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Honors College Distinguished Alumni Award

Celebrating outstanding alumni

This award recognizes Honors College alumni for their professional achievements, contributions to society, and exceptional service to the College of Charleston.

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2026 Honors College Distinguished Alumni Award

Julie Grier-Villatte ’04

Julie has worked more than 20 years with children and families around the globe to build their resilience in the face of adversity. She has worked in child protection, mental health and international development and humanitarian assistance in seven countries and four languages — French, Spanish, Hatian Creole and English. In addition to working for international organizations, Julie Grier-Villante shaped policy and programming for 13 years as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer with USAID and the U.S. Department of State.

Throughout her career, Julie has been a tireless advocate for children. She strives to ensure that children receive developmentally supportive care, even in the most difficult circumstances, by helping local communities and their governments leverage existing strengths and identify feasible, appropriate solutions to address complex challenges. Julie’s greatest joy is helping others realize their full potential.

Julie graduated with a double major in French and psychology from the College of Charleston Honors College. She then earned a Master of Letters in international security studies from the University of St. Andrews and a master’s in public policy and development from the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance.

The Honors College is proud to recognize Julie Grier-Villatte for her distinguished career and unwavering support of her alma mater.

Honors College Distinguished Alumni Award Past Recipients

2010 – Steve Swanson ’89
2011 – Beth Middleton Burke, J.D. ’94
2012 – Wills Geils, MD ’88
2013 – Howard L. Hall, Ph.D ’85
2014 – James G. Hodge Jr., J.D., LLM ’89
2015 – Melissa Siegel, Ph.D ’03
2016 – Lisa Broome, Ph.D ’92
2017 – Arlinda Locklear, J.D. ’76
2018 – Michael S. Shemtov ’00
2019 – Susan West Story ’93
2020 – Stephanie B. Wheeler ’03
2021 – Kenyatta L. Gardner ’08
2022 – Colleen Condon ’92
2023 – Sara DeWolf, J.D. ’02
2024 – Mildred Embree, Ph.D ’02
2025 – Lancie Affonso ’96, ’08