Charleston native and seasoned nonprofit professional D. Jermaine Husser has been chosen to lead Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach. The organization has two locations and its mission is to build equitable communities and empower individuals to reach their full potential by providing basic and emergency needs, education, employment, and health services for those living in communities spanning Downtown Charleston to Edisto Island.
Husser has extensive experience as a philanthropy executive, previously serving as VP of Mission Enterprise for Palmetto Goodwill and executive director of palmetto warrior connection (PWC), which is a community integration project to assist returning veterans(warriors) and their families transition back into community.
Before Goodwill he served as the state director of Students First SC in Columbia, SC, where he developed a five-year state plan, created outreach plans for members and lobbied for progressive education reform at the State House.
Prior to joining Students First SC, he was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, based in Duquesne, PA. Before leading the Pittsburgh Food Bank, he was executive director of Lowcountry Food Bank, in Charleston, SC, a position he held since 2005.
“My life goal is to impact ONE Million lives before my last lap around the sun through my commitment to service above self. I am elated to walk in the footsteps of so many amazing leaders who have championed the mission of Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach over the past 33 years,” Says Husser, executive director.
Husser is an active participant in his community and has served on numerous professional and community. organizations, such as co-chair of United Way’s African American Leadership Council, vice chair of the South Carolina Food Bank Association and the board of trustees of Trident Technical College Foundation. He was named to Liberty Fellowship “Class of 2015.” He was a past president, and the first African American president of the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston. In 2004 he was named to the Charleston Regional Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty.
Jermaine is currently a TEDx Charleston speaker’s coach and owner of JMaxwell Consulting, which focuses on values-driven strategic planning, emerging leadership coaching and philanthropy consulting. He is a veteran of the US Army. A graduate of Trident Technical College with an associate’s degree in business and additional coursework at Charleston Southern University in organizational management. He is also a graduate of the American Express Leadership Academy and Leadership Charleston.
