Board of Directors
Meet our Board
At the heart of our organization is a dedicated Board of Directors, a group of passionate individuals committed to making a positive impact on the lives of these exceptional children. Get to know the inspiring individuals who lead KIND of the Upstate, steering us towards a brighter and more inclusive future for all.
Anna Kate Brown
Anna Kate graduated from Presbyterian College in 1997 with a degree in elementary education, specializing in early childhood education. She earned a masters in elementary education from Furman University in 2000 and is currently enrolled in Clemson University, set to graduate in the spring (2024) with a masters in literacy. She taught kindergarten in Greenville County Schools for 8 years before “retiring” to be home with her children. In the 15 years she was home, she spent her free time volunteering and serving on local nonprofit boards and the PTAs/PTSAs of her children’s schools. Once her children were older, Anne Kate went back to teaching and is currently in her 4th year teaching kindergarten at Westminster Weekday School. She is married to Will and has 3 children: Beau, Lucy Mac, and Mary Dot.
KIND is important to her for both personal and professional reasons. Her two younger brothers were diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome as young children in the early 1980s, and her experiences growing up as their big sister led her to teaching. The very first KIND Days were held at the school where she now teaches. No matter what your age or ability, the importance of being KIND is one of the most important lessons to learn.
Carmen Hancock
Carmen graduated from the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2009. She then worked as a Registered Nurse in Hematology Oncology at Emory University Hospital. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing from Augusta University in 2013. Professionally, she is a Family Nurse Practitioner with oncology certification and has spent her career taking care of adults with cancer. She has more recently enjoyed focusing on cancer prevention and survivorship at the Center for Integrative Oncology and Survivorship at Prisma Health. She loves the patient education and wellness promotion aspects of her role as a nurse practitioner.
Carmen and her husband, Thomas, are high school sweethearts. They moved from Atlanta to Greenville in 2016 when expecting their first child. They have two sons, Alden and Nolan, and are expecting a daughter in 2025.
Carmen started volunteering with Kind of the Upstate in 2023 and has loved each opportunity to teach about kindness, disabilities, and inclusion. She feels that we should strive to be kind to others in our communities, be accepting of differences as this is what makes us great, and lend an inclusive hand to all. She has realized this is even more important since becoming a mom and wants to instill these lessons in her own children. She is grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Board to further this mission.
Rebecca Huntington
Rebecca was born and raised in Huntington, WV. She attended Marshall University where she double majored in Psychology and Spanish. After graduation, she spent a year studying and working in Valparaiso, Chile. Upon her return to the states she enrolled in the University of South Carolina School of Law, graduating in 2012.
Rebecca began practicing law in Charlotte, North Carolina where she met her now husband, Will, who was completing residency there.
Rebecca and Will moved to Greenville in 2016 and are proud to call the city home. They have two children, Mason and Emma. Rebecca has paused her law practice to devote herself to her family and volunteer efforts, like KIND, that help young people learn to make the world a better place.
Candice Hipp
Candice holds a master’s degree in health administration from the Medical University of South Carolina and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Wofford College. She worked in the health care field for 10 years and found a passion for establishing new innovative population health models that focused on improving the overall health of upstate communities. Candice has served on the KIND Board since 2021.
Candice’s sister, Caroline Giguere, is a co-founder of KIND and her son, Candice’s nephew, Row, is the reason why she is driven to support KIND’s mission. Candice has three children and believes that introducing kindness, acceptance and inclusion of people with disabilities at a young age can provide lifelong benefits. Candice enjoys teaching KIND’s curriculum and seeing the positive impact made on the children served.
Laura Johnson
Laura Johnson, who is originally from Aiken, SC, graduated from Clemson University with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Georgia State with a Masters in Business Administration. She has worked at GE (now GE Vernova) for the last 17 years in various operational and business transformation roles and is currently a Services Executive. Laura, her husband Whit, and their three children moved to establish roots in Greenville three years ago.
Laura’s youngest child, Beckett, has Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome). When Beckett was born in 2020, it opened up a whole new world to Laura and her family. Beckett is an adventurous, playful, loving, and kind 4 year old boy. His sister says, “to have a hug from Beckett makes you come alive”. Laura wants the world to be able to experience the joy of inclusion and friendship with those with disabilities, which is exactly what KIND is all about.
Julia Mowlajko
Julia was born and raised in Charleston,SC. She and her husband Andy (originally from Anderson) ahave lived in Greenville for 9 years. They have 2 daughters, Emory 7 and Palmer 4. They both went to Clemson, followed by MUSC. Julia has been a nurse for 12 years and currently works as a nurse at Prisma in the operating room.
Julia had an incredible friend growing up named Elizabeth who had a physical disability. While her physical disability worsened over time, her love for life and adventure never stopped. Julia credits Elizabeth’s family for encouraging Elizabeth to do all sorts of activities.. Sometimes in a different way or with a little extra help but if Elizabeth wanted to do it, Julia and family always found a way to make it possible. As they got older, Julia even learned to drive her wheelchair accessible van around Charleston for many adventures. To Julia, this is what KIND is, Kids including and nurturing disabilities and this is what she hopes to share with her own children and community through KIND. Julia’s friend, Elizabeth, taught me that with an open heart and an open mind a friendship to last a lifetime can grow no matter what differences we have. This is something Julia hopes all children can learn.
Leah Stoudenmire
Leah Stoudenmire, The Rock It! Co.’s Founder and CEO, started her advertising career in Greenville in 2002 when the University of South Carolina graduate started her first post college job with advertising giant, Erwin Penland. As CEO of her full service marketing boutique, she wears multiple hats from steering the company’s mission and vision, spearhead client strategies, drive new business acquisitions, and oversee operations, finance, marketing, and sales.
Being asked to serve on the KIND board was not only an honor but truly an answered prayer for Leah. If you think about it, if you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, it would be KINDNESS, and that’s exactly what KIND of the Upstate strives for. And the fact that KIND promotes inclusion and acceptance of all individuals with special abilities was relatable to me for several reasons and truly touched Leah’s heart.
Ellen Wilson
Ellen was born and raised in Spartanburg, SC. She graduated from Presbyterian College in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education. She also received my Masters of Education in Classroom Leadership from Southern Wesleyan University in 2019.
She has been an elementary school teacher for 14 years and is passionate about children’s literature. She thinks it’s the best way to open a child’s eyes to the beauty of the world around us. She loves educating others about inclusion through the pages of the beautiful books KIND has chosen to implement in the programs. She loves creating the lesson plans used on KIND days, which include content study, games, discussion questions, and loads of fun!
She and her husband, Mahon, have two daughters. Mary Hazel is 4 years old and Sarah is one and a half years old.
We Need Your Help
KIND of the Upstate is a registered South Carolina 501(c)(3) non profit organization. 100% of your donation goes towards our mission and is tax-deductible to the extent of the law.