2023 Panelist

GREG BARABELL, MD

Clear Bell Solutions

SC Office of Rural Health

Dr. Greg Barabell is founder and co-principal of Clear Bell Solutions, a South Carolina consulting company focused on identifying improvements for payment, policy, and practice in healthcare. A native (now reformed) New Yorker, Greg moved in Charleston in 2007 for a pediatric residency at the Medical University of South Carolina. During his residency, he was tapped by the SC Medicaid Director to serve as a clinician consultant, clinically interpreting state and federal policy for the statewide Medicaid network of both patients and providers. He also co-chairs the SC Department of Health & Environmental Control’s Pediatric Advisory Council and serves as a board member for the SC Health Information Exchange. Dr. Barabell also previously served as the Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer for Select Health of South Carolina, a Medicaid Managed Care Organization.

Dr. Barabell dedicates 25% of his time to work on a national scale with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). He is currently the board chair of the AAP’s Payment Advocacy Advisory Council, which has been charged with improving the payment environment and strengthening reimbursement initiatives of AAP committees. His most significant project is building an advocacy platform for AAP state chapters to work more closely with their state Medicaid departments. He is the lead co-author on several AAP publications, including the “Medicaid Policy Statement” and “Guiding Principles for Value Based Payment Reforms.” Greg is excited to interact with the movers and shakers of the low country to make a direct impact on the well-being of our friends and community. Please contact him at greg.barabell@clearbellsolutions.com or set up a phone call through https://calendly.com/clearbell/30min to collectively move the needle.

JASON BRUDER

Chairman, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC)

Captain, Charleston Police Department

Captain Jason Bruder graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Long Island University with a Master of Science in Homeland Security Management. He is also a graduate of the 62nd Session of the Administrative Offices Management Program and the 279th Session of the FBI National Academy. Captain Bruder completed the SC Police Corps in 2002 and started with the Charleston Police Department assigned to Team 1. As a Lieutenant, Captain Bruder served as a Patrol Commander for Team 4 (West Ashley) and Team 3 (James & Johns Islands) and as Chief of Staff in the Office of the Chief of Police. Captain Bruder has commanded the Special Operations Division and is currently the commander of the Patrol Division. In addition to his primary duties, he is also a member of the Police Executive Research Forum and the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing. He is also an NIJ/IACP Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholar. He has been active with the CJCC since 2016 and assumed the role of chair in 2020.

JENNIFER BRUSH, LPC, CPM

Executive Director

Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center

Jennifer has been the Executive Director of the Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center (CDMHC) for 5 years. CDMHC is currently the largest of the 16 outpatient mental health centers run by the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. CDMHC provides mental health treatment and psychiatric services to over 10,000 children and adult patients annually and has numerous innovative and evidenced based treatment programs and community partnerships, including three (soon to be 4) 24/7 emergency jail, emergency department, and hospital diversion programs.

Jennifer has been employed with the Charleston Dorchester Mental Health for 29 years. As a treatment provider, her focus for many years was with children and families as she began her career in School Mental Health before moving into a variety of management and leadership roles. She holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Counseling from Old Dominion University, has been a Licensed Professional Counselor for 24 years and holds a Certified Public Manager Credential for SC.

KRISTY DANFORD, MPA

Criminal Justice Chair

The Charleston Forum

Kristy Pierce Danford served as Director for the Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) from its inception in 2015 through 2022. Previously, she served as a probation and parole agent in SC, court administrator in CT, and as a Senior Associate with the Crime and Justice Institute, a national nonprofit working with local, state and national organizations to improve public safety and the delivery of justice. She holds a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Urban Affairs from the College of Charleston and a Bachelor of Science degree from Charleston Southern University.

JENNIFER DEWITT

Chief Community Programs Officer

Lowcountry Food Bank

Jennifer DeWitt serves as Chief Community Programs Officer at the Lowcountry Food Bank (LCFB). She oversees community-based programs which aim to address the root causes of hunger and food insecurity, providing opportunities to create indigenous solutions that empower individuals, families, and communities. She uses program evaluation and data collection findings to identify gaps in service areas from which she implements innovative programming. Jennifer also leads child hunger, nutrition, food and health, and senior and veterans’ meals initiatives, including community and school partnerships with the goal of implementing program models to reach neighbors where they are. Jennifer actively engages as a member of the LCFB Executive Team, Disaster Response Team, Advocacy Committee, SC Anti-Hunger Coalition, SC Food is Medicine, and with the LCFB Board of Directors, donors, and other key stakeholders.

ASHLEY HINK, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Division of Trauma, Burn & Surgical Critical Care
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)

Ashley Hink is a trauma, burn and critical care surgeon at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, SC. She is a public health and injury prevention researcher, with a focus on understanding risk factors for violence, firearm violence epidemiology, and healthcare and community-based violence intervention strategies. She is an invited member of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT) Injury Prevention & Control Committee and the Improving the Social Determinants to Attenuate Violence (I-SAVE) work group, participating with research and advocacy efforts to propagate trauma informed care, investment in social care, and violence intervention efforts in trauma centers. She is the founder and medical director of the MUSC Turning the Tide Violence Intervention Program (MUSC TTVIP), the first hospital-based violence intervention program (HVIP) in South Carolina.

DR. MERVIN JENKINS, PhD

Founder

Life Thru Music

Dr. Mervin Jenkins, also known as Spectac, is an author, entertainer, and lifelong educator whose work has landed him an NPR interview and a seat at the table in the 2014 Barack Obama White House as a participant in the My Brothers Keeper Initiative. For almost three decades, he has served as a teacher, school administrator, assistant director for a national nonprofit, and senior manager in the ed tech arena. Dr. Jenkins’ love for music has afforded him the opportunity to work with Grammy-nominated hip-hop artists and producers. In 2023 Dr. Jenkins wrote and published his first book titled, “Before They Leave Here, While They Are with Us” and is currently completing his latest book, “To the Beat of Leadership: A Story of high and Low Notes”.

Dr. Jenkins founded Life Thru Music to help fuel his purpose in both education and music by delivering workshops centered around positive school-community outreach and development. He lives on Johns Island in his native state of South Carolina, with his wife, Chiffon.

EDWARD “THOMAS” LEWIS III, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)

Dr. Edward Thomas Lewis III is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). He completed his medical school and residency training in general psychiatry at MUSC as well. He then went on to complete an addiction psychiatry fellowship and a forensic psychiatry fellowship. He is triple boarded in adult general psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, and forensic psychiatry.

In his current role, Dr. Lewis is the attending physician on the addictions inpatient unit at the MUSC Institute of Psychiatry, where he oversees treatment including detox from substances, acute crisis stabilization, and management of co-occurring mental health concerns. He also serves as the forensic psychiatry fellowship director at MUSC. Dr. Lewis has been recognized as an expert witness in forensic psychiatry by the South Carolina court of general sessions. He conducts forensic evaluations and has provided psychiatric treatment to inmates within the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

Dr. Lewis is involved in organizational psychiatry. He is a South Carolina Representative on the American Psychiatric Association Assembly and a national membership committee member. Dr. Lewis is a past President of the South Carolina Psychiatric Association, the only state-wide association for psychiatric physicians in South Carolina, representing over 400 members.

CRAIG LOGAN

Housing Executive Fellow

Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce

Craig Logan is a transformative grassroots leader, speaker, and consultant from Greenwood, SC. He obtained a B.S. in Sociology from Charleston Southern University and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Project Management and Leadership from Charleston Southern University. He currently leads the housing initiatives as the Housing Executive Fellow for the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. While serving as the housing fellow Craig is building the Regional Housing Coalition. The goal of the coalition is to engage in a tri-county initiative working with 30 municipalities throughout the Charleston, Dorchester, and Berkeley region to champion policy around and the development of attainable housing.

Craig serves as the vice president for the Chicora neighborhood association, project development committee chair for the Community First Land Trust, a commissioner for the North Charleston Housing Authority, and serves on the Charleston County Housing Steering Committee. Craig has worked with nonprofits like Metanoia, Children's Defense Fund, and the International Children’s March. He is a co-founder of Basketball after Dark, a grassroots organization providing mentorship, skills training, and a safe place for youth to engage during late-night hours. He spends his spare time with family and friends. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

DR. TONYA MATTHEWS, PhD

President and CEO

International African American Museum (IAAM)

Dr. Tonya M. Matthews is a thought-leader in institutionalized equity and inclusion frameworks, social entrepreneurship, and the intersectionality of formal and informal education. Her background as both poet and engineer have made her a highly sought-after visioning partner on boards and community building projects, as well as a frequent public speaker and presenter for communities across all ages and venues.

A non-profit executive leadership veteran, Dr. Matthews is currently President and CEO of the International African American Museum (IAAM) located in Charleston, SC at the historically sacred site of Gadsden’s Wharf, one of our nation’s most prolific former slave ports. IAAM is a champion of authentic, empathetic storytelling of American history and thus, one of the nation’s newest platforms for the disruption of institutionalized racism as America continues the walk toward “a more perfect union.”

Dr. Matthews has storied career in leadership. Most recently, she served as Associate Provost for Inclusive Workforce Development & Director of the STEM Innovation Learning Center for Wayne State University and, prior to that, as the President & CEO of the Michigan Science Center – flexing her science and tech educational equity chops in both roles. Dr. Matthews credits her time at Wayne State University for a deeper understanding of the intersectionality of education, career, community agency, and self-efficacy which she refers to as the “pre-K through Gray” pipeline. While at the Michigan Science Center, she founded The STEMinista Project, a movement to engage girls in their future with STEM careers and tools. She continues this work today through STEMinista Rising, supporting professional women in STEM – and the colleagues who champion them – with an inclusive emphasis on women of color.

Dr. Matthews’ dedication to community and her accomplishments is widely recognized. She was noted as one of the Most Influential Women in Charleston (Charleston Business Magazine, 2021) and honored as Trailblazer by Career Mastered Magazine (2017). She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Science Education and was appointed by both Democratic and Republican administrations to the National Assessment Governing Board. Dr. Matthews is a published poet, included in 100 Best African American Poems (2010) edited by Nikki Giovanni, and has written several articles and book chapters on inclusive governance, non-profit management, and fundraising.

Dr. Matthews received her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and her B.S.E. in biomedical and electrical engineering from Duke University, alongside a certificate in African/African American Studies. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and The Links, Inc. Dr. Matthews is a native of Washington, D.C. and, in each community she has settled, is known for planting roots on the side of town best for keeping an eye on progress.

KEITH SMALLS

Co-Vice Chair, CJCC
Founder & Executive Director

My Community's Keeper Mentor Group

ELLEN STEINBERG, JD

Director

Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC)

Ellen S. Steinberg is the Director of the Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) and Project Director of the Safety and Justice Challenge grant.

She was a founding member of the CJCC and served as vice chairwoman before becoming the Director of the CJCC in August 2022.

Prior to this, Ellen was a Charleston County Magistrate Judge for nine years where she presided over both civil and criminal cases.

While serving as a Magistrate, North Charleston, South Carolina was reported to have the highest number of evictions in the country. In response to this, she helped launched the first Housing Court in South Carolina which has now been expanded to all counties in South Carolina. The Housing Court provides representation for tenants in eviction cases.

Ellen began her legal career as an assistant public defender representing juveniles in Family Court and then an assistant solicitor prosecuting domestic violence cases. She holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and a JD from South Texas at Houston Law School. She is licensed to practice law in both Texas and South Carolina. Ellen also serves on the boards of the State Alzheimer’s Association, Florence Crittenton, and the Hadassah Foundation.