Women Vision SC Linda O'Bryan

Tameika Isaac Devine was age 29 when she ran for office for the first time. She became the first African American female and the youngest person on the Columbia City Council. She recalls winning that election by less than 200 votes. “If those 200 people did not vote, I wouldn’t be here today.” Now some 18 years later, Tameika Isaac Devine continues in her 5th term on the Columbia City Council. She is the founding partner in her law firm, Jabber & Isaac, PA. She is also an author and public speaker. Isaac Devine launched The Possibilities Institute, a business through which she offers life coaching. She describes her personal passion as “helping working moms conquer overwhelm in order to perform their best at work and at home.” She also serves as Co-Chair of the National League of Cities’ Youth Education and Families Council, and as a board member for Women in Municipal Government and the national Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.

When Darla Moore began business school at George Washington University, she said she “didn’t know what a balance sheet was.” After graduating with her MBA, she moved to New York City and began in banking. She became one of the nation’s most successful business leaders. She was the first woman on the cover of Fortune magazine and was listed as one of Fortune’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business.” University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business was the first business school in the nation to be named after a woman. As part of what she calls a 30-year plan, Darla Moore is now helping to transform Lake City, her home town. Her latest investment is a regional education and training center through collaboration among The Darla Moore Foundation, Francis Marion University, Florence-Darlington Technical College and school districts. “It is a seamless, flexible doors-open to all high schools and adults to come in and not have to go to different places.”

Betty Jo Rhea served as Mayor of Rock Hill for 12 years and as a member of the City Council for 8 years. She was referred to as “the people’s mayor.” When she took over as mayor, unemployment stood at over 17% and textile mills had declined from 13 to only one. Under her leadership, the community started business parks and attracted several international companies to Rock Hill. She fostered a sports complex that has since paved the way for a city now known for being an amateur sports mecca. From baseball and softball, the city has added facilities including soccer, tennis, and cycling. After retiring as mayor, Betty Jo Rhea has hosted a local television show called “City Minutes” for nearly 20 years, interviewing a variety of individuals in the Rock Hill community. She remains a steadfast champion of the arts, historic preservation and beautification.

T. Lilly Little Water began her life's passion of advocating for Indigenous People at age seventeen. “It’s something intangible and inexplicable that drives me. It feels like there are also a 1000 ancestors in my heart that are constantly giving me a nudge in this way or that way. They always give me direction.”

Malissa Burnette is an award-winning attorney and advocate for equal rights for all. She is co-founder of the Burnette Shutt & McDaniel law firm in Columbia. She waged a legal battle to change the rules and allow women to attend The Citadel. She successfully challenged a rule that barred young girls from playing football. More recently, she and Nekki Shutt, another of the firm’s founding partners, were lead counsel in the case that made same-sex marriage legal in South Carolina.

Fresh out of Newcomb College at Tulane, Ann Timberlake came back to South Carolina and instead of taking up civil rights or the war, she said she “wanted to save trees.” She became one of South Carolina’s leading conservation advocates. As a founding member of the Sierra Club in South Carolina, she helped lead campaigns to establish the Congaree National Park and the Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness. She also advocated for the Chattooga River as to be designated as a “Wild and Scenic River.” After working as a sales representative for the Pillsbury Company, Timberlake opened a full service, neighborhood grocery, The Purple Cow, in downtown Columbia. In 2003, she returned to conservation and political work as the founding executive director of the new Conservation Voters of South Carolina. She now consults and lobbies as the principal for Timberlake Communications, LLC.