Goodwill Foundation: Our Staff and Board

Goodwill Foundation is proud to be directed by a team of committed and compassionate individuals.

Anthony Liller
Executive Director

Anthony, who resides in Simpsonville, SC, is a dedicated husband to his wife Maria and loving father to their 4 wonderful children.

He received an MBA from Averett University and an MS in Logistics Management from the Florida Institute of Technology. In addition to his extensive 20 year career in the United States Marine Corps, Anthony has also served as the Executive Director for the Upstate Toys for Tots Foundation for the last three years, as well as the Commanding Officer for the Upstate Young Marines. He is also a member of the Greenville Marine Corps League. His personal accomplishments and commitment to helping others make him an integral part of Goodwill Foundation.

Gypsy Saifi
Project Manager
 
Gypsy graduated summa cum laude from Clemson University in 2007, with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and a Minor in Communications.  While attending Clemson, she was involved in several organizations such as Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Fraternity, Public Relations Chair for Alpha Delta Pi, and volunteer for Code Elementary School, Ronald McDonald House, and Meals on Wheels.  Prior to working for Goodwill Foundation, Gypsy completed her internship at Main Street Events.

Thomas E Miller, Jr. (Tom)
Chairman

Tom has served as an officer on the Board of Directors for Greenville’s Goodwill Industries for several years and presently serves as the chair of the Goodwill Foundation. After a sixteen-year career in sales and management, Tom joined Merrill Lynch. His fourteen years with Merrill Lynch have brought him recognition and numerous professional certifications. Tom lives on the Eastside with his wife, April, and their 12-year old son, Thomas where he is an avid gardener and enjoys spending time with the family. They are members of First Presbyterian Church of Greenville.

Irvine T. Welling, III (Irv)
Vice-Chair

Irv has practiced public accounting for more than 30 years, concentrating in real estate, medical/healthcare, manufacturing & distribution. His involvement with client engagements include strategic business planning, consultation on general corporate matters, estate & trust planning, & personal wealth management. Irv serves on the Board of Directors for the SC Governor’s School for the Arts & Humanities, Greenville Chamber of Commerce, Metropolitan Arts Council, Artisphere as well as several others.

Gordon R. White, III
President, Atlantic Capital Partners LLC

Gordon White is founder and President of Atlantic Capital Partners LLC, a firm specializing in providing working capital and real estate funding for businesses. Prior to founding Atlantic Capital Partners, Mr. White was CFO of O'Neal, Inc. and Vice President of BB&T.

He is a graduate of North Carolina State University and has been an active member of various Goodwill Boards of Directors for nearly 20 years, including being the Chairman of Goodwill Industries of the Upstate/Midlands of South Carolina .

Gordon and his wife Lisa live in Greenville and are members of Holy Cross Episcopal Church. They have one daughter.

Shirley A. Keller
Secretary

For 15 years, Shirley has volunteered to serve on the Board of several, local organizations including the Greenville Symphony Board, Guild of Greenville Symphony, the Metropolitan Arts Council Board and the Goodwill Board. In her spare time, Shirley enjoys walking, gardening and reading. She is married to Ken and they have 5 children and 8 grandchildren.

P. Jeffrey Gilstrap (Jeff)
CEO, SYS Constructors

Jeff is CEO of SYS Constructors and spends his spare time with his wife, Julie, and their 2 horses, 9 dogs, 5 cats and 8 chickens. He is a commissioned Lay Pastor at Tyger River Presbyterian Church, a board member for the Special Olympics of SC, a member of the Leadership Greenville Class 15, and a board member for the Greenville Arena District. Jeff has served the Special Olympics of SC in many capacities and was awarded the first-ever, “Hero of Special Olympics” award for outstanding dedication and support of Special Olympics of SC.

Beverly R. Kaplan
Community Volunteer

Karen M. Schulz
Educational Services Manager, The Greenville News

Karen Schulz currently serves as the Educational Services Manager at The Greenville News . Her chief responsibility in that role is to oversee the Newspaper in Education program – a 501(c)3 not-for-profit program dedicated to enhancing education throughout the Upstate by providing valuable tools and training to schools.

Karen earned her Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Furman University and is currently pursuing her MBA through the Clemson evening executive program. She has lead and participated in numerous community organizations including the Greenville School to Work/Tech Prep Consortium, YWCA Women's Institute, Greenville Events, Toys for Tots, Mauldinfest, Operation Christmas Child, the Clubhouse Gang, the United Way , Hands on Greenville , Habitat for Humanity, Pleasantburg Rotary, and Leadership Greenville.

Ross Buchanan Plyler
Attorney, Love, Thornton, Arnold, & Thomason, PA

Ross Buchanan Plyler is an attorney at Love, Thornton , Arnold , and Thomason , PA. His practice consists mainly of commercial and insurance litigation, but he also does some labor/employment and college and university law. He graduated from Wofford College in 2000, Phi Beta Kappa, as a History/Government major and went on to law school at the University of South Carolina , graduating in 2003.

He was raised a Greenvillian, and is currently an active member of First Presbyterian Church. He is married to Courtney, and they have a Golden Retriever, Rusty. In his spare time he enjoys golf, running, and other outdoor activities.

Gail DePriest
Director, Graduate Program Relations for Clemson University

Gail DePriest is the Director of Graduate Program Relations for Clemson University College of Business & Behavioral Science.   Prior to joining Clemson University, she was the SVP, Corporate Director for a global career management firm.   In a private practice she provides leadership consulting to corporations, coaching their female executives and newly appointed senior leaders.

She is a certified lay speaker in the Methodist Church and has lead and participated in numerous community board initiatives with Greenville Literacy, Triune Mercy Center, Greenville SHRM and Greer Area Development Corporation.  She lives in downtown Greenville and enjoys gardening, reading, biking and cooking.

Patrick Michaels
Ex-Officio, President/CEO GUSC

Patrick Michaels is the President/CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Upstate/Midlands South Carolina, an organization that provides workforce development services for people with disabilities and vocationally disadvantaging conditions.  From 2001-2007 he served as President/CEO of Goodwill Industries of New Mexico. From 1997-2000 he served as President/CEO of Goodwill Industries of South Central California.  He previously served for over 4 years as the director of Goodwill Industries of the Yakima Valley in Washington State.  He is also a former Army Officer and, while in the military, served as an Assistant Operations Officer, Company Executive Officer, and Company Commander.  His formal education includes B.A and M.S degrees from Central Washington University. He is married to Linda and they reside in Greenville, SC with their three daughters.

William Hummers (Bill)
Ex-Officio, Chairman of Board GUSC

Bill serves as Chief Risk and Administrative Officer and a a Director of The South Financial Group. He began his banking career in 1972 with Southern Bank & Trust and following the acquisition by First Union National Bank in 1986, Bill was Vice President in Charlotte until joining The South Financial Group in 1988. He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Economics.

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