Barry E. Knighton- Secretary

Barry serves as a Child Welfare Curriculum Coordinator with Staff Development and Training with the South Carolina Department of Social Services, Columbia South Carolina, USA. In this capacity, he works with the Director of Child Welfare Training as part of team assisting in the revamping of child welfare training with the entire agency encompassing over 1000 employees, as well as, other training in improving service delivery with abuse, neglected children and vulnerable adults.

Recently, Barry served as a Health Care Access Coordinator with the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association working with community health centers in addressing the social determinants of health in increasing access to quality health care for low-income patients.

Barry has worked with organizations such as the Richland County Public Defender’s Office, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands, Teen Spirit Forum of the Midlands, specializing in youth advocacy and “at-risk” interventions.

He worked with statewide health center staff in developing and enhancing community outreach, organizational partnerships, and collaboration by working more efficiently verses with more difficulty. Barry served internationally as a professional social worker in a leadership capacity to Accra, Ghana through Projects Abroad, an international volunteer humanitarian organization.

Barry received his Master of Social Work Degree from the University of South Carolina and is currently a graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign working towards a Doctor of Education in Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership with a concentration in Human Resource Development.