Katy Bergman Cassell earned an MFA from Kent State University and a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art. She worked as an archaeological illustrator in India and as a museum educator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters, in New York. She taught metals, enameling, and drawing at colleges in Ohio until moving to Greenville, SC to teach at the Fine Arts Center. She was awarded a National Artists Teachers Fellowship to travel to England in 2015. She teaches workshops nationally, has been a South Carolina State Parks Artist-in-Residence, and was on the board of the Center for Enamel Art in Oakland, CA.
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.
Racquel “Rocky” Collier is the President of Caliber Real Estate, a development firm specializing in developing multifamily communities and residential subdivisions.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Brock Koonce is a ’95 graduate of the Fine Arts Center concentrating in Theatre under Christina Keefe. The FAC not only offered him and excellent arts education, but also provided him with the necessary skills to move forward to toward his college career and eventual calling as a part-time stage actor and lover of the arts. “My experience at FAC was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. Without my time at FAC, I feel I would not have developed the many skills I carry with me today. I am very proud and honored to call myself an FAC Graduate.”
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.
Anita Pacylowski-Justo the co-artistic director of DanceArts Greenville and a part-time Ballet Instructor at the Fine Arts Center. Her formal ballet training came from the Washington School of Ballet in Washington, D.C. She is a Princess Grace Award winner in Dance, National Young Arts Level 1 winner, and a recipient of the Presidential Scholar in the Arts in Dance award by the White House Commission in the Arts. Anita was a finalist at the New York International Ballet Competition and semi-finalist at the Prix de Lausanne competition in Lausanne, Switzerland. She was a nominee for the coveted Benois de la Danse Award – “the Oscars” of the Ballet world – and as a result, was invited to perform in Moscow. 
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.
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.
Jay Sanderson is the CEO of Three Twenty Two Group. A local consulting organization who partners with small and medium businesses specializing in creating programs to improve growth, employee engagement, and leadership development. Most recently, expanding their client base to include independent artists, songwriters, and those in the entertainment industry.
A Spartanburg, South Carolina native and two time Clemson Graduate, Catherine spent over seven years in New Orleans, Louisiana working with Waggonner & Ball Architects. There her work experience was focused on educational, commercial and institutional projects, several of which won American Institute of Architects’ awards. Post – Katrina, she managed a three year long design/build repair and alteration project on the 1880s era National Historic Monument US Custom House. In October of 2009, Catherine returned home to be closer to family and to open her own residential architectural practice.
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.
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.
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. Walker served as the Chief of Staff to State Representative Patricia Gray in the Texas Legislature where in the late 1990s he helped draft and pass the first legislation on telemedicine and telehealth. Walker also worked for US Senator Lloyd Bentsen.
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.
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.
“I was blessed to be apart of the Fine Arts Center for 4 years under the wonderfully talented Teri Parker Lewis in the theatre department. There I gained knowledge about myself as an artist, performer and individual who was equipped with tools to make the stage and more importantly the world a better place. We were educated with the classics from Shakespeare to Greek to contemporary playwrights but was also lucky to learn and respect stage combat, public speaking and voice over. Voice over being how I act mostly now and most recently in the VR BAFTA nominated game Blocks. I am so much of who I am today with the confidence gained as an individual growing alongside the ensemble classes, Teri’s + Karen Parks teachings and Roy Fluhrer’s mentorship.”
FAC Visual Arts Alumna Kephira Davis has been named a Brandon Fellowship Recipient by the Greenville Center for Creative Arts (GCCA)! Her bio on the GCCA website states:
The UT Extraordinary Campus Leadership and Service awards recognize graduating students who are extraordinary campus leaders for their significant service to others. Arden Gillchrest is a first-generation college student who has enjoyed being an active part of the University of Tennessee. Through academic endeavors, student organizations, and community involvement, Arden has loved being a part of the Volunteer community.
FAC alumni and UT Architecture Student Combines Design and Entrepreneurialism for UT System Project. Allie Ward Chamberlain, 5th-year Architecture student and small business owner of Reclaim Creative, was approached by the UT Foundation in 2020 with interest for her to create an artistic design for UT System’s “Everywhere You Look, UT” campaign. The campaign seeks to raise awareness of the university’s impact across the state.
Dr. Shaniece Criss, a 1998 graduate of Southside High School and the Fine Arts Center, is an Assistant Professor of Health Science at Furman University. After receiving her undergraduate degree in communications from Oglethorpe University and a Master of Public Health from Emory University, Criss earned a Doctor of Science degree from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She also earned a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she was awarded a Presidential Public Service Fellowship and a Political Campaign Practicum. Dr. Criss served as producer and host for a national television show for the Ministry of Health in Guyana, South America, during her Peace Corps service. She partners with Furman’s Institute for the Advancement of Community Health as an academic lead on projects with Prisma Health-Upstate and LiveWell Greenville. Dr. Criss serves on the Travelers Rest City Council and the board of directors for Prisma Health, Public Education Partners, Dining for Women, and SC YMCA Youth in Government and Teen Achievers.
Stacy Isenbarger’s creative pursuits include sculpture, installation, mixed-media drawings, student mentorship and supporting community exchange through art. In her studio practice, she works to create dialog by highlighting perceived boundaries built from one’s environment or their perception of it. Through explorations of unexpected material collisions, poetic narratives, and shared iconography, Isenbarger continuously seeks ways to express complex negotiations of place and the desire to feel whole within it.
Originally from Easley, South Carolina, Allison attended the Greenville Fine Arts Center, and earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy from Florida State University (cum laude). She also served a six-month internship at San Antonio State Hospital (a mental health institution). Allison pursued a career as a singer/songwriter after college, recording three EPs and one full-length album. While touring, she was hired by Mars Music, Inc. to implement the Babies Make Music program in the metro Atlanta area.
Marcus is a 24-year-old songwriter and guitar phenom who is taking the music scene by storm. The Marcus King Band’s most recent release, “El Dorado,” was nominated for Vintage Guitar Magazine’s Readers Choice Award.
Ben Sutherland is a composer, music technologist, performer, and educator whose work and interests span a multitude of media and genres, including classical, popular, and experimental. His contemporary classical works have been performed by renowned ensembles including the Pacifica String Quartet, the Contemporary Chamber Players, and the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble.
Award-winning furniture designer credits her success to Greenville’s Fine Arts Center. The fledgling furniture designer recently won a Red Dot Award , an international design prize for product, brand and communication design as well as design concepts.
Savannah Ralph is a painte and graduation of the Fine Arts Center whose work prompts discussions around important topics such as gender, beauty standards, and mental illness. It is her goad as an artist to make groups of people who aren’t typically recognized feel seen. She plans to utilize the Brandon Fellowship to strengthen her ties in the community, improve her techniques, and push her art career forward.
Acclaimed by the New York Times as “the versatile violinist who makes the music come alive” and for her “tonal mastery” (BBC Music Magazine) and “searing intensity” (American Record Guide), violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins is forging a dynamic career as a soloist and chamber musician. Recently featured on NBC’s Sunday Closer for her work with bringing classical music to homeless shelters.
Rory Scovel, wrote and produced an 8 episode series for Comedy Central called “Those Who Can’t.” He also has a show on Apple TV called, “Physical” and is in the movie “Babylon” with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie.
American Mezzo-soprano, Betsy Bishop, has sung with leading opera companies all around the world such as The Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Palm Beach Opera, Florida Grand Opera, and Cincinnati Opera. She was recently hired as a professor of voice at The Juilliard School.
