List of Board Members

William Cogswell

Since 1997, William has been in the development and construction business. His background also includes work in planning, preservation, real estate equity funds, commercial brokerage, and green construction. After receiving a graduate degree from Columbia University in 2003, William formed Standard Precast Walls, LLC to complement his development efforts and to introduce a more sustainable, energy efficient building envelope to the Southeastern market. WECCO Construction, LLC was formed in early 2006 in order to complete the design-build process. William is a native of Charleston and a graduate of the
University of the South. He is actively involved with the Urban Land Institute, Historic Charleston Foundation and The Nature Conservancy.

Berry Edwards

An avid sportsman, bird hunter and fisherman, Berry founded The Greenery, Inc. in 1973, which began as a small landscape nursery and today has 525 employees. Berry has served his community of Hilton Head for some 35 years, as a member of the original planning commission, a member of the board of the Chamber of Commerce, and Board Chair of Volunteers in Medicine. An active member of the SOLO (Southern Lowcountry Focus Area) Task Force, Berry has placed a conservation easement on 800 acres of hunting lands in the Savannah River basin. Other boards on which he currently serves include: The Savannah Bancorp, Harbourside Community Bank and the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry.

Richard T. Hale

Dick grew up in the Philadelphia area and graduated with a BA in English from Yale and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School. He first came to Charleston as a gunnery officer aboard a Navy destroyer before beginning his banking career in securities and investments, the majority of which was spent with Alex Brown & Sons in Baltimore (later bought out by Deutsche Bank). Dick has served on the board of Bryn Mawr School for Girls and was also President of the Guilford Association – a neighborhood improvement association in Baltimore.

Katharine Hastie

Katharine was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama and graduated with a degree in Physics from University of the South at Sewanee and an M.S. in Environmental Systems Engineering from Clemson. She worked for the Environmental Protection Agency before joining Booz Allen Hamilton supporting various federal clients around the country on environmental issues. She serves on the board of YesCarolina and assisted with fundraising for Lowcountry Local First’s new farmer incubation program. Katharine enjoys running, yoga and photography. She also enjoys cooking and is passionate about locally grown foods.

Hank Holliday

Hank is CEO of The Holliday Companies, Inc. and for more than a decade has played a key role in the restoration of Charleston’s historic City Market area. His award-winning renovation and development of the Planters Inn and Doubletree Guest Suites, and the Peninsula Grill, Hank’s Seafood and Mercato restaurants have served as a model for urban redevelopment in the Southeast. After earning his MBA from the University of South Carolina, Hank spent the first decade of his professional career as an investment banker with Equitable and Bank of America in New York, San Francisco and Atlanta. In 2001, he was elected to the North American Board of Relais & Chateaux, representing some of the world’s finest hoteliers and chefs. A recipient of the Historic Charleston Foundation’s Whitelaw Award, Save the City’s Three Sisters Award and The Preservation Society’s Carolopolis Award, Hank works tirelessly on behalf of his community and the environment. Hank joined the CCL board in 2007.

Holly Hook

Holly joined the CCL board in 2007. She and her husband, Dennis Glaves, have been active in environmental and community causes. She earned a BA from the University of South Carolina and an MA in Library Science from the University of Washington. Holly went on to work as a reference librarian for the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and later as a legislative law librarian for the law firm of Covington and Burling. Holly volunteers as a Lobby Team Captain (under the auspices of the Conservation Voters of South Carolina) during the legislative session in Columbia. She also serves as co-chair of Access Network, a four county services organization whose primary mission is to fight HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, and homelessness. She is also a member of the Friends of Hunting Island.

W. Jefferson “Jeff” Leath

Jeff Leath is the Sr. Partner of Leath, Bouch, and Seekings, LLP, in Charleston, SC.  He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and the National Law Center of the George Washington University in Washington, DC.  He was previously an attorney with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, and has been a partner in two other Charleston law firms, prior to beginning his own firm in 1998. Jeff has been performing Pro Bono legal work for the Coastal Conservation League for the past several years.  He was involved together with the Southern Environmental Defense Center in theultimately successful workout of the challenge to the South Carolina Ports Authority’s North Charleston permit, and is currently involved with the Center in a challenge to the Awendaw annexation of tracts abutting the Francis Marion National Forest. He has been involved in the restoration of more than six historic downtown properties and has made frequent appearances before regulatory bodies.  Jeff is a longtime downtown Charleston resident with his wife Patti and their twin nine-year-old boys.  He also has four daughters, three of whom live in Charleston.

Patricia Lessane

Dr. Patricia Williams Lessane joined the College of Charleston as the Executive Director of the Avery Research Center in August 2010. Prior to her appointment last year, she was on faculty at Roosevelt University in Chicago and worked as a consultant for the Museum of Science and Industry, where developed public programs for the museum’s annual Black Creativity exhibition from 2008-10. She also served as the Program Administrator for the Field Museum’s Diversity Project from 2001-2006. Raised in Chicago, Patricia earned a BA in English from Fisk University, a MALS from Dartmouth College and a doctorate in Anthropology from University of Illinois at Chicago in 2005.   Patricia lives in Mount Pleasant with her husband and two children.

G. Alex Marsh

Alex was born and spent his early years in Charlotte, N.C. After graduating from Culver Military Academy in Indiana, he earned his B.S. degree in biology from Wake Forest, then his M.S. degree in Zoology from the University of North Carolina. After several years teaching at Coker College in Hartsville, S.C. and Queens College in Charlotte, he returned to graduate school at the Virginia institute of Marine Science where he received his Ph.D in Biological Oceanography. After 37 years on the Biology faculty at Florida Atlantic University, including several years as department chair, he recently retired as Emeritus Professor of Ecology. He and his wife Carla now divide their time between South Florida and the Lowcountry, where he enjoys teaching in the Master Naturalist program and the SCDNR Coastal Exploration Series. He also enjoys wandering in the woods and trying to be a better wildlife photographer.

James R. McNab, Jr.

James R. McNab has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Palmetto Pharmaceuticals, Inc., formerly eNOS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held drug discovery company of which he is a co-founder. In addition, Mr. McNab is a co-founder of other privately-held companies, including Curis, Incorporated, Sontra Medical Corporation, a drug delivery company, Parker Medical Associates, a manufacturer and worldwide supplier of orthopedic and sports-related products, and Vidus Ocular, Inc., an early-stage company developing a medical device for the treatment of glaucoma. Since July 2006, Mr. McNab has served as Director of Argolyn Bioscience, Inc., privately-held biopharmaceutical company. Mr. McNab received a B.A. in economics from Davidson College and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.In 2006 he was appointed the Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of Argolyn Bioscience Inc.  He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Preservation Society.

Jeffrey Schutz

Jeffrey is currently a managing director of Centennial Ventures, a Denver-based venture capital firm. Since joining Centennial in 1987, he has been directly involved with financing more than one hundred investments and helping entrepreneurs build valuable sustainable businesses. He serves on boards of numerous private and public companies, including Centennial Ventures, CenterStone Technologies, Inc., Siterra Corp., and Accellos, Inc.    He is also a Trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C. He received a BA in Economics from Middlebury College and an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia. Jeffrey joined the CCL Board in May 2007.

Richard R. Schmaltz

Dick has over 40 years of investment industry experience. He joined J. & W. Seligman & Co. Incorporated in September 1996 as a Managing Director and Director of Investments. Additionally, he was Chair of Seligman’s Investment Policy Committee and a member of Seligman’s Executive Committee. Mr. Schmaltz took early retirement in 2001, and in January 2004, rejoined the Firm as Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer, and Head of Seligman’s Core Investment Team. He also served as Portfolio Manager of Tri-Continental Corporation and Seligman Common Stock Fund, and Co-Portfolio Manager of Seligman Income and Growth Fund until September 2004. Before working at Seligman, Mr. Schmaltz was Director of Research at Neuberger & Berman from 1993 to 1996. He also served as Executive Vice President of McGlinn Capital Management. From 1983 to 1987, he was a Managing Director and Chairman of the Stock Selection Committee at Kidder Peabody. Prior to 1983, Mr. Schmaltz was a Principal and Co-Director of Research at Morgan Stanley & Company. He also managed his own investment firm, Richard R. Schmaltz, Inc. for several years. Mr. Schmaltz received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colby College. After 28 years as a Colby Trustee, he is now a Trustee Emeritus. Mr. Schmaltz serves on the board of the Spring Island Trust, as well as the board of the Spring Island Property Owners’ Association (SIPOA). He currently resides in Rowayton, Connecticut and Spring Island, SC and has been married to his wife, Joan, for 46 years.

Harriet Smartt

Harriet has been a resident of the Charleston area for the past 14 years, having previously lived in Fairfax, VA where she was a career consultant in the Career Center at George Mason University. She and her husband, Dick moved to the area because of the natural beauty here, and the thriving arts community. Since living in the Lowcountry her interests have been in the realm of volunteerism and advocacy for the visual/cultural arts, and grassroots political activism related to the arts and environmental concerns. Currently Harriet is on the Board for the Carolina Arts Association (the Gibbes Museum) the Advisory Board at the Halsey Institute, the Arts Council at the School of the Arts at the College of Charleston and the SC Arts Alliance. Harriet completed a MA in Higher Education at VPI with a focus on career counseling. She enjoys the opportunity to provide pro bono counseling to those seeking information about job change and resume development. Her personal interests are in politics, reading, and collecting interesting music for my various listening devices. Harriet joined the CCL Board in 2009.

Stan Stevens

Stan Stevens was a partner at Sidley Austin, LLP in Chicago, IL.  A University of Chicago Law School graduate, Stan has been a successful lawyer and partner at many RealEstate Law Firms in Chicago.  In 2005 he was named one of Lawdragon Magazine’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America.   Stan has been a member of the Visiting Committee of University of Chicago Law School (since 2007), OaktonCommunity College Educational Foundation, and served on the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center advisory board.  Stan spends his time between Chicago and Charleston.

John Thompson

John Thompson spent twenty-five years as an investment banker in New York before retiring to write full time. He lives with his wife and daughter and divides his time between Charleston, S.C., and a mountain home in Hawley, Pa.  Thompson is actively involved in his local community and serves on a number of non-profit boards. In those capacities, he has chaired the board of one of the nation’s leading children’s hospitals and served as interim headmaster of a private school. He currently serves as Chairman of the Charleston Education Network. He chairs the Investment Committee for the Medical University of South Carolina Foundation and serves on its Executive Committee, and he is on the National Advisory Board of Donors Choose, a charity selected by Amazon.com in 2005 as America’s Most Innovative Non-Profit

Bill Turner

Since graduating from The University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, Bill has worked in both insurance and more recently in commercial banking at NBSC.    Bill is a partner at Folbot, an innovative kayak manufacturer that constructs foldable, portable kayaks. He enjoys boating, golfing, hunting and more recently, kayaking.

Victoria C. Verity

Born and raised in Lake Forest, Illinois, Vicki majored in Biology at Sweet Briar College. She has served on the Women’s Board of the Chicago Botanic Garden and on the Board of the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. After 38 years of banking, she and her husband moved to Beaufort in 2005. Vicki joined the Board of CCL in 2007. She also serves as President of the Board of Directors for Friends of Caroline Hospice.