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.

Liz Dalton, Executive Director

Elizabeth “Liz” Dalton is both honored and humbled to serve in the role of Executive Director for the Fine Arts Center Partners. Having spent most of her life in Danville, VA and Athens, GA, she chose Greenville as her home because of its vibrancy, sophistication, and opportunity for growth.

Liz has more than 20 years of experience in community and leadership development, non-profit management and media relations. She served in multiple capacities with the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, including Director of Community and Leadership Development, as a consultant for the redevelopment and rebranding of Leadership Athens (now L.E.A.D. Athens), and as the Chairman of the Board.

She also served as the Director of Development and Public Relations for the Athens Technical College Foundation. In addition, she spent 13 years as the host and producer of “LizTalk,” a radio show where she interviewed over 6000 people throughout the country as well as abroad.

Throughout her career, Liz has made a name for herself through her unique ability and passion to embrace any situation and bring people together toward a common vision through communication, collaboration, and connection.

She looks forward to doing the same with the Fine Arts Center and the Fine Arts Center Partners, further integrating the organization and promoting it in the greater Greenville community.