The PSSA Team

 Executive Director  - Co-Founder

Leslie joined Palmetto Shared Services Alliance as the founding Executive Director after serving 8 years as the Operations Director at Greenville First Steps.

She serves on various community boards and councils including Greenville County Childcare Association, GHS Children’s Hospital Community Advisory Council, Junior League of Greenville, Greenville Tech Early Childhood and Livewell. She is also a graduate of Leadership Greenville class 42.

Leslie graduated from Winthrop University and the University of South Carolina with a Masters in Social Work.  She is married to her husband Ross an they live in Greenville with their 2 sons, Taylor and Mac.

Director of Workforce & Business Development

 Catie is a proud social worker and public health advocate who can often be found listening to early aughts boybands while working to improve the processes and systems in the Social Impact sector. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Winthrop University, and an MPH from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Catie works to ensure every person who she engages with walks away having experienced unconditional empathy and radical competence. She is determined to cut through red tape with a pair of oversized, sparkly scissors, and reconstruct social systems to be more effective in removing barriers for marginalized populations. Catie is privileged to be a member of Leadership Greenville Class 42 and Greenville Women Giving, as well as a community volunteer. In her spare time, Catie sends Arrested Development memes to her siblings, plays Barbies and baby dolls with her whip-smart preschooler, and pretends that she is going to write a book with her best friend (but please don’t ask us for a writing sample). 

Outreach Specialist 

Ruth is a passionate advocate for early childhood education with a diverse background in language, education, and community engagement. She holds a Master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College and is fluent in Spanish. Her career began teaching English as a Foreign Language at a community college in Santiago, Chile, followed by several years teaching middle school Spanish in North Carolina.

Ruth later transitioned into early childhood education, serving as Operations Manager at My Amigos Bilingual Education Center. She went on to launch her own translation services company, supporting key statewide initiatives including ABC Quality and SC CCR&R’s Dual Language Learner project. Her work has also extended into STEM education through her contributions to Plasma Games, an interactive learning platform used in classrooms across 19 states.

When she’s not leading trainings or supporting providers across South Carolina, Ruth enjoys abstract painting, gardening, and caring for her ever-growing menagerie of rescue animals—including cats, Australian shepherds, and goats.