Shawn Bell leads the City of Fountain Inn, overseeing operations for an organization with 200 employees. Bell earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Missouri and a Master of Public Administration from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Bell serves in multiple leadership capacities, including chair of the South Carolina Municipal Insurance Trust and vice-chair of the Laurens County Development Corporation. He is secretary/treasurer of the South Carolina City and County Management Association and serves on the International City and County Management Association’s Government Affairs & Policy Committee. Bell is a Paul Harris Fellow with the Fountain Inn Rotary Club and past president of the South Carolina Community Development Association.

Under Bell’s leadership, Fountain Inn received the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s 2025 Excellence on Main Street Award and 2024 Most Outstanding Business Development Program recognition. The city is currently finalizing INNtheZone, a comprehensive zoning overhaul, and has begun design on a new municipal complex.

Bell believes housing affordability represents the most significant challenge facing communities. “I believe the biggest crisis my daughters and my future grandchildren will face is that of housing affordability,” he said.

Joette Dukes serves as Executive Director of the Pee Dee Regional Council of where she leads an organization dedicated to assisting local governments with planning economic development, workforce investment and technical services.

Dukes earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina College of Business Administration. She began her career as an Auditor with the State of South Carolina’s Auditor’s office, where she learned the importance of operating with procedure and integrity — a lesson she has carried throughout her career.

Under Dukes’ leadership, the Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments recently received a 2025 Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Award from the National Association of Development Organizations, recognizing the organization’s work in strengthening communities and building regional resilience.

Dukes holds several professional credentials, including Certified Government Finance Officer from the SC Government Finance Officers Association — where she was the highest scoring candidate in her cohort — and Society for Human Resources Management Certified Professional. She graduated from Leadership Florence’s Class of 2019 and is a 2025 Riley Fellow and Local Government Leadership Institute Graduate.

“Freely extend grace to everyone I meet,” Dukes said. “When I approach people with this mindset, it opens my heart and mind and paves the way for what can ultimately become our mutual success.”

Lee MacIlwinen is the new chief program officer at South Carolina Research Authority, bringing together key players in innovation across academic institutions, entrepreneurs and industry. With more than 20 years of experience in technology startups, early-stage investment and economic development, he has fostered significant growth in South Carolina’s technology entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Under MacIlwinen’s leadership, SCRA is regionalizing support across the state’s expanding markets in Aiken, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville and Rock Hill. “We are realigning our programs into our leading entrepreneurship program, SC Launch, with a regional focus to better serve our startups and academic institutions,” MacIlwinen said.

He serves on advisory boards for USC’s Business Partnership Foundation and the Faber Entrepreneurship Center, as well as the board of the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator. MacIlwinen is also president and CEO of mGlobal LLC, a consulting firm specializing in global business development for technology startups.

An avid international traveler and fluent Spanish speaker, MacIlwinen holds a Master of International Business Studies from USC and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from UNC Chapel Hill.

April Nadeau earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Tulane University before beginning her professional career as a sales associate for brokers. She paused her career for eight years to serve as a stay-at-home mom, an experience she said taught her patience, adaptability and perspective.

Nadeau joined Sentar, where she has progressed through roles including technical recruiter, division manager and vice president to her current position as senior vice president. She has held leadership positions including president of the Charleston Defense Contractors Association, treasurer of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association and membership in Women in Defense. She currently serves as secretary on the board of directors for Sentar’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

Nadeau has been recognized as a FedHealthIT 100 honoree in 2018, 2019 and 2020, receiving Hall of Fame status in 2021. She was named an Elev8 GovCon Honoree in 2025 and 2026 and was included in the 2026 Engage Fed Health 150.

Hugh E. Weathers has served as South Carolina’s commissioner of agriculture since September 2004, leading the state’s largest industry to unprecedented growth. Under his leadership, agribusiness has expanded to a $51.8 billion annual economic impact, supporting 259,215 jobs statewide.

Weathers created the Certified South Carolina and Fresh on the Menu branding programs to help consumers identify local products. In 2017, he established the Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship, which has awarded more than $1 million to 91 agricultural entrepreneurs and funded industry-driven research projects.

A fourth-generation farmer from Bowman, Weathers graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina in 1978 with degrees in accounting and finance. After working as a corporate banking officer with C&S National Bank, he returned to partner in his family’s 80-year-old farming operation.

Weathers and his wife, Blanche, who grew up on her family’s peach farm in Spartanburg County, have three sons and eight grandchildren.