Seanna Adcox
Editor, SC Daily Gazette
John D. Amos
Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder John D. Amos was named an Area Seventy and a member of the Tenth Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the April 2023 general conference. Elder Amos has served in a number of Church callings, including bishop, counselor in a stake presidency, and president of the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission. Elder Amos received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Southern University in 1989 and certificate in nuclear engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School in 1993. In 1995 he earned a master of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Central Florida. He has worked as a nuclear engineer for the United States Navy, a design engineer for Westinghouse, and a fellow engineer for Siemens Westinghouse. Since 2002, he has worked for Siemens as an engineering manager and engineering director. John Davis Amos was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, on November 2, 1961. He married Michelle Evette Wright in 1990. They are the parents of three children. Elder and Sister Amos reside in Oviedo, Florida.
Dr. Elizabeth Chew
CEO of the South Carolina Historical Society
Elizabeth Chew became CEO of the South Carolina Historical Society in January 2024. A historian, curator, and educator, she has worked at museums and historic sites since 1985.Prior to arriving in Charleston, she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Curator at James Madison’s Montpelier in Virginia. During her 8 1/2 years at Montpelier, Dr. Chew led teams of curators, historians, educators, interpreters, public program creators, archaeologists, and historic preservation experts in researching and interpreting James Madison and his family, his essential roles in framing the U.S. Constitution and leading the nation, and the community of enslaved people on the plantation. Prior to joining Montpelier, Dr. Chew led the curatorial and education division at Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, NC. Earlier in her career, she served as Curator at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, VA. During her thirteen-year tenure there, she was responsible for ongoing research and interpretation initiatives that wove together the Monticello house, its collections, the Jefferson family, and the enslaved community. Dr. Chew also worked in curatorial positions in art museums in Washington, D.C., at The Phillips Collection, the National Gallery of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Raised in Augusta, Georgia, Elizabeth received a BA in art history from Yale University, an MA from the University of London, and PhD from UNC- Chapel Hill.
George Clare
President, Aiken Muslim Association
George Clare is a retired engineering, operations, and project manager and corporate executive in the nuclear power, safety and security, and nuclear clean-up industries. In retirement, he leads a non- profit organization whose mission is to develop housing for the homeless. He is the father of four adult children and the grandfather of nine-grandchildren aged ten-months to ten-years. George was raised in a Christian family in a small town in the Appalachian hills of western New York State. He was extensively involved in Seventh-Day Baptist church activities -- there was little else to do! In high-school, he struggled with the concept of a trinitarian god and concluded he was not a Christian. He spent many years seeking a faith community that believed as he did: that there is but one singular Creator God, and that Jesus was a good man – an example to be emulated. For a time, he worshipped at a Benedictine Catholic monastery in Pennsylvania; another time with a Unitarian Universalist community in Tennessee; other times by himself. After almost three-decades seeking a religious home, George discovered Islam which was slighted by his high-school history book which offered only one paragraph about “Mohammadans”. Upon learning the beliefs of Muslims, George exclaimed “That’s what I believe!” At age forty-five, he made the Muslim profession of faith: “I bear witness that there is only one God worthy of worship and Muhammad is His messenger.”
George is a member of “Crosscurrents,” a South Carolina-based discussion group comprised of individuals representing the entire spectrum of political views. The objective of the group is to explore facts, feelings, and objectives relative to hot-button topics attempting to find common ground and recommend a mutually agreed approach to the issue. The topic addressed most recently is whether religion should be taught in public schools. The group’s effort included multiple conversations about application of the First Amendment’s requirements vis-à-vis religious liberty as well as the attitudes of various segments of society regarding the role of religion in government.
Alan Clemmons
South Carolina Circuit Court Judge
Alan Clemmons is an actively serving judge of the South Carolina Circuit Court, Equity Division. Prior to his service on the bench, Judge Clemmons served for eighteen years as an American legislator in the South Carolina House of Representatives where he represented Horry County and his hometown, Myrtle Beach. At the time of his retirement from the South Carolina General Assembly, in 2020, he chaired the House Rules Committee and the Tax Policy Sub-Committee of the Ways and Means Committee. Early in his legislative career, Judge Clemmons was nominated to represent his fellow South Carolina legislators in America’s largest voluntary policy network for legislators, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), as the South Carolina State Chairman. Over the years following, because of the respect that ALEC legislators had for Judge Clemmons and his work, he was elevated in leadership within the organization, ultimately becoming its National Chairman in 2019. As a result of his membership in, and leadership of ALEC, Judge Clemmons built an impressive network of like-minded legislators around the country. This network has proven significant given the national policy and legislative achievements led by Judge Clemmons, including religious freedom initiatives. He cherishes his faith and heritage as a fifth-generation South Carolina member of his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In his youth, Judge Clemmons served for two years as lay missionary for his church to the Maya of Southern Mexico and in the Guatemala border region. He remains active in his faith and serves as High Councilor in his church’s Myrtle Beach region; as an Ordinance Worker in the Columbia, South Carolina Temple; and as his church Communication Council’s South Carolina Government liaison. Judge Clemmons is a 1982 graduate of the University of South Carolina and a 1989 graduate of Minnesota’s Hamline University School of Law. Judge Clemmons and his wife, Laura, have two daughters, Alayne and Kelly.
Sarah Morgann Coggins
Vocalist, Recording Artist, Vocal Coach
Sarah Morgann Coggins began performing as a professional vocalist at the age 13. She toured for ten years with concert pianist Marvin Goldstein, and later with actorsinger Kirby Heyborne before shifting to shows and performances with her vocal coach and mentor, Dan Truhitte, of MGM’s The Sound of Music fame. Sarah released 10 albums and one single across that time before semi-retiring to raise her two children with her husband, Colby. Sarah loves to share spiritual experiences through song with others and is grateful for the testimony of her faith and the connection with others music has brought to her. Read full bio at www.sarahmorgannsings.com
Miles Coleman
Partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Miles is a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, where he practices in the areas of appeals, commercial litigation, and First Amendment law. In addition to representing commercial clients, he advises and represents public and private universities and serves as outside general counsel to business and educational clients. In his First Amendment practice, he represents and counsels government agencies and officials, including multiple current and former governors of South Carolina and members of Congress, on issues relating to the constitutional and statutory freedoms of speech, religion, and association. Miles has filed nearly 40 amicus briefs at the Supreme Court and Circuit Courts of Appeals, including briefs co-authored by professors Alan Dershowitz, Carl Esbeck, and Thomas Berg. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® and Super Lawyers®, and is a recipient of the University of South Carolina School of Law’s Compleat Lawyer award. He is a past member of the advisory committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and serves on the Executive Committee of the Federalist Society’s Religious Liberties Practice Group. Miles serves on the boards of two national faith-based nonprofit organizations. His First Amendment work has been cited by the United States Supreme Court.
Ahmad S. Corbitt
General Authority for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Ahmad (ock-med) S. Corbitt is a general authority seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Prior to this call, he served in the Church’s Young Men General Presidency. He and his wife of 39 years, Jayne, served together as mission leaders in the Dominican Republic and ABC Islands and he was president of the Cherry Hill New Jersey stake of the Church, which covered the Church's sixteen congregations in Southern New Jersey. He and Jayne have six children and fourteen grandchildren.
Professionally, Elder Corbitt served as director of the Church's New York office of Public and International Affairs. There, he represented the Church at the United Nations and to the New York-based international community, generally. He had similar responsibilities with international, national and local interfaith relations and media relations. Previously, Elder Corbitt was Executive Director of Corporate Communications and Associate General Counsel at a Delaware company and Vice President and General Counsel of a New York public communications firm.
Before his public communications career, Elder Corbitt was a trial attorney practicing mainly criminal defense. He helped investigate and litigate a landmark New Jersey State Police racial profiling case that received national attention and press. He honorably completed a four-year appointment by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a member of the New Jersey (District IV) Ethics Committee. He is admitted to the bars of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Elder Corbitt received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Richard Stockton University of New Jersey and a Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University School of Law.
Elder Corbitt served as his Church’s representative on the Boards of the National Bible Association and the National Interfaith Cable Coalition, both headquartered in New York City. He has served on numerous organization and university boards and councils. He is a former member of the Public Relations Society of America and the International Radio and Television Society.
Bishop David Rwhynica Daniels, Jr.
Ecumenical Officer and Ecclesiastical Endorser for the AME Church
Bishop David Rwhynica Daniels, Jr. is the first West African to be elected Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. In August 2024, Bishop Daniels was appointed as the Ecumenical Officer and the Ecclesiastical Endorser for the AME Church. Previously, he was assigned to the 17th Episcopal District in 2021 and the 15th Episcopal District in 2012. He served two terms in the 15th Episcopal District, which comprises South Africa, Namibia, and Angola, where he made significant contributions. From 2004 to 2012, Bishop Daniels served two terms in the 14th Episcopal District, which includes Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo/Benin. Bishop Daniels was born and raised in Liberia. In 1974, he received the call to ministry. Bishop Daniels later moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where he earned two degrees: a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Magna Cum Laude, from Allen University, and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in 1985. In 2002, the African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) in Monrovia, Liberia, conferred upon him an honorary Doctor of Divinity (D.D.) degree. In 2013, his alma mater, the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and Lenoir-Rhyne University, also awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity, making him the first Black graduate to receive this distinguished honor. In May 1989, he founded Christians United for Peace (CUP). Following the outbreak of civil war, he and the Liberian Council of Churches organized a peace march on June 14, 1990, which saw over 800,000 Liberians participating. In 1992, he founded the Bryant Theological Seminary and established the Frank M. Reid, Jr. Christian School in Monrovia. He is founder of the Turner Child Development Center in Columbia, South Carolina. Bishop Daniels is married to Irene Moifoi Daniels, and they are the proud parents of three daughters: Danica Rwysayma, Davida Renee, and Iesha Mardea.
Holli Emore
Executive Director at Cherry Hill Seminary
Holli S. Emore, MDiv, is the executive director for Cherry Hill Seminary, Chair of Interfaith Partners of South Carolina, and was the first Regional Lead for Disaster Spiritual Care for the American Red Cross in South Carolina. She often teaches public groups about Pagan religions, has served as a regional resource for law enforcement, victim services, and others since 2004, and frequently appears as a guest speaker or panelist. Emore is the author of Constellated Ministry: A Guide for Those Serving Today’s Pagans (Equinox, 2021).
David Hiott
South Carolina House Majority Leader
Representative David R. (Davey) Hiott is in his second term as the South Carolina House Majority Leader. He represents District 4 (Pickens County) in the South Carolina House of Representatives, to which he was first elected in 2005. His current House Committee Assignments are: Agriculture, Natural Resources & Environmental Affairs, Rules. Rep. Hiott is a 1983 graduate of Southern Wesleyan University (then Central Wesleyan College) and is the owner of Hiott Printing Company. He is a member of Pickens First Baptist Church where he serves as a Deacon. Rep. Hiott and his wife are the parents of two children, and the doting grandparents of two grandchildren, with one more on the way!
William C. Hubbard
Dean of the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law
C. Bradley Hutto
South Carolina State Senator
C. Bradley Hutto is an American politician currently serving as a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing Senate District 40 since 1996. He is the Democratic Minority Leader in the Senate, succeeding Nikki Setzler on November 17, 2020. Brad Hutto grew up on a dairy farm in Orangeburg County. As a child, he participated in farm work like bailing hay, driving a tractor, and milking cows. Brad Hutto is an Eagle Scout and well known for contributions to the Boy Scouts of America having served at the unit level as a Cubmaster of Pack 90. Brad Hutto serves on the Executive Board of the Indian Waters Council, BSA and served as Council President from 2009 to 2011. He is a vigil honor member in Muscogee Lodge, Order of the Arrow where he served as Lodge Chief in 1975. His Scouting recognitions include: Distinguished Eagle Scout, Silver Beaver, Order of the Arrow Founder's Award, and Centurion Award. He is a 1978 graduate of the Honors College of the University of South Carolina and a 1981 graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. Since 1982, he has practiced law with the firm of Williams & Williams in Orangeburg, S.C. Early in his career, Hutto defended Democrats caught in the FBI sting operation, Operation Lost Trust, leading the defense team for House Rep. Kenneth E. Bailey Sr. Hutto has been an active member of the Democratic party since the early 1980s. In 1982, he worked for John Winburn's campaign to become House Representative for South Carolina's 5th Congressional District. While Winburn would ultimately lose the primary, the race would be close, leading to a runoff between Winburn and John Spratt where Winburn received about 45% of the vote. Spratt would hold the seat for almost 30 years, and Winburn would go on to become a lobbyist. Prior to beginning his tenure in the South Carolina Senate, Hutto served as the Chairman of the Orangeburg County Democratic Party from 1988 to 1994. Jaime Harrison, then a high school student in Orangeburg, credits working with Hutto at this time as part of the reason he got so involved in politics.
Alonzo Johnson
Associate Professor of Theology at Dickerson-Green Theological Seminary
Dr. Alonzo Johnson is an Associate Professor of Theology at Dickerson-Green Theological Seminary. He teaches in the areas of systematic theology, theological anthropology, and ethics. His courses include Introduction to Theological Education, Systematic Theology I, Systematic Theology II, Christian Ethics, What It Means to Be Human, The Theology of Howard Thurman, and Black Theology. His writing and scholarly interests encompass the following areas: Holiness-Pentecostalism, African American theology, Folk Religious Traditions, the Life and Theology of Howard Thurman, American Christianity, African and Afro-Caribbean Christian traditions, Pastoral Studies, and Leadership Studies. He is the author of Good News for the Disinherited and co-editor of Aint Gonna Lay My Ligion Down, and he is Chief Editor and Senior Contributing Author of the Standardized Ordination & Licensure Textbook of the Church Of God In Christ. He has been a leader in the Church of God in Christ on the national and jurisdictional levels, serving as an Assistant to the Bishop of South Carolina, the Senior Pastor of Universal Outreach Church, Irmo, SC, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Charles Harrison Mason Theological Seminary, Atlanta, GA. An active community leader, Dr. Johnson organized and is the Chairman of the Board of the Universal Community Improvement Organization (501 © (3), which does business as the Universal Leadership & STEAM Academy.
Tammie Miles Lecque
Singer
Tammie Miles Lecque from Charleston South Carolina is an international contemporary Christian singer, lyricist arranger and worship leader who loves Jesus and people.
Shane Massey
South Carolina State Senator
Shane Massey is the State Senator for District 25 – Aiken, Edgefield, Lexington, McCormick, and Saluda Counties. First elected in a 2007 special election, Shane ran for the Senate with a promise to work as hard as possible to shake up the status quo in Columbia. He’s kept that commitment by holding more than 130 town hall meetings across the district, providing weekly legislative updates, and constantly fighting the Columbia establishment with his speeches and votes. Energetic and passionate about public service, Shane has worked hard to hold state government accountable.
Shane believes that working to improve his community is a requirement of citizenship. He has served as Chairman of Edgefield County’s First Steps Board and as a mentor and tutor at Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton Middle School. He and Blair are attorney coaches for the award- winning mock trial team at Strom Thurmond High School. Additionally, Shane is an active member of the Aiken SERTOMA Club, the Edgefield Lions Club, the Edgefield County United Way, the Johnston Development Board, and the Upper Savannah Council of Government’s Board of Directors.
First elected to the South Carolina State Senate in November 2007, he chairs the Senate Rules Committee and serves on the Judiciary Committee, the Legislative Oversight Committee, the Education Committee, the Corrections & Penology Committee, and the Labor Commerce & Industry Committee. In April 2016, he was unanimously elected to serve as Senate Majority Leader
Shane was selected as a Liberty Fellow in 2009 and a Rodel Fellow in 2015. In 2014, the Washington Post selected Shane as one of the top 40 rising stars among state-level elected officials under the age of 40 across the county.
A graduate of Strom Thurmond High School, Clemson University, and the USC School of Law, Shane works as an attorney in Edgefield. He and his wife, Blair, have two children and live in Edgefield. They attend Providence Baptist Church in Johnston, where Blair is active with children’s ministry and Shane has taught several Sunday School classes and served his church as a Deacon.
Christopher Mills
Founder and Attorney at Spero Law LLC
Christopher Mills is the founder of Spero Law LLC. He was previously a partner at a national law firm and a Constitutional Law Fellow at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. He served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas on the U.S. Supreme Court during October Term 2018. He also clerked for the Honorable David B. Sentelle, then-Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He has authored briefs and motions in the Supreme Court, courts of appeals, and trial courts, and argued before the D.C. Circuit, the Fourth Circuit, and other courts. He has served as special counsel to South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and an Adjunct Professor at the Charleston School of Law.
A 2012 magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, Christopher was a senior editor of the Harvard Law Review, an editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, and served on the Executive Board of the Harvard Federalist Society. In 2009, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with a degree in economics from Furman University.
Father Jay Scott Newman
Catholic Diocese of Charleston
Rabbi Yossi Refson
Chabad of Charleston
Rabbi Yossi Refson, originally from England, moved to Charleston with his wife, Sarah, in 2007 to establish Chabad of Charleston - Center for Jewish Life. Together, they have come to love the Charleston community. Sarah, who serves as Co-Director, works alongside Rabbi Refson in outreach and community programs. The Refsons live in Mt. Pleasant with their four children and are grateful for the opportunity to serve and be a part of Charleston’s faith community.
J. Todd Rutherford
South Carolina House of Representatives
J. Todd Rutherford, a Columbia attorney, practices in the area of criminal defense and represents people charged with criminal activity in the federal, state, and municipal courts of South Carolina. He has successfully defended those charged with a variety of crimes including major drug offenses, white-collar crimes, DUI, armed robbery, burglary, and criminal sexual conduct; some of which have gained national attention. Born on October 10, 1970, in Columbia, South Carolina, he is the son of Harry and Karen Rutherford and is married to Megan Pinckney Rutherford. He has three sons, James Todd, II, Tripp Benjamin and Christopher Teagan. A 1988 graduate of W. J. Keenan High School, Todd received his B.A. from Howard University in 1992 and his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina in 1996. He was a Legislative Assistant to Congressman Robin Tallon from 1992-1993 and an Assistant Solicitor/Special Prosecutor of Narcotic and Drug cases for the Fifth Solicitor’s office from 1996-1998. Elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1998 to represent House District 74, Todd currently is a member of the Ethics Committee, the Ways and Means Committee, and the Judicial Merit Selection Commission. He previously sat on the Judiciary and Medical, Military, and Municipal Affairs Committee. In 1999, Todd was named Young Democrat of the Year and in January 2013, he was elected House Minority Leader and has continuously served in this position since.
Hannah Clayson Smith
Associate Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at BYU
Alan Wilson
South Carolina Attorney General
Alan Wilson was elected South Carolina’s 51st Attorney General on November 2, 2010, re-elected to a second term on November 4, 2014, re-elected to a third term on November 6, 2018, and re-elected to a fourth term on November 8, 2022. Since being elected, Wilson has focused on keeping South Carolina’s families safe, defending their freedom, and protecting their futures.
This marks his third stint in the office. Previously, he served as a prosecution division intern under Charlie Condon and as an Assistant Attorney General under Henry McMaster.
As South Carolina’s Attorney General, Wilson is the state’s chief prosecutor, chief securities officer, and the state’s chief legal counsel. The office is comprised of almost 300 employees and about 90 attorneys who manage nearly 8,000 active case files.
He has worked closely with the State Law Enforcement Division, every sheriff, the Police Chief’s Association, victim’s advocacy groups, and all 16 solicitors.
Together, they are actively advancing legislative priorities to ensure South Carolina is the safest place to live, work, and raise a family. This coalition has been successful in passing crucial public safety legislation, such as the Ashley Hall bill, and Emma’s Law.
As Attorney General, Wilson has defended the Constitution and the laws of this state even if it means challenging the federal government. He has protected South Carolina’s right-to-work laws; helped lead the 26-state challenge to the federal health care mandate; successfully safeguarded South Carolina’s voter identification law; and fought to protect its immigration laws in court. Wilson works closely with other Attorneys General across the nation to protect the rule of law and defend the Constitution on issues such as Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, EPA overreach, Yucca Mountain, MOX Facility, Religious Freedom, and many others. He is currently fighting to protect the South Carolina coast from seismic testing and possible oil and gas exploration.
In 2012, he worked tirelessly with local legislators to strengthen South Carolina’s human trafficking laws. During that process, a Human Trafficking Task Force was established, which is chaired by the Attorney General’s office.
Because of these efforts, South Carolina has gone from having one of the worst statutes in the country to one of the best.
In November 2013, and again in May 2021, Wilson was elected as Chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA).
Prior to his election, Wilson served as an Assistant Solicitor and as an Assistant Attorney General before entering private practice with the Columbia firm of Willoughby & Hoefer, P.A. He began his legal career working for the late Judge Marc H. Westbrook.
Wilson joined the National Guard immediately after graduating from college. He was called to serve in Iraq where he earned the Combat Action Badge. Today, he continues his military service as a Colonel in the South Carolina National Guard.
He is a graduate of Francis Marion University and the University of South Carolina School of Law. Wilson and his wife, Jennifer, have two young children, Michael and Anna Grace.
Richard L. Yow
South Carolina State Representative
Representative Richard L. ‘Richie’ Yow represents District 53, including Chesterfield, Darlington and Lancaster Counties, in the South Carolina House of Representatives. He is an Air Force Veteran and is retired from the Air National Guard, have served in the South Carolina, North Carolina and Virgin Islands Air National Guard. Rep. Yow is a Life Member of Disabled Veterans Association. He is also a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion. He has been honored with the South Carolina Meritorious Service Award, the South Carolina Palmetto Service Award, US Air Force Commendation Award, Louisiana Emergency Service Award and many others. Rep. Yow is a Pastor and serves on as Chairman of the McLeod Health Cheraw Chaplin Board. He is married to the former Crystal Lee Wallace and together they have one child, RJ. Rep. Yow is the author and principal sponsor of the recently passed South Carolina Religious Freedom Act.