Location
Registration is now open for LWVSC’s League Education and Advocacy Day (LEAD) on February 1 at Midlands Tech’s Beltline Campus in Columbia.
Experience an exciting agenda of panelists and speakers, including current and former state legislators such as Heather Bauer, Penry Gustafson, and Katrina Shealy, and political science professor and director of the Winthrop Poll Initiative at Winthrop University, Dr. Scott Huffmon.
LEAD is open to any League member. The registration fee, which includes lunch and morning coffee/tea, is $35.
Who’s Invited?
LEAD is open to any League member—local board members, emerging local leaders, and any interested members. That certainly means you!
Deadline to Register?
Attendance is limited to the first 95 people who register before January 17. Don't delay. Click below to register today!
Event Details
This full-day program will feature panels and presentations sure to inform and energize you.
There is a $35 per-person fee, which includes lunch and morning coffee and tea.
We will meet in the Center for Business and Information Technology (CBIT) conference room 101 on the ground floor. From South Beltine Boulevard, take Rosewood Drive and use the parking area near the CBIT entrance. 
View and download the campus map.
What to Bring
To cut down on waste, bring your own reusable, filled water bottle.
Agenda
LEAD 2025 Agenda
Women's Voices Matter
Representative Heather Bauer has served South Carolina House District 75 since 2022. In her short time in office she has passed several pieces of legislation, fought bad bills and fought for government accountability. She was named the 2024 Champion of Choice by Planned Parenthood, Legislator of the Year by the SC Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, a Rising Star by SC Women in Leadership, and the Joseph Neal Elected Official of the Year by the Young Democrats of South Carolina.
Heather's professional career has been in technology project management, production and tech education. She currently works as an Affordable Care Act (ACA) Client Relationship Consultant for Benefitfocus where she manages a book of business with Equifax.
Penry Gustafson has enjoyed leading community through business, church, and nonprofits, ultimately serving as SC State Senator 2020-2024. Dissatisfied with state representation and tired of toxic politics, she provided a fresh voice and a new choice. In 2020 she unseated an established incumbent who had run for governor twice, flipping the seat from blue to red for the first time in over a hundred years.
After taking a stand against a proposed abortion ban, Senator Gustafson and four other “sister senators” received the JFK Profile in Courage Award in 2023. All the Senate Republican women were ousted in 2024, leading her to a new vigor in her support for women in leadership.
Protecting Our Children
Former SC Senator Katrina Shealy and Dr. Elizabeth Mack, panelists; Teresa Arnold, LWVSC Director and Healthcare Advocacy Specialist, moderator
Katrina Shealy has been a staunch advocate for at-risk children and has personally volunteered at the SC Department of Juvenile Justice. She is the founder of Katrina’s Kids, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which strives to give “Every Chance to Every Child” in foster care and group homes. Katrina has served as the chairman of the Board of the South Carolina Friends of Juvenile Justice and the Women’s Advisory Board for Lexington Medical Center.
As a state senator from 2012-2024, she served as chair of the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children, co-chair of the State Suicide Prevention Coalition, and a member of child fatality and domestic violence advisory committees. In 2023, she and four other “sister senators” received the JFK Profiles in Courage Award for their principled support of women’s issues.
Dr. Elizabeth Mack is a pediatric critical care physician and quality improvement and patient safety expert aiming to improve the quality of healthcare by infusing love. She is a professor of pediatrics and is the immediate past president of the SC Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Elizabeth is employed full time by Vizient with a focus on high reliability, and part time by Medical University of South Carolina as a pediatric critical care physician. She serves on the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) sub-board of pediatric critical care medicine, chairs the inaugural Children’s Caucus of South Carolina, and serves as a pediatric host of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) podcast.
Speaking for LGBTQ+ at the SC State House
Phil Ford is an advocate, public relations professional, eternal optimist, and owner of The Ford & Ford Group. He represents the Alliance for Full Acceptance and Campaign for Southern Equality, a multi-organizational LGBTQ+ advocacy coalition, at the State House.
A native of Orangeburg, he attended The Citadel, where he majored in political science with a focus in American government. After spending nearly a decade out of state working on presidential to city council races across the country, Phil wanted to come back home to help his state become more just and equitable. With more than 20 years of experience in politics, nonprofit consulting, and community organization, he believes in a grassroots approach to making change happen.
Effective Advocacy Website: Resources to Empower Your Voice
David Smith, LWV Columbia Area
David Smith is on the Board of the League of Women Voters of the Columbia Area. He is serving in his third year as 1st Vice President and was previously Director of VOTE411. In 2024, he created the new Effective Advocacy website for LWVSC based on the advocacy workshop he organized for LWV Columbia Area in 2023.
David served four years in the US Army (Captain) and has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He retired from engineering in 2020 after 38 years in the aerospace and commercial nuclear fuel industries. An aspiring fly fisherman, he lives in the Irmo area with his wife, Charleen. They travel often to visit family in Tennessee.
The 2024 Election and Post-Election Political Landscape in SC
Dr. Scott Huffmon,Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research,Winthrop University
Dr. Scott Huffmon is a professor of political science and the founder and director of the Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research at Winthrop University. Dr. Huffmon also directs the Winthrop Poll Initiative. His commentary on poll results, South Carolina politics, and southern and national politics in general have been featured in national and international news outlets including CNN, NBC, ABC, FOX, PBS, BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, and Los AngelesTimes.
He has teaching and research interests in American Politics, Public Opinion, Southern Politics, Electoral Politics, Religion and Politics, Voting Behavior, Political Psychology, Survey Research, Methodology, Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections, and State and Local Politics.
