Lowcountry Local First

Jamee Haley

Executive Director

Recklessly optimistic that the world can be a better place. She leads the organization with fierce determination to show the value our homegrown businesses bring to our community and quality of life. People connector, big idea thinker and new idea junkie.

Favorite quote (not just because of the name) Buckminster Fuller; "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

jamee@lowcountrylocalfirst.org

@JameeHaley

Lauren Gellatly

Community Development Director

Forever optimistic to change the traditional model of economic development and to prevent Charleston from becoming “Anywhere, USA,” Lauren works on advocacy and community development projects, as well as leads the Good Business Summit and Workshops. Armed with strategy, stats and process, Lauren works with independent businesses, consumers, and policymakers to cultivate place-based economic development with a grassroots-y approach. After going to school for city-preserving (B.A. @ College of Charleston), then city-planning (M.S. @ Pratt Institute), Lauren found a use for her 15-year strong boycott of Walmart and joined the team at Lowcountry Local First in 2013.

lauren@lowcountrylocalfirst.org

@CityReimagined

Larry Downey

Community Manager

They say Rome wasn't built in a day... neither is a thriving local economy, or an epic beard. Larry is dedicated to both! As Community Manager his focus is connecting members in a way that strengthens the bonds of Localism. That means he has a deep understanding of the members who are engaged and because of that understanding, he can make sure the right people get a chance to meet each other. This love for making connections translates to helping businesses at Local Works, LLF's coworking space, make connections with the larger community of local businesses. When he's not playing business matchmaker, you can find him fixing the internet, cursing the printer, taking out the trash, or chasing lizards from under desks.

larry@lowcountrylocalfirst.org

@lardown

Jordan Amaker

Director of Marketing and Communications

Jordan came to be the lead story-wrangler and cheerleader for the organization after 7 years in the marketing agency world. She claims to have the easiest job at Lowcountry Local First, promoting the many reasons consumers, policy-makers and the business community should support one another and create real prosperity. When not touting the local scene, you may find her on her bike, in Hampton Park, instagramming her cat, or listening to her husband perform spoken word around town.

jordan@lowcountrylocalfirst.org

@bajlak

Brian Wheat

Director of Sustainable Agriculture

Starting with his toddler days of being propped up next to a basket of peaches in his grandfather’s orchard and selling pumpkins at his family's roadside stand through his years educating high schoolers about food systems, production, and nutrition via schoolyard gardens, Brian’s background in plant science and deep connection to ecology have always been steering him towards educating and supporting farmers. Life in Upstate, New York and Minneapolis, Minnesota just got too darn cold for him and the idea of an extended growing season led him, inevitably, to Charleston where he helps to support and promote sustainable agriculture and ushers beginning farmers towards realizing their vision. Also an avid forager, cook, and musician, we would like to think his addition to the team sets us up nicely for any emergency/apocalypse-type situations.

brian@lowcountrylocalfirst.org

@brianbuckwheat

Alex Pappas

Engagement Coordinator

Since middle school, Alex has had a knack for leadership and event management. She was that girl who was always sitting at a table fundraising for a good cause or planning a pep rally for her school’s basketball team. A Hospitality and Tourism Management graduate from the College of Charleston, Alex lends her experience towards fundraising, marketing and event design in the local nonprofit sector. Alex uses her positive attitude, high attention to detail and collaborative work ethic to create memorable experiences to those around her. At LLF she works closely with current membership, engaging new members, leading sponsorship recruitment, and coordinating events to support local-independent businesses. She enjoys the creative side of life - dabbling in photography, painting, wedding planning and being a "tourist" in her own city.

alex@lowcountrylocalfirst.org

@mimiscreative

Maud Bentley

Graphic Designer

Never one to shy away from bright colors or bold patterns, Maud is the creative crusader at Lowcountry Local First where she brings visual awareness to the local movement in Charleston. Some might call her attention to detail and design fanatical —we call it brilliant. Maud has been conquering the design world since 2013 when she launched her own freelance graphic design business after earning a degree in Art History from the University of Virginia and mastering a multitude of various design courses.

maud@lowcountrylocalfirst.org

@maudbents

Kaylee Schuh

Bookkeeper and Administrative Assistant

Kaylee brings her love of numbers and organization to Lowcountry Local First with a background in nonprofit and small business bookkeeping. When not working hard to further the Local cause, she is completing her bachelors degree in accounting and finding time to enjoy Charleston’s beaches and booming food scene. In her past life she was a “mathlete,” on her school’s engineering team and rocked out in the math and science clubs. Lucky us to be able to witness her expertise at work! Her life motto? “If you aren’t happy with your life, change things until you are. If you can’t change something, change your attitude about it.”

kaylee@lowcountrylocalfirst.org