MSHP Brown Bag Lunch Series: To Name a Few

Associate Professor of History

Director, Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program (CLAW)

Prof. Sandra Slater is an Associate Professor of History, an affiliate faculty member in Women’s and Gender Studies and African American Studies, and Director of the Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program (CLAW) at the College of Charleston. She received her doctorate in 2009 from the University of Kentucky. Her work on gender, religion, and law in the seventeenth-century Atlantic World has appeared in the Journal of Early American History, Church History, and a number of other journals. Her book, The Pompe and Pride of Man: Pride and Humility in Early New England will be published by Brill later this year. As the Director of CLAW, she works to promote understanding of the significance of Charleston’s history and legacy in the broader Atlantic World and works closely with a number of public history sites, museums, and archives to build collaboration between CofC and the community. This year’s programming theme, “Indigenous Voices” will host over a dozen free public events with over 40 partners in 2024-2025.

Founder and CEO, The Balm in Gilead, Inc.

Founder and President, The Lincolnville Preservation & Historical Society, Inc.

Dr. Pernessa Seele is a native of the settlement town, Lincolnville, SC, where she spent her young years in a thriving, close-knit community that gave her the foundation she would need to become the Founder and CEO of The Balm In Gilead, Inc., a not-for-profit organization celebrating over 36 years of providing technical support and disease state awareness that strengthens faith communities in the USA and Africa to promote health education and services that contribute to the elimination of health disparities.

Dr. Seele is well-known for her extraordinary vision and ability to create national and global partnerships in support of service to people. It is that very same service to people and passion for community and legacy that led her in 2021to establish the Lincolnville Preservation and Historical Society. Historic Lincolnville is a town located in Charleston County that is home to rich histories of pre-Civil War, Reconstruction and the Civil Rights eras - yet its stories are untold.

As a pioneer in developing public health & faith-based models for engaging individuals in health promotion and disease prevention, Dr. Seele is the recipient of numerous citations and honors. They include: Dr. Seele was featured on the cover of TIME magazine in 2006 as One of the Most Influential Persons In the World. Ebony Magazine selected Dr. Seele as one of their Power 150; Essence Magazine has honored her with numerous features. In its 35th Anniversary issue, she was named one of the 35 Most Beautiful and Remarkable Women In The World; In May 2010, Dr. Seele was selected as 21 Leaders of the 21st Century of Women E-News in New York City. In April 2008, Clark Atlanta University honored Dr. Seele with the Pathway of Excellence Award, citing her as one of its most outstanding graduates of all time. In October 2017, His Eminence, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, bestowed the Pierre Toussaint Medallion upon Dr. Seele.

Dr. Seele is the author of Stand Up to Stigma! How to Reject Fear & Shame. She is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Dr. Seele received a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science from Clark Atlanta University in 1976 & 1979 respectively and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from the College of New Rochelle, NY.

Manager of Preservation & Research, Preservation Society of Charleston

As Manager of Preservation & Research at the Preservation Society of Charleston, Laurel M. Fay manages preservation initiatives including the Historic Markers Program, Charleston Justice Journey, and the Mapping Charleston’s Black Burial Grounds Project. Laurel also specializes in archival research, content development and visualization, digital mapping, and advocacy. She earned a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from Tulane University School of Architecture after studying marketing and environmental studies for her undergraduate degree at the College of Charleston. Her graduate work emphasized cemetery preservation and documentation, digital mapping, neighborhood stabilization, and the exploration of how historic preservation can be used as a tool to heal fractured communities and amplify the voices of those who have been marginalized. Laurel spent four years after her undergraduate career working at Shepley Bulfinch, a Boston architecture firm originally founded in 1874 by H.H. Richardson. A Connecticut native, Laurel traces her interest in preservation to New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, where her great-grandfather led the restoration of the iconic constellation ceiling mural during World War II. Family lore says he and other workers recorded personal and historic events among the stars.

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