Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts Board of Visitors

The Edwards College, under the direction of Dean Claudia Bornholdt, has been expanding and enriching the Board of Visitors (BOV) membership over the past two years. These highly valued alumni and community leaders participate in philanthropy, program and event planning, and decision-making related to community involvement in the life of the College. Learn more about these Edwards College insiders below.

Our Members

• Chair: Brett Porterfield
• Vice Chair: Amy Hall
• Treasurer: Richard Trout
• Timothy Bardlavens
• Linda Fry
• Sally Anne Kaiser
• Joyce Karetas
• Page Kiniry
• Rosemary Jenrette
• Henrietta Malizia
• Penny Martin
• Lineta Pritchard
• Patrice Reynolds
• Michelle Russo
• JouJou Safa
• Amber Nicole White

Edwards College Representatives

Board Of Visitors Insiders Spotlight

Brett Porterfield

Brett Porterfield is a native of Columbia, South Carolina.  He is a 2003 graduate of Spring Valley High School and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Coastal Carolina University in 2007. At Coastal Carolina, Brett was a member of the Inaugural Football Team.  He was a multiyear Letterman, Three-Time Big South Conference Football Champion and Two-Time All-Academic Team while playing offensive line for Coastal Carolina.  

Brett is currently employed as a process manager. He has been employed in the information technology field for 15 years. He is a certified scrum master and product owner and holds a certificate in project management from the University of South Carolina.

Brett is a Golden Life Member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and currently is a member of the Beta Chi Sigma Alumni Chapter.  He is a charter member of the Beta Beta Iota Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma at Coastal Carolina University. He has served as the South Carolina State Director and Treasurer of the Southeastern Region of Phi Beta Sigma. He is a past president and current treasurer of the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Columbia.

Brett is an active member of Zion Pilgrim Baptist Church serving as a church officer. His other affiliations include being a mentor for Develop Carolina apprenticeship program, a master mason with Steele Creek Lodge #737 and a Shriner. Brett is an active member of the Coastal Carolina Alumni Association and Black Alumni Chapter of CCU.

Amy Hall

Alumni Amy Hall (’00) made a splash on campus when she returned in 2019 to speak to students as a graduate of the visual arts program, a business owner, and a film producer. That year, Hall established the Amy Hall Student and Alumni Program fund in Visual Arts with a gift to the Edwards College to promote future interaction between alumni and current students, in addition to joining the Edwards College Board of Visitors.

Hall is president of The Barber Shop Marketing, a full-service advertising and marketing agency. She lives in Dallas with her husband and two children, and she’s happy to have re-connected in a meaningful way with the college and the university.

“My time at CCU was so wonderful,” said Hall. “It has been so nice to reconnect and become involved and help the next generation. I have been able to speak to students, impact scholarships and fundraising for the collage, and mentor a former student.”

Hall is particularly dedicated to ensuring the perpetuation of giving and support of current and future students.

“I am finally in a place in my personal and professional life where I have time and resources to give back,” said Hall. “I would like to see the board grow and be able to accumulate the resources to keep increasing scholarship funds available to students.”

For more information on Hall, read her profile in the Tapestry Spring 2020 cover story.

Lineta Pritchard

Lineta Pritchard, who has been active in the Myrtle Beach-area education and business communities for more than four decades, joined the Edwards College Board of Visitors in 2015 and was elected BOV chair in 2017.

Pritchard’s professional background includes writing and editing for The Sun News, where she worked as features editor and stepped into the role of metro editor in 1989, the day before Hurricane Hugo hit the Grand Strand. However, many know Pritchard best as the woman who brought Ben & Jerry’s to the area, as Pritchard became a franchisee in 1995 and operated the first shop at Broadway at the Beach for ten years before selling the business to retire.

Pritchard’s other community roles include former board member of the Grand Strand Family YMCA; graduate of Leadership Grand Strand; board chair of the Franklin G. Burroughs/Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum; and vestry member of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Conway.

Pritchard’s ties to Coastal Carolina University run deep as well, having always had an interest in the arts. She appeared in two theater productions at Wheelwright Auditorium and enrolled her children in CCU’s summer arts programs, in addition to enrolling in a teacher training class for Writing Across the Curriculum to learn how to facilitate more writing in public schools.

When then-Edwards College Dean Dan Ennis invited Pritchard to join the BOV in 2015, she agreed for several reasons.

“I was curious about how much Coastal was beginning to soar as a prestigious educational institution and I wanted to know more.  I was eager to know firsthand about the research and creative opportunities offered to students and expose myself to what the Edwards College had as its goals in drama, music, art and try to be part of it. And I have not been disappointed!”

Over the past five years, Pritchard has reaped many benefits from her association with the College.

“I have learned much from Dr. Ennis and our dean, Dr. Bornholdt, as well as the staff supporting their efforts in philanthropy and special events, like the Legally Blonde production/ fundraiser and the efforts to re-energize the naming of audience seats in the Recital Hall.  I have finally learned my way around campus;  I am overjoyed with the reports from our summer abroad students sharing the ways this opportunity has made a difference in their lives; and I am particularly pleased to have developed personal connections and relationships with other board members, staff and faculty.  I especially enjoyed serving on the College Search Committee for a new dean.”

This BOV member is not nearly finished with her leadership role. In fact, her goals range far into the future.

“One goal that I have for our BOV is helping to grow the interest and passion for Coastal Carolina University within the Myrtle Beach community — both the businesses and the residents.  We look to these people and their resources for financial support through the year,  but do we work hard enough on showcasing to those same supporters what we are doing on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to make a difference in the real world?  Do we effectively invite these supporters to see our innovative programs each semester? Do we entertain them in their own neighborhoods with our performers, musicians and artists? Do we engage them in a way that inspires them to want to know more about our award winning alumni and how they got there? Do they have a sense of pride about what the Edwards College is doing in their own back yard? That’s something I would like to see happening in the next 5-10 years.”

With Pritchard’s energy and leadership, the BOV has a busy, and bright, future.

Amber White

White’s interest in CCU and the Edwards College is rooted in personal experience. During her undergraduate years, White was an award-winning track and field athlete for the Chanticleers and was crowned homecoming queen in 2008. White graduated in 2009 with a BA in communication and counts Deb Walker as her most memorable professor.

“Dr. Walker was always honest, loving, and full of energy,” said White. “I knew that if I ran into any issues or needed her support, she was always there. She was there for me so much that when I started to show up late for her classes, she made it a point to communicate to me what kind of leader I was and to make sure I stayed the course.”

White did indeed stay the course, going on to earn a BA in journalism from Georgia State University and an MBA from Queens University of Charlotte.

Today, White lives in Charlotte, where she works with Wells Fargo as a wholesale banking principal author, with her fiancé, DeMontez Jones, and her three children: Reginald, 17; Levi, 9; and Paige, 7.

White joined the Edwards College Board of Visitors in September 2020; her primary goal is “to promote diversity participation in the Edwards College beyond undergrad, with the hope that in the future, there will be a diverse representation within the board.”