Officers & Executive Director
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).
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 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.
Craig A. Walker, MHA, Vice President
Craig A. Walker, MHA is a Texas native who has lived in Greenville for over 15 years. He is a seasoned healthcare executive who has authored over seven patents in healthcare IT. He is the founder of VidiStar, LLC, an SC Launch graduate company, which he sold to Hitachi Healthcare Americas in 2018. Walker has served as CEO for several hospitals and as an executive and board member at Hitachi Healthcare Americas, a Fortune 500 company. Walker has worked as a registered lobbyist for the Texas rural hospitals and other healthcare and healthcare IT companies, and he was the former Chairman of the American Telemedicine Association’s Industry Advisory Board.
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.
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.
Jessica Hayes, Executive Director
Jessica is a nonprofit leader with more than 15 years of experience in education and programming, business operations, and communications and marketing. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a Master’s degree from the University of North Dakota, and a Digital Marketing Certification from Western Carolina University.
After relocating to Greenville in 2015, Jessica served as Director and VP of Programming and Education for over four years at The Children’s Museum of the Upstate, deepening her impact in mission-driven work. Today, while working in charitable aviation, she also serves as the part-time Executive Director of the Fine Arts Center Partners, where she champions the Fine Arts Center through community engagement efforts.
A lifelong advocate for arts and education, Jessica grew up playing the flute and worked with high school marching bands as a woodwind instructor during college — an experience that fuels her passion for supporting arts-focused schools and creative youth. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Red Shoe Society, the young professionals group supporting the Ronald McDonald House.
