Board Members

Jess Abbott

Jess Abbott is the CEO for Greenville Center for Creative Arts with over 16 years of experience in nonprofit arts administration. She has a proven track record of start-up to growth-phase organizational leadership and development. From formulating strategic fundraising plans to preparing annual budgets and implementing sound strategies, her background has consistently been characterized by a steadfast dedication to managing fiscal responsibility and achieving organizational growth objectives. She has dedicated her career to diligently diversifying income streams and building lasting relationships to secure financial stability for arts organizations that will ensure all programming emphasizes diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. Art should be a fundamental right, not a privilege.

Jess currently serves on the Board of Directors for Palmetto State Arts Education in addition to joining the Board of Directors for the Fine Arts Center in Greenville. She received Bachelor of Arts degrees (Magna Cum Laude) in both Dance and Communications from James Madison University and a Professional Certificate in Fund Development from the University of Richmond. In a panel review by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, jurors commented that “Jess Abbott is a strong and active advocate for the arts at every level.” She is excited to serve for such an exemplary institution such as FAC!

Tami Beall

Tami Beall is a native South Carolinian who grew up on the Isle of Palms. She has lived in a few different states (and islands) but finally made her way back to South Carolina 20 years ago. Being a Charleston native, one of her favorite things was attending the Spoleto Festival every year. As a lover of the arts, she made sure her daughters were well versed and had a deep appreciation of the arts. Both graduated from the Fine Arts Center in the visual arts program and have said it was a transformative experience that made a lasting impression and impact.

Tami is currently the Assistant Director of Enrollment Services at Furman University. Years before that she was the Director of Freshman Advising at the University of Miami and the head guidance counselor at Robinson School in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her favorite people to work with are teenagers(true!).

Tami received her Master’s degree in Higher Education from the University of Georgia and completed her undergraduate degree from Winthrop University. She’s married, and currently lives with 2 dogs, a very large needy cat, and is always looking for a good excuse to hop on her EBike.

Raquel Collier

Racquel “Rocky” Collier is the President of Caliber Real Estate, a development firm specializing in developing multifamily communities and residential subdivisions.

She graduated from Clemson University, where she studied English with an Emphasis on Writing + Publication Studies and Real Estate Development.

Racquel serves on the Board of Commissioners for The Greenville Housing Authority and Ten At The Top.

Katie Howell

Katie Howell grew up in Greenville, SC. She’s a graduate of Christ Church Episcopal School, SC Governor’s School for the Arts (creative writing), and Furman University. After living/working in Atlanta for 10 years and receiving a degree from The Art Institute of Atlanta (culinary arts), she and her family moved back to Greenville. She is married to Rob Howell, and they have three children, the oldest of whom is a junior in the Voice program at FAC. Katie has a background in public relations and sales, specifically in the technology and hospitality worlds.

After moving back to Greenville over a decade ago, Katie became and continues to be a trustee of The Daniel-Mickel Foundation, which supports local nonprofit organizations that strengthen the Upstate socially and economically. Over the years, she’s had the opportunity to serve on boards and committees for several Greenville nonprofits. She is currently a trustee on the boards of Christ Church Episcopal School, Community Foundation of Greenville, Artisphere, and Greenville Tech Foundation. She looks forward to helping The Partners continue to promote the excellence of the FAC.

Samuel Hunter

Samuel Hunter has been writing music for over twenty years, specializing in chamber works and music for voice. Commissioning ensembles include Houston Grand Opera’s HGOco, Vox Cordis, Furman University’s Chancel Choir, Pastyme, the Association of Anglican Musicians, the AURA Contemporary Ensemble, and a variety of Anglican church choirs, and his music has been performed by Coro Città di Roma, the Association of Anglican Musicians Conference Choir, the Furman University Chamber Choir, The Meridian Symphony Orchestra, and many others. Samuel is a graduate winner of the Sarofim Composition Competition and recipient of the Sarofim Graduate Commission, and is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda. Samuel holds degrees from Furman University and the University of Houston, and has studied with Mark Kilstofte, Lorenzo Donati, Benjamin Broening, and Rob Smith.

In addition to his work as a composer, Samuel is an experienced orchestrator and arranger, and is the Principal Orchestrator and publisher of Frances Pollock’s critically acclaimed debut opera Stinney: An American Execution. Samuel is currently an Instructor in Music Theory and History and the Composer in Residence at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina. Samuel is also an Adjunct Professor of Music Composition at Furman University. He is married to répétiteur Hailey Anthum Hunter, and they live in Flat Rock, North Carolina, with their cat Dinah.

West Hyler

West Hyler (He/Him) is the Executive Artistic Director of the South Carolina New Play Festival and co-Artistic Director of the socially-distanced theater company Artistic Stamp. Prior to COVID, West was the Producing Artistic Director of the New York Musical Festival, the largest Musical Theater Festival in the World.

West was the supervising director of Jersey Boys on Broadway and around the world (including South Africa, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, London, and Canada), the associate director on the Broadway premiere of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and he directed Vanessa Carlton into Beautiful on Broadway and assisted David Hyde Pierce on It Shoulda Been You.

He received his MFA in Directing from University of California at San Diego where he studied with Darko Tresnjak, Anne Bogart, Des McAnuff, Ivo Van Hove, and Tina Landau and directed Measure for Measure and A Dream Play by Strindberg. He has been a Drama League Fall Directing Fellow as well as a Drama League Resident Artist, a recipient of two South Carolina Arts Commission Grants, and a hosts a weekly Dungeons and Dragon campaign on youtube called “Broadway Hit Points”.

West has a 20 year career as a theater director, recent projects include:

Cirque Du Soleil’s Paramour (Broadway),
Shrek! The Musical by Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire (National Opera House of Bulgaria),
Piff the Magic Dragon by Jon Van Der Put (Flamingo Casino Showroom in Vegas),
Air Play by Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone (International Tour),
Djembe! by Doug Manuel (Apollo Theater, Chicago),
Avenue Q by Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx and by Jeff Whitty (National Puppet Theater of Bulgaria, IKAR award),
Panda! (Beijing State Theater, Palazzo Hotel and Casino)
Getting My Act Together… by Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford (York Theater Company),
NYC premiere of H2O by Jane Martin (59E59),
Tempest, Love’s Labours Lost, Merry Wives of Windsor (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival),
Georama by Hyler, Matt Schatz, and Jack Herrick (St Louis Rep, St Louis Critics Circle Award and at NYMF, Festival award for Outstanding Direction),
Legendarium, Metamorphosis (Big Apple Circus, Lincoln Center),

His writing credits include:

Paramour (Broadway),
Georama (St Louis Rep, Great River Shakespeare Festival),
Inspector Shell and the Eggcellent Mystery (Artistic Stamp),
Electra’s Diary (Artistic Stamp),
Acorn-ucopia Mystery (Artistic Stamp),
the Short film A Jake and A Tom (Hollywood International Film Festival, Charleston International Film Festival),
Legendarium, Metamorphosis (Big Apple Circus, Lincoln Center)
and the novel Circus of the Gods.

William H. Pelham, AIA

William Pelham is the president and founder of Pelham Architects, LLC (1983) and a Managing Partner of RPM Partnership, LLC (1999). He currently serves on the Christ Church Episcopal School Board, the Camperdown Academy School Board, the Fine Arts Center Partners, the Jean T. & Heyward G. Pelham Foundation, and the Poinsett Club Foundation (vice president). He previously served on other boards including: the Peace Center board (vice chair), the Clemson University Foundation, the Clemson Architectural Foundation (president), the Clemson University Foundation, the Poinsett Club (president), BankGreenville, now HomeTrust Bank (board chair), the Warehouse Theatre (president), the Carolina Music Museum (now the Sigal Music Museum) and the Greenville Museum Association. He co-founded the Fine Arts Center’s Art of Architecture program with Dr. Roy Fluhrer.

Dr. Thomas Strange

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.

MICHELE WASCAVAGE

Creative + Innovation leader with 20+years of expertise driving transformation across multiple industries by placing the human experience at the core of the design + development process. Passionate about understanding value systems of individuals, organizations and culture. By understanding where value is placed, interactions take on a stronger purpose. Identifying key actionable insights to use as a springboard for development of future scenarios that are human experience driven and business relevant.

Currently Michele is Director of Global Marketing at Sage Automotive Interiors, based in Greenville, SC. She has been with Sage for 6+ years. She holds a BFA in textile design and a Masters in user centered design & strategy.

Nicole Michel (ex-officio)

Nicole Michel has almost two decades of experience as an educator in Greenville County Schools. From 2005-2016 she taught English at Mauldin High School, before entering the administrative ranks as sixth-grade Assistant Principal at Greer Middle School. From there she went on to be Assistant Principal at Carolina High School and Academy and in 2019 was named Assistant Director at the Fine Arts Center.

She believes the unique educational opportunities the FAC afforded to students are surpassed only by the incomparable experiences the students have to create and perform their art, helping them become their best selves. Ms. Michel is a cum laude graduate of Furman University. She has a Master’s Degree in English Language and Literature from Middlebury College and a Master’s of Education Administration from Clemson University.

Carrie Woodward

Carrie Woodward is a wife, mother of 2 and a marketing professional with Michelin NA that has resided in Greenville, SC for 26 years. A graduate of Clemson University in Economics and achieved a Master’s degree in Human Resource Development, she has worked in various marketing rolls on both the corporate and agency side. She specializes building brands through research, data and deriving insights from consumers. Carrie brings an entrepreneurial spirit to grow a business and community relationships. When not working, Carrie loves volunteering in the community with the SC Children’s Theater, traveling, cooking and cheering on the Tigers. She is looking forward to serving on the Fine Arts Center Board to support the very talented students in the Greenville community.

Vee popat (EX- OFFICIO)

Vee Popat is the Director of the Fine Arts Center of the Greenville County Schools. The Fine Arts Center (FAC) is South Carolina’s first public school for the visual, performing, and creative arts, offering pre-professional education in – Architecture, Creative Writing, Concert Dance, Digital Filmmaking, Music (Jazz, Chamber Strings, Percussion, Recording Arts, Winds, and Voice), Theatre (Performance and Design/Production), and Visual Arts. Vee started as Director of the FAC in 2019, and was named as Greenville County Schools’ Administrator of the Year in 2022. Under his leadership, the Fine Arts Center earned Arts in Basic Curriculum Certification in 2020, and was named an Arts School Network Exemplary School in 2023.

With 23 years of experience as a public school educator, Vee served as a band director for the first 9 years of his career before moving into the administrative level. He holds a B.A. in Music Education from Virginia Tech, an M.M. in Jazz Education from the University of Miami (FL), and an M.S. in Educational Administration from the University of Scranton.

The bulk of Vee’s career as a music educator was in the award-winning programs of the Randolph Township Schools in Randolph, NJ, where he was twice named “Teacher of the Year.” His tenure as an administrator began as an Arts Supervisor, serving in that role in the Randolph Township Schools and the West Essex Regional School District (North Caldwell, NJ). He then served 6 years as West Essex Middle School Principal before moving to Greenville to become the Fine Arts Center’s Director. Vee currently serves on the Board of the Greenville Center for Creative Arts, Palmetto State Arts Education, South Carolina New Play Festival, and the Arts School Network. He also maintains an active career as a saxophonist and educator, playing jazz gigs in both South and North Carolina, and teaching sax lessons in person and over Zoom.