Director of Lowcountry Programs for Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation

Kerri Forrest directs the arts, land conservation, and collections programs in the Lowcountry region. A Charleston native, Kerri returned to the Holy City in 2010 after a 16-year career covering politics with national broadcast outlets MSNBC, NBC NEWS, and CBS NEWS.  For four years, she was the Director of Institutional Advancement with the American College of the Building Arts, the only institution of higher education in the U.S. offering a liberal arts degree in traditional building crafts. She joined the Foundation in February 2015.

Kerri is heavily involved in the arts and civic communities and has served with many local and regional organizations including the Friends of the Lowcountry Lowline; TEDxCharleston; the South Carolina Arts Commission Leo Twigg Scholars. In addition, she has been an adjunct professor of professional communications and public speaking at the Art Institute of Charleston and of fundraising at the College of Charleston. Kerri graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences from Clemson University in 1994, a Masters of Arts in Interactive Journalism from American University in 2001, became a DLI Riley Fellow in 2013, and is a member of the Liberty Fellowship Class of 2018. She is currently a board member of the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network and The Liberty Fellowship and a member of the One Region Executive Committee.