Ten at the Top (TATT) has announced the addition of Justine Allen to the position of Program and Event Coordinator.

    Her role will be to continue building the capacity of Ten at the Top’s task forces and working groups that have an ongoing focus on collaborating to address regional issues. Those groups include the Education Spectrum group, which has been addressing the teacher shortage in South Carolina and is now working on a statewide portal to enter the profession, along with the Teach at the Top campaign; the Senior Issues group, which is exploring issues around an important topic of growing concern as our population ages; the Upstate Entrepreneur Ecosystem, which is made up of organizations and entities that support entrepreneurs, and which is currently offering a weekly series of webinars related to COVID-19; and the Upstate Professional Planners, a group of city and county planners who convene to share best practices around land use and planning policy. She will also be working with the Ten at the Top board of directors committee focused on new initiatives.

    Justine brings to Ten at the Top a background in event planning and management; she came to the Upstate originally to work as event planner, charity liaison, and volunteer coordinator on the BMW Charity Pro-Am golf tournament. With that experience, she will take the lead on TATT’s annual events, Pique and Celebrating Successes.

    Justine attended UMASS Amherst and has a BS in Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration. She has worked as a catering director in hotels and event companies, as a purser/hotel manager on a small cruise ship, and as event planner, charity liaison, and volunteer coordinator on the BMW Charity Pro-Am golf tournament. Most recently, she was the volunteer program manager at Dining for Women’s Greenville headquarters. She lives in Greenville with her husband, Steve, and daughter Gabby.

    “Justine started at Ten at the Top at a rather challenging time,” says TATT executive director Dean Hybl. “Although we have not worked together in the office yet, she has done a great job of connecting with our team and with the initiative committees through Zoom, email, and phone calls.”

    “I do look forward to being in the office with my new co-workers and having in-person meetings sometime soon,” Justine says, “but for now, we are doing our best to keep Ten at the Top’s initiatives moving forward while practicing safe social distancing.”