EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“We wouldn’t exist without our community’s interest and support.”

As a Greenwood, South Carolina native, The Museum feels like home to Executive Director, Karen Jennings.

“I remember my grandmother taking us to the theater to see Gone With the Wind…I remember the dress shop was still downtown when I was growing up…the old washing machine and wood burning stove in the Carolina kitchen were all things that my grandmother used.”

Karen began working at The Museum in January of 2016 after a 30-year stint in agriculture and home gardening, serving Park Seed Company for the majority of her career. Her favorite part of her work now, she says, is simple:

“It’s the people. We have a really good team and each brings their own experience and talents to cover the parts that need to get done… and they’re also fun to be with.”

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

“It’s just a joyful place to be.”

Nickie Murphy, born in Birmingham, Alabama, moved to Greenwood, South Carolina in 2007. She began working at The Museum in November of 2016 after a fulfilling career of music and education.

Though her favorite part of her work revolves arounds the community she serves and the fun she has alongside her coworkers, she knows her work of preserving the city’s history has a profound importance.

“It’s important for people to understand where we came from because our history makes us who we are today,” she says. “We need to appreciate the lives of our forebears and their lifestyles and how they paved the way for the next generation.”

EXHIBIT COORDINATOR

“I love telling visual stories – telling accurate amazing stories across mediums is my passion.”

Danny Vaughn is a designer, painter, videographer, and illustrator. He grew up all over the east coast – Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and then went to college in Detroit, Michigan where he earned a BFA in Illustration and Painting. 

His work experience has taken him across the world, serving positions in Germany and Japan. He has held positions at the National Archives, Whites Sands Missile Range, the Enterprise Multimedia Center in Kaiserslautern, Germany and was even hired to build the new visualization branch for the United States Space Force.

Whether designing an interior space that includes artifacts or images, a large historical exhibit, or dynamic video production, he’s had the opportunity to tell these histories and stories for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon, the National Archives traveling exhibits program, the U.S. Army and its commands and organizations.

He also loves cookies.