specialist and instructional coach. Currently, Qena is a Program Director for Public Education Partners (PEP) where she leads strategic initiatives that elevate teachers and engage the local community in support of public education.

John Warner, Executive Director

John has been Executive Director since 2021. Since returning to Greenville in 2008, John has served as VP Finance and Administration at the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities and Executive Director of the Ray and Joan Kroc Center. John is co-Founder and former President of Selective Micro Technologies, LLC. John also remains active in several local cultural and economic development organizations.

Prior to founding Selective Micro, John held several senior executive positions with large industrial companies. He was Chief Operating Officer at World Minerals, Inc., Vice President and General Manager for Grace Packaging (a division of W. R. Grace & Co), in both Europe, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong, and senior management positions in Grace Packaging’s US organization, including Chief Financial Officer.

John is a former US Air Force pilot and was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the US Air Force Academy. He is now retired from the Air Force Reserve. John is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and holds graduate degrees from North Carolina State University (Applied Mathematics) and Clemson University (Business).