Spartanburg Children's Cabinet: Bringing Leaders Together to Create Better Outcomes for Children + Families
Spartanburg Mayor Jerome Rice addresses the Spartanburg Children’s Cabinet during its first meeting in July 2026.
There is no shortage of people in Spartanburg who care deeply about children.
Every day, educators, nonprofit leaders, healthcare providers, law enforcement, local government, faith leaders, and community organizations work tirelessly to support children and families. Yet despite this shared commitment, these efforts often happen independently, making it difficult to identify service gaps, coordinate solutions, and ensure every child has access to the opportunities they need to thrive.
The Spartanburg Children's Cabinet was created to change that.
Established through a partnership between SAM and the City of Spartanburg, the Children's Cabinet is a cross-sector advisory body designed to bring together the leaders, organizations, and community voices that shape the lives of children and families. Rather than creating another program, the Cabinet strengthens the systems already serving children by improving collaboration, aligning policy, and identifying practical solutions to community challenges.
The City of Spartanburg formally established the Cabinet through a city ordinance in May 2026, becoming the first municipal partner in Spartanburg County to institutionalize this collaborative approach. The Cabinet officially launched on July 22, 2026.
As the backbone organization, SAM provides strategic leadership, facilitation, and administrative support to help guide the Cabinet's work while ensuring decisions are informed by data, community voice, and shared accountability.
A Shared Vision
The Children's Cabinet envisions a community where children and families experience coordinated support that strengthens well-being, educational success, and long-term opportunity.
Its mission is simple but powerful: to bring together the systems that serve children and families, share knowledge, and improve policies and practices so every child, youth, and family receives the support they need to thrive.
This work reflects a growing understanding that improving outcomes for children requires more than individual programs. It requires systems that communicate, collaborate, and work toward common goals.
Why This Work Matters
Children's success is shaped long before they enter a classroom and continues well into adulthood.
From healthy births and quality early childhood experiences to reading proficiently, graduating from high school, enrolling in postsecondary education, and entering meaningful careers, every milestone is connected. Families also depend on stable housing, safe neighborhoods, reliable transportation, affordable childcare, healthcare, and responsive public systems.
Too often, these systems operate in isolation.
A school may successfully improve student achievement while families continue to struggle accessing childcare or transportation. Community programs may produce strong results, yet barriers such as generational poverty, fragmented services, or disconnected policies prevent families from fully benefiting.
The Children's Cabinet exists to bridge those gaps.
By bringing together leaders from education, government, healthcare, nonprofits, public safety, philanthropy, and the community, the Cabinet creates a shared space to identify challenges, examine policies, and recommend improvements that no single organization could accomplish alone.
Success will not be measured by the number of meetings held. It will be measured by stronger coordination, better-informed decisions, and ultimately better outcomes for Spartanburg's children and families.
Initial Areas of Focus
As the Cabinet begins its work, members have aligned around two community prioritiesouth Engagement and Workforce Development
The Cabinet is committed to ensuring young people have meaningful opportunities to participate in their communities while strengthening pathways that prepare youth and young adults for successful careers.
Strengthening the Early Childhood Workforce
High-quality early learning depends on a strong workforce. The Cabinet will explore strategies that support recruitment, retention, and professional growth for early childhood educators who play a critical role in preparing children for success in school and beyond.
In both focus areas, the Cabinet serves in an advisory capacity as they review data, identify opportunities, and bring evidence-based recommendations back to the organizations and institutions represented around the table.
Who's at the Table
The Children's Cabinet intentionally brings together leaders representing the many systems that influence child and family well-being.
Public Sector
Jerome Rice, Mayor, City of Spartanburg (Co-Chair)
Dr. Ken Kiser, Superintendent, Spartanburg School District 6 (Co-Chair)
Chris Story, City Manager, City of Spartanburg
Jeff Stevens, Superintendent, Spartanburg School District 7
Major Art Littlejohn, Spartanburg City Police
Brian Gotses, County Director, South Carolina Department of Social Services
Captain Michelle Rice-Johnson, Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office
Earl Alexander, Deputy County Administrator, Spartanburg County
Nonprofit and Institutional Partners
Dr. Bennie Harris, Chancellor, USC Upstate
Dr. Russell W. Booker, CEO, Spartanburg Academic Movement
Shaunté Evans, CEO, Spartanburg Housing
M. Keith McDaniel, Moderator, Spartanburg County Baptist Association
Community Representatives
Cameron Harris, Pediatric Occupational Therapist, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System
Dr. Shana Egge, Pediatrician, ReGenesis Healthcare
Tasha Brockman, Assistant Principal, Spartanburg School District 5
Backbone Support
Jauntavia Padgett, Director of the Spartanburg Children's Cabinet, SAM
Looking Ahead
This is only the beginning.
Over the coming months, the Cabinet will continue identifying opportunities to strengthen collaboration, improve policies, and advance solutions that support children and families across Spartanburg.
At SAM, we know lasting change happens when communities work together. The Spartanburg Children's Cabinet represents another step toward that shared vision and bringing leaders together, strengthening systems, and ensuring every child has the opportunity to succeed from cradle to career.