Location
Join us for the LWVSC League Education and Advocacy Day (LEAD) on January 24 at Midlands Tech’s Beltline Campus in Columbia.
Network with League members across the state and experience an exciting agenda. This full-day program will feature presentations sure to inform and energize you as we look toward the crucial June primary elections. Hear from our trio of volunteer lobbyists, our eyes and ears at the State House.
Who’s Invited?
LEAD is open to any League member—local board members, emerging local leaders, and any interested members. That certainly means you!
Registration Details
Attendance is limited to the first 95 people who register. Registration closes January 14. Note: There will be no changes/refunds after January 14.
Register to attend 2026 LEAD
Event Details
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
Keeping the Republic
Adair Ford Boroughs
Adair Ford Boroughs is a Professor at the University of South Carolina Rice School of Law, where her teaching and research focus on federal practice. Prior to her appointment at USC, Adair served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, where she oversaw all federal prosecutions and all civil litigation involving the United States in South Carolina. As U.S. Attorney, Adair focused on civil rights cases, gun violence, and child exploitation.
Adair received her J.D., with distinction, from Stanford Law School and her B.S. in Mathematics, summa cum laude, from Furman University. Prior to law school, she taught high school math in South Carolina’s public schools.
LWVSC Legislative Advocates
Lynn Shuler Teague grew up in Columbia and moved to New Mexico in 1968 at the time of her marriage to George Teague. After over 30 years in the Southwest as a professional archaeologist, they returned to South Carolina at the time of their retirement.
She is VP for Issues and Action of the League of Women Voters of SC and a volunteer League lobbyist at the State House. Voting rights, elections, and redistricting, are the highest priorities for the League but she also is involved in advocacy on government ethics, utility regulation, healthcare access, and other “good government” issues.
Janelle Rivers is a retired educator who has been president of the LWV of the Columbia Area and secretary of LWVSC and led a committee that was part of the LWVUS study on the role of the federal government in public education.
A Chesterfield County native, she taught in the Charleston County schools after college, She moved to West Germany and later to Hartsville, had two children, earned two additional degrees, and then worked as an administrator overseeing assessment, accountability, evaluation, and research activities at the South Carolina Department of Education and in two midlands districts.
Teresa Arnold, MSW, serves as Healthcare Advocacy specialist, League of Women Voters of South Carolina, and Co-Chair of CoverSC, a coalition of nonprofits aiming to convince legislators to expand Medicaid eligibility and access to affordable healthcare in South Carolina.
Teresa retired as the State Director of AARP SC where she advocated for older adults to live independently, have access to healthcare and adequate retirement savings. She has 30+ years of advocacy experience at both the state and congressional level. She was awarded Social Worker of the Year and later USC College of Social Work Alumnus of the Year. In 2022, she was awarded the Order of the Palmetto.
"Empowerment Grant: Budget Basics"
Susan Bell
Susan Bell is currently the president of the Greenville County League. She has served as co-president and treasurer and has also served on a variety of LWVSC committees. Originally from Charlotte, NC, Susan has called Greenville home for over 40 years.
Susan's career was in corporate marketing. After retiring, she taught marketing at Greenville Technical College until 2023.
Understanding Primary Elections: A Review of Current Scholarship
Jordan Ragusa is a professor in the political science department at the College of Charleston. His research and teaching focus on both American and South Carolina politics, the Congress, political parties, elections, and statistical methods for the social sciences.
Jordan is the author of over a dozen peer reviewed articles as well as two books: “First in the South: Why South Carolina’s Presidential Primary Matters” (University of South Carolina Press) and “Congress in Reverse: Repeals From Reconstruction to the Present” (University of Chicago Press). He often provides expert commentary to local, state, and national media, and has worked as an expert witness in redistricting litigation.
Primaries 2026: Messaging, Mobilizing, and Meeting Voters Where They Are
Shelby Cohen
Shelby Cohen is a communications strategist and designer with 10+ years of experience supporting mission-driven work. Her background spans environmental conservation, public education and community advocacy. She co-created community initiatives like the Greenville Community Budget Teach-In and the Greenville County Seed Library. Shelby currently serves as Communications Manager for the South Carolina Environmental Law Project.
Originally from the Tampa Bay area, Shelby has called Greenville home since 2016. She holds a Master's in Global Sustainability from the University of South Florida and spent over three years living and working in China and Taiwan, bringing a global perspective to her work.
Using VOTE411 in the Primary Elections
Joan Zaleski is currently serving as a member of the LWVSC Management Team as well as a second term as VP for Voter Services. She is a long time League member and joined the Charleston LWV in 2016, where she held positions as Voter Services Director and Co-President.
Joan retired as Professor Emerita from Hofstra University in New York after many years as a librarian and teacher educator in literacy studies with a specialty in children’s literature.
Meet the four-member LWVSC Management Team
You'll hear from speakers Lynn Teague, VP Issues & Advocacy, and Joan Zaleski, VP Voter Services. We hope you'll also meet Paula Egelson, Secretary, and Laurel Suggs, Treasurer. Read more about them below.
Paula Egelson, Secretary
A native of Illinois, Paula Egelson has a BA in Child Development, a master’s in Reading Education, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership. Paula has worked as a community organizer, an intermediate and middle school educator, a professional developer, a researcher, and director of a school improvement center. She has also co-authored books on research-based strategies for principals, formative assessments and recently completed a book about school improvement initiatives.
She began participating in the League of Women Voters in her 20’s in Asheville, NC. Paula is a former co-president of the League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area.
Laurel Moxon Suggs, Treasurer
Laurel Suggs was reared in Columbia and attended Converse College majoring in voice performance. She was employed for 35 years as an employee benefits insurance broker with Brown & Brown. Active in the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, she has served as President, Vice President, newsletter editor and sings in the choir.
She joined the Columbia Area League at age 28 when her mother Barbara Moxon gave her League membership as a birthday present. She served the Columbia Area LWV in many capacities including president from 1987-1992. Laurel was asked to join the LWVSC Board in the mid-1990s and served as LWVSC president from 1999-2005.
