Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance celebrates Women in Business by shining a spotlight on the nonprofit’s dedicated, hard-working professional women.
MBDA is a 501(c)(3) place management organization dedicated to the revitalization of the city’s downtown area. MBDA is committed to strengthening the public and private sectors’ commitment to, and collaboration around, revitalizing downtown and diversifying the area economy.
Kenya Rice is the Chief Operations Officer for MBDA, and hails from Conway. She pursued a degree in finance, with a focus on wealth management at Coastal Carolina University and is also an alumna of AmeriCorps Vista, receiving training in nonprofit development, grant writing, and donor relations. With more than 10 years in HR and 15 years in the political/nonprofit sectors, she brings a diverse skill set in project management, communications, community engagement, fundraising, and relationship building.
Tonya Gore is the Director of Enhancement and Design for MBDA. Tonya has a Master in Resilient Urban Design from Clemson University and is an alumnus from Coastal Carolina University. She previously worked as a landscape designer for an international firm and has over 15 years’ experience in graphic design. As a Myrtle Beach native, she is passionate about improving the community. She works to activate spaces in downtown Myrtle Beach to improve the public realm and make spaces enjoyable for all.
Tory Mackey is Executive Director of the Chapin Foundation. Now in its 80th year, the Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of the people of Myrtle Beach by providing grants that support a vibrant and healthy community. She is thrilled to join with the MBDA in creating an authentic Myrtle Beach Downtown.
Jessica Wise is a landscape architect for SGA/NW, a multi-disciplinary firm offering architecture, planning, landscape architecture and interior design services. She has managed numerous, multi-faceted projects from conceptual design through construction and is passionate about helping to guide, promote, and contribute to the growth and betterment of our communities.
Kendra Darity works for the CLIMB Fund—A not-for-profit Community Development lender whose mission is to ensure access to capital for entrepreneurs and small businesses that cannot secure traditional funding. She brings six years of consumer finance experience to the CLIMB fund as a licensed Consumer Credit Counselor, former consumer loan officer, and branch manager. Her role for the Pee Dee Region is to provide focused relevant support to her clients.
Jenn Foxworth is owner-director of Our Kids Create, a for-profit with non-profit intentions art studio that hosts creative educational programs to inspire ideas of career developments for youth. She holds a B.A. in Arts and Masters in Education. OKC enables her to create a place where the degrees mesh for the future leaders of tomorrow.
Four years in, OKC continues to parter with small businesses “to connect possibilites with true realities.”
522-A Broadway St.
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 516-5436
mbdowntown.org
