People
Shea Harrelson, PA-C
Co-Founder
Shea Harrelson is an experienced clinician and entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of working in the medical and biotech industry. After graduating from the Medical University of South Carolina with her Physician Assistant degree, she practiced in the field of Cardiology for nine years. She then joined St. Jude Medical, specializing in the Cardiac Rhythm Management Division. In 2014, Shea began her entrepreneurial journey and worked with several start-up companies to bring new medical diagnostic products to market. This led to the development of her own diagnostic company, Vikor Scientific. The Charleston-based biotech firm focuses on combatting the global epidemic of antibiotic resistance and helping providers detect infections more rapidly and accurately through advanced diagnostics.
Shea is married to Kylee and a mother of three children. After completing a medical mission trip in her twenties, she became keenly aware of the disadvantages that under-resourced communities carry and began to look for opportunities to close that gap. After adopting their son in 2019, she and her husband committed to the specific mission of LINCS.
Kylee Harrelson
Co-Founder
After attending Clemson University, Kylee discovered a driving passion to pursue the arts and relocated to the Savannah College of Art & Design, where he graduated with a BFA focused in graphic design. Kylee spent the first decade of his career as an Art Director and then transitioned to focus on construction and design management. Today, Kylee has several entrepreneurial endeavors in real estate and is a partner of Vital Body, a nutraceutical company based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Kylee is a father of three children, two biological and one adopted. Adopting Mark became one of the main catalysts for developing LINCS. Kylee feels the need for proper nutrition and wellness doesn’t stop with physical health, but plays a vital role in mental, emotional, and social development as well. The adoptive process also highlighted the gap in advanced educational opportunities for children without financial resources.
Kate Smith
Director of Operations
Kate is a born-and-raised Charlestonian. Coming from a family of educators, she followed in their footsteps and earned an Early Childhood Education Degree from Clemson University. From there, she taught in the classroom, managed child development centers, trained current and future educators, and assisted failing schools in improving and regaining licensure. Kate lives on James Island and has two boys in public school. Her mission is to ensure quality STEAM education access for all students.
Marc Murphy
Board Member
Marc Murphy spent over ten years at Deloitte Consulting and was a partner supporting enterprise and government clients. He then assumed the role of COO (and later CEO) at SPARC, LLC, a Charleston startup ranked #1 in Inc. 500’s software services category. His involvement in the company’s growth led to a successful acquisition by Booz-Allen Hamilton in 2016. Currently, Marc is Founder of Ignite Labs; an invest-build-operate platform making investments in mid-market technology service companies. He has served as Board Chair of the Children’s Museum and recently concluded his term on the Charleston Digital Corridor Foundation Board.
Our story
In 2020, Shea Harrelson, an entrepreneur in the medical and biotech industries, and Kylee Harrelson, an entrepreneur in the areas of art and design, recognized a growing need for STEAM educational opportunities for the under-resourced, middle to high school students in the Charleston, SC, area.
While searching for existing organizations to support, they found most local non-profits focus on creating introductory STEAM opportunities for early childhood, rather than in-depth learning opportunities for teens and young adults. While all are critical ages, a specific passion developed within the Harrelsons to create more STEAM-focused growth opportunities for older youth, given they are at the crossroads of deciding whether to further their education or enter the workplace after high school graduation.
Through their research, they also realized there were other educational and skills gaps among adults who are either re-entering the workforce after years of staying at home, unemployment, or post-COVID. There are few programs that offer hands-on educational outlets for these adults to be equipped to enter a competitive workforce. According to Pew Research Center, people in STEM related jobs can earn two-thirds more than other fields.
In November of 2021, The Harrelsons established a 501(c)(3) called Lowcountry Innovators, Creators & Scientists (“LINCS”). The mission of LINCS is to provide opportunities for the under-resourced youth of South Carolina to explore STEAM through exhibits, workshops, and mentorships. While the first vision for LINCS was to establish a large, centralized BluDiscovery Center for all Lowcountry children to attend, further research did not support that this vision would fulfill the mission. After spending over a year visiting large discovery centers across the U.S., LINCS pivoted and decided its resources could be better utilized by building out smaller STEAM programs directly within the underserved schools. This decision provided a remedy for the transportation problem and will strengthen the relationships within the community that are already established.
In the Fall of 2023, LINCS committed to its first school, Saint Johns Catholic School. This school has excellent leadership, is located in the heart of one of our underserved communities in North Charleston, and already has a large focus on the STEAM curriculum. With the support of LINCS, it is our hope that Saint Johns Catholic School can accomplish its ultimate vision to provide a stand-alone STEAM Center for its students and become one of the first of its kind in the area to earn STEAM certification.
