Danny is a Pickens County native and a 1977 Graduate of Clemson University. He started Century 21 YoungbloodCompany in 1978, grew it into five offices with over 200 agents in Upstate South Carolina, and sold it in 1998. He started Youngblood Development in 1981 and has developed over 40 residential communities plus several commercial and medical properties. He is currently the chairman of Youngblood Corporation.

Danny serves on the Tri County Tech Foundation Board. He previously served on the Clemson Board of Visitors, is past president of South Carolina Association of Realtors, and was the founding chairman of Alliance Pickens.

Most importantly he is married to Lynn Youngblood, has four children and three grandchildren.

John Adams is the Pastor of First Baptist Church, Easley since 2001. He has served churches in North Carolina,  Virginia, and Texas. He married the love of his life, Donna, in 1983. They are immensely and incredibly blessed with a son, Joshua and his wife, Alexa.

John graduated from Furman University (B.A., 1983) Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1986), and Baylor University (Ph.D., 1994). His academic pursuit has been to understand the variegated movement of evangelicalism in America. He not only studies evangelical movement in America (and beyond); he lives within this movement every day as a Pastor.

He has taught as adjunct faculty at Furman University, Gardner-Webb Divinity School, and, for the last thirteen years, at Anderson University in their Master’s Program in Christian Studies (History of Christianity).

His calling is to serve the church as a Pastor and to invite everyone to the banquet table of Jesus Christ.

John Adams is a (mostly) retired advertising executive. He wrote, produced and directed hundreds of television commercials for national and international clients, including Nike, Pepsi, McDonald’s, Lexus, Home Depot and many others. In addition to his career in advertising, Adams taught at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, The Portfolio Center and The Creative Circus. He is the winner of numerous industry awards, including the Cannes Lion.

Adams is a native of Virginia, and grew up on a farm in the Appalachian Mountains in the western corner of the state. His family has lived and worked on the farm since the 1700s. He attended The College of William & Mary, where he studied English and Business.

Education has been a foundational part of his life, and Adams counts many teachers among his immediate family and colleagues. He continues to mentor his former students, and continues his own education, attending Oxford University classes each September.

Carlos Avila retired in January 2024 as Director of Accenture’s (NYSE: ACN) Cybersecurity Practice, where he advised (CSOs, CISOs, and CROs, etc.) on improving cybersecurity posture. His expertise spans Cyber Strategy, Protection, Resilience, IAM, Cross-Border Data Transfer, 3rd Party Risk, Cost Optimization, Adversary Simulation, and Managed Security Services. He supported some of Accenture’s largest customers, including Johnson Controls, 3M, and Rockwell Automation.

Previously, Avila was a global EVP at GroupSense (2019-2022), guiding C-Suite executives at Small-Cap companies through cyberattack recovery and resilience. He helped achieve a 95% customer renewal rate and advised the Board on strategy and market opportunities.

His earlier career included leadership roles at Wesco, AT&T, and Cassidian Communications (now Motorola Solutions), where he gained expertise in public safety tech, consumer services, and network infrastructure.

A passionate mentor, Avila has served on the Boards of Inner City Impact and the American Cancer Society and mentored underserved students and young Latino professionals. A U.S. citizen born in Guatemala, he embraces his Latino heritage and fosters inclusive work environments.

He and his wife, Nancy, have four children and split time between Fort Worth, TX, and Salem, SC.

Mac’s 32 year career at IBM included several key roles including the CTO and VP for IBM’s Advanced Innovation and Emerging Technology Division as well as the IBM Executive for Clemson University and MIT.

Mac is an accomplished speaker and author on a wide variety of topics but is best known for his expertise in Cloud Computing and the Internet of Things.

In 2006, Mac gained the designation of IBM Master Inventor and in 2009 he was appointed to IBM’s prestigious Academy of Technology. In 2016, Mac gained IBM’s highest technical recognition with his appointment as IBM Fellow. Mac retired from IBM in August 2021 to become the Executive Director of the Blue Ridge Innovation & Entrepreneurship Foundation (BRIEF) that provides technical training and career guidance to underprivileged kids in the SC Upstate.

Mac lives in Clemson, SC with his wife Karen and has two grown sons. Wes, 35 years old, who is a satellite communications specialist with TriSept Corporation, a private contractor for Space Force, and lives in Raleigh, NC. Scott, 29 years old, who is the Chief Operations Officer of Glitch which helps small businesses optimize their operational expenses and also lives in Clemson SC with his wife Kaylee.

Lauren is the President of the Upstate Education + Opportunity Foundation and the Director of Community Engagement for the School District of Pickens County. She collaborates with leaders throughout the Upstate to drive transformational educational growth, research, and community engagement.

Before transitioning into to K-12 education, Lauren worked for Clemson University to support the implementation of its strategic plan, Clemson Elevate. Prior to relocating to the Upstate, she spent 13 years at the University of Notre Dame in a variety of roles that helped further its mission to “Be a Force for Good in the World.”

Lauren’s educational journey has been enriched by diverse experiences across multiple institutions. She studied at Franciscan University of Steubenville, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and internationally in Gaming, Austria before earning her degree from Indiana University.

She serves on the boards of the Easley Chamber of Commerce and is a graduate of Leadership Pickens Cohort XXXIII.

Lauren and her husband, Joel, are high school sweethearts and have four young children - Charlotte, Finn, Stella, and Henry. Their family enjoys spending time outdoors and embracing the incredible natural beauty of South Carolina.

Karla Kelley brings a diverse background in human capital, organizational leadership, and community advocacy to her role on the Upstate Education and Innovation Foundation Board. Since 2018, she has served on the Board of Trustees for the School District of Pickens County, where she is currently Vice Chair. In this capacity, she has championed initiatives that improved student achievement, strengthened teacher support, and expanded engagement with community and business partners.

She also serves as Regional Director of the South Carolina School Boards Association for Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens Counties. Beyond education, Karla has served on the CREW Network Steering Committee, the Red Cross Regional Board, and the Advisory Council for South Carolina DSS, and the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA).

Since 2005, Karla has been Executive Vice President of Complete Commercial Solutions, a multi-state facility services company supporting commercial entities across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The company provides environmental services, industrial services, renovations, staffing, and non-core process management, allowing clients to focus on core operations.

In her free time, Karla enjoys running, yoga, golf, and “grand-dog sitting” for her adult children.

Jim Liddle, with a background in aerospace leadership, joined Clemson University in 2015 following over two decades in the aerospace industry. He held a key position as division President at a division of Transdigm, a manufacturer of highly engineered aerospace components.

He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration. His expertise spans leadership, business strategy, operations, purchasing, quality management, and negotiation. Mr. Liddle played pivotal roles in multiple M&A due diligence processes and successfully relocated an aviation ignition system business to South Carolina.

He’s been a member of multiple boards including the Aviation Distributors and Manufacturers Association and the YMCA of Pickens County, SC. He currently serves on the Board of Registration and Elections of Pickens County, SC and the Advocacy and Engagement Board for the Powers College of Business at Clemson University.

Derek is the principal and co-founder of Lakenorth Investment Group, a boutique financial services firm based in Six Mile.

A 2008 graduate of Baylor University, he earned his CFP® certification in 2016.

As Pickens County residents with two children in local schools, Derek and his wife, Lauren, are deeply committed to cultivating lifelong opportunity for our region’s youth by investing in their education.

Dr. Danny Merck is in his 34th year as an educator in South Carolina and has served as Superintendent of the School District of Pickens County (SDPC) for 11 years. Under his leadership, SDPC has achieved historic milestones, including record-high graduation rates, competitive teacher pay, the elimination of teacher shortages, and nationally recognized academic and career readiness programs.

A champion of leadership through service, Dr. Merck fosters a Winsome Culture built on trust, joy, and continuous improvement. His inverted pyramid leadership model ensures that all 2,100 SDPC employees are supported in their mission to serve over 16,000 students. He has established leadership development programs such as SDPC’s Leadership Academy to prepare future school and district leaders.

Following a 2018 education leadership trip to Finland, Dr. Merck cultivated a global partnership with the University of Oulu, bringing innovative teacher training, leadership development, and instructional best practices to SDPC. He has also been instrumental in workforce development, collaborating with local industries to provide students with career training, internships, and certifications.

Dr. Merck has served on the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee, engaged in national superintendent dialogues, and led SDPC’s advancements in technology, including a countywide fiber network and a top-tier virtual learning infrastructure. His leadership ensured one of the highest in person instruction rates in the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He holds a B.A. in Business Economics from Wofford College, an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University, and a Superintendent Certification from Clemson University. He and his wife, Suzanne, live in Norris, SC, and have four children: a teacher, a nurse, a University of Oklahoma football player, and a Presbyterian College soccer player.

With a passion for servant leadership and student success, Dr. Merck continues to shape the future of education in Pickens County and beyond.

Amy has led marketing and communications at flagship universities and for Global Fortune 500 companies. At Vianovo, she counsels management teams, boards, and public leaders on strategy, brand positioning, communications campaigns, media engagement, issue management, and crisis response.

Amy previously served as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Clemson and, before that at Texas A&M. Her time at each university contributed to record-breaking brand awareness, enrollment demand, media engagement, student success, fundraising, and research grants.

Earlier in her career, Amy held leadership roles at companies in the defense and technology sectors, serving as vice president at Raytheon (now RTX), a Fortune 100 company, and at Invensys plc, a U.K. FTSE 100/Fortune 500 company.

In 2004, Amy served a one-year appointment at the U.S. Department of Defense as Director of Communications for the U.S. Army’s Program Management Office in Iraq, for which she was awarded the Joint Civilian Meritorious Medal.

Amy is a guest lecturer at Columbia Journalism School and serves on the boards of the Legacy Mission, a nonprofit that creates hopeful videos for those facing illnesses at no charge to families, and the Washington Political Film Foundation, a nonpartisan organization which serves to advance the cause of civil discourse through the medium of film.

Amy earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Clemson University, a Master of International Management from Thunderbird Global Graduate School, a Master of Public Service Administration at Texas A&M University, and a Channels-to-Market certificate from Harvard Business School.

Dr. Swords, a lifelong Pickens County resident and Liberty High School graduate, is the President and CEO of the Easley Chamber of Commerce. He spent over 32 years in higher education, most recently as Vice President for Enrollment Management and Interim Vice President of Operations at Southern Wesleyan University, where he led restructuring efforts that saved over $1 million annually, increased student retention, and launched the university’s first early college program and a dual-degree partnership with Clemson University.

Before retiring from Tri-County Technical College after 29 years, Swords served as Executive Director of Campuses, Training Centers, and Online Programs. He expanded the college’s reach by establishing satellite campuses in Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens counties and led the development of an Enterprise Campus to support economic growth.

In addition to leading the Easley Chamber, Swords is a Professor of Education and Business in Southern Wesleyan University’s Graduate School and has taught at Clemson and Anderson universities. He remains active in the Community Colleges of Appalachia Association and serves on numerous boards, including Leadership South Carolina, Leadership Pickens County, and the National Association of Computer Forensics Examiners. He previously served as chairman of the Easley Chamber and was elected to three terms on the Pickens County School Board.

Dr. Swords holds degrees from Southern Wesleyan and Clemson University, including a doctorate in Higher Education Leadership. He completed post-doctoral work at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s School of Government.

He resides in Liberty with his two adopted sons and is a member of Newspring Church in Powdersville.