Charleston · September 25–26, 2026
CULTURE. COMMERCE. COMMUNITY.
EXPERIENCE THE 2026 CONFERENCE
Two days of ideas, connections, culture, and opportunity.
Join tourism professionals, entrepreneurs, preservationists, community leaders, creatives, destination marketers, historians, and cultural advocates from across South Carolina for conversations designed to strengthen African-American tourism and build economic opportunity through culture.
OPENING PLENARY
BEYOND TOURISM: BUILDING BLACK WEALTH THROUGH CULTURE
Saturday, September 26 | 9:30 AM–10:30 AM
Wells Fargo Auditorium
Explore how African-American communities can use tourism to create businesses, preserve land, support artists, grow intergenerational wealth, and influence economic development.
Featured Moderator: Courtney Young — Foresight Communications
Featured Panelists: Rochelle Riley — City of Charleston · Dr. Tiffany Bailey Lash — Atlantic Beach Developers · Twila Jones — Columbia CVB · Christopher B. Thompson — Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historic Site · Arun Drummond — Drummond Art Studio
FEATURED SESSIONS & SPEAKERS
Learn. Connect. Build. Grow.
FINDING THE MONEY
Saturday | 10:45 AM–11:45 AM
Evelyn Del — Foresight Communications
Learn how tourism organizations, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and community leaders can identify and pursue the resources needed to move their ideas forward.
GRANTS • A-TAX FUNDING • SPONSORSHIPS • PHILANTHROPY • FEDERAL OPPORTUNITIES
CAPITAL FOR GROWTH
Saturday | 12:00 PM–1:00 PM
Discover financing solutions, loan programs, community-development resources, and investor partnerships that can help tourism businesses grow.
CLIMB FUND • COMMUNITYWORKS • LIFTFUND • COMMUNITY LOAN FUND • CHARLESTON SMALL BUSINESS CENTER
DIGITAL STORYTELLING & INFLUENCER MARKETING
Saturday | 12:00 PM–1:00 PM
Victoria Rae Boykin — Digital Strategist, Storyteller, Content Creator & Connector
Learn how to use digital content and influencer strategies to grow your tourism business, reach new audiences, and create lasting connections.
PRESERVING HISTORY WHILE GROWING TOURISM
Saturday | 12:00 PM–1:00 PM
Dawn Dawson-House — WeGOJA Foundation
Explore how communities can protect historic places, cultural traditions, land, and heritage while using responsible tourism to create economic opportunity.
PRESERVE OUR HISTORY • EMPOWER OUR COMMUNITIES • GROW OUR ECONOMY • SUSTAIN OUR HERITAGE
THE SCAATC MARKETPLACE
MORE THAN A CONFERENCE. A MARKETPLACE FOR OPPORTUNITY.
The SCAATC Conference Marketplace brings together Black-owned businesses, nonprofits, artists, makers, cultural entrepreneurs, and tourism organizations from across South Carolina.
SHOP BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES
MEET CULTURAL ENTREPRENEURS
BUILD NEW PARTNERSHIPS
MEET THE PEOPLE SHAPING BLACK TOURISM
Leaders. Entrepreneurs. Preservationists. Creatives. Changemakers.
Johnny Caldwell
Co-Founder, Cocktail Bandits
Dr. Tiffani Bailey Lash
Co-Founder, Tilair Capital | Atlantic Beach Developer
Wanda Davis
Business Development Officer, CommunityWorks Carolina
Capital and Community Opportunity
Councilman Greg Perry
Program and Partnership Manager, South Carolina Community Loan Fund
Partnerships for Community Opportunity
Ruth Jordan
Manager, Small Business Enterprise Office and Entrepreneur Resource Center, City of Charleston
Resources for Starting, Competing, and Growing
Shanel Jackson
Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor
Preserving History While Growing Tourism
Amy Southerland, AICP
Director of Livability and Tourism, City of Charleston
Responsible Tourism Management
Al Miller
Owner, Sites & Insights Tours
Interpreting Charleston’s Black History
Johnny Caldwell
Lori “LJ” Johnson
President, AAHGS South Carolina Lowcountry and Gullah Geechee Chapter
Genealogy, Descendant Engagement, and Cultural Preservation
Malika N. Pryor, JD
Chief Learning and Engagement Officer, International African American Museum
Animating History Through Learning
Donna Davis
Certified AI Consultant and CEO, D.W. Davis Consulting
AI With Intention
Marc Gibson
Director of Inclusion & Engagement, Explore Charleston
Building Belonging in Hospitality
Kwadjo Campbell
Chairman, SC African-American Tourism Council
Telling Our Stories: Interpreters & Tour Guides; State of Black Tourism Address
Courtney Young
Foresight Communications
Beyond Tourism: Building Black Wealth Through Culture
Rochelle Riley
City of Charleston
Beyond Tourism: Building Black Wealth Through Culture
Dr. Tiffany Bailey Lash
Atlantic Beach Developers
Beyond Tourism: Building Black Wealth Through Culture
Twila Jones
Senior Sales Manager, Experience Columbia
Marketing & Technology
Christopher B. Thompson
Executive Director, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historic Site
Historic Sites as Engines of Opportunity
Arun Drummond
Founder and Director, Drummond Studio Gallery
Art, Memory, and the Lowcountry
Evelyn Del
Communications Strategist and Program Administrator, ForeSight Communications
Finding Resources to Move Projects Forward
Victoria Rae Boykin
Founder, Victoria Rae Public Relations
Digital Storytelling and Influencer Marketing
Dawn Dawson-House
Executive Director, WeGOJA Foundation
Preserving History While Growing Tourism
Connect with the people preserving our stories, building our businesses, creating new experiences, and shaping the future of African-American tourism in South Carolina.
SEPTEMBER 25–26, 2026 • COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON • CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
Our Culture Is Our Foundation.
Our Communities Are Our Strength.
Tourism Is Our Economic Engine.
PEOPLE | WEALTH | HERITAGE | PARTNERSHIPS | PROSPERITY
CULTURE. COMMERCE. COMMUNITY.