Our Team

Georgia Mjartan

Executive Director

As the Executive Director of South Carolina First Steps and the Early Childhood Advisory Council, Georgia is linking public, private and nonprofit systems to ensure whole families are supported in their efforts to become successful in school, work and life.

Laura Baker

Communications Coordinator

Laura supports communications and public affairs needs to help fulfill the ECAC.

Mark Barnes

Director of Administration

Mark oversees all finances and operations of South Carolina First Steps, the convener of the ECAC.

Roddrick Dugger

Evaluation Coordinator

Dr. Dugger serves as the Evaluation Coordinator for the Early Childhood Advisory Council and South Carolina First Steps Local Partnership teams.

Rachal Hatton-Moore

Two-Generation Coordinator

Rachal serves as the state-level lead for South Carolina in the Two-Generation role by coordinating cross-agency work, system-wide adoption of policies, programs and approaches that benefit whole families, specifically young children and the adults in their lives.

Myrelo King

Data Governance Coordinator

Myrelo is a collaborative team member who successfully leads groups and effectively communicates to various audiences and stakeholders.

Beth Moore

Communications Director

Beth leads the development and implementation of communication strategies that inform and engage constituents and stakeholders of the ECAC. She oversees all communication activities, including media relations, public affairs, and digital outreach.

Karen Oliver

Program Manager

Karen manages the Council’s grant-funded activities, provides information about the early childhood state system to policymakers and leaders, and facilitates and monitors progress toward state early childhood system goals.

Chelsea Richard

Director of Research and Strategy

Through collaborative research and evaluation, strategic planning and performance measurement, and data infrastructure and capacity building, Dr. Richard leads meaning making and storytelling that gives people the tools to understand and address the needs of our state’s youngest citizens, their caregivers and communities. 

Kaitlyn Richards

Government Affairs Liaison

Kaitlyn monitors and analyzes bills, regulations, and research on early childhood state systems and educates policymakers on issues related to South Carolina’s babies, children, and their families.

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