Jennie Stephens ’89 (MPA ’94) will be honored as the 2023 Alumna of the Year during the Alumna Awards Gala on Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Charleston Marriott for her contributions as CEO of the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation. Founded in 2005, the nonprofit provides legal services for African American families whose properties have been passed down for generations without a will. This means that the land is technically owned in common by all heirs, which often leads to property disputes among relatives. The Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation helps clients with title searches, document preparation, scheduling land surveys, requesting hearings and full representation in court, among other services. Ms. Stephens has been featured on NBC’s 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘓𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘵, at TEDxCharleston, and in the BET documentary series, 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵 & 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦, with Soledad O’Brien. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture named her to its newly formed Subcommittee on Agriculture as part of its Equity Commission. Ms. Stephens earned her BS in business administration and her MPA from the College. In 2012, she earned a PhD in organizational leadership from Regent University. Ms. Stephens recently supported her alma mater with a gift to the Alumni Association Fund. Join us on Saturday, Nov. 18, to celebrate Ms. Stephens and our other distinguished alumni receiving awards at this year’s gala: bit.ly/CofCAAGala23