Our Board

Board of directors

The SC Shellfish Growers Association represents clam and oyster growers and harvesters. Our Officers and Board members serve without pay and are elected on a rotating basis by our membership.

Julie Davis

President

Julie Davis is the Farm Manager at Lady’s Island Oyster in Beaufort where she grows the farm’s signature ‘Single Lady’ oyster from hatchery to harvest using techniques she’s fine tuned over the past eight years. She has over 15 years of experience in the shellfish aquaculture industry and a Masters degree specializing in oyster farming from Auburn University. Prior to discovering her passion for farming sustainable seafood, Julie worked on liveaboard dive boats in the Turks and Caicos Islands and conducted environmental impact assessments for coastal construction projects.  Her first job in South Carolina was as a Sea Grant extension agent where she helped farmers and fishermen improve the economic and environmental viability of their businesses.  Julie believes shellfish mariculture plays a key role in enhancing our coastal communities, above and below the water.

Trey McMillan

Vice President

Trey is the owner and president of Lowcountry Oyster Company, located in the ACE Basin where he grows his signature Lowcountry Cups. Before getting into the oyster industry, Trey “Cricket” McMillan spent 15+ years carving out a successful career as a professional sportfisherman up and down the East Coast and Caribbean. Despite all of the travel, Trey always kept one eye firmly on his hometown of Charleston, SC where he grew up fishing, shrimping, and crabbing in and around Mt. Pleasant’s Old Village. The Lowco farm is located about 34 miles south of Charleston in the ACE Basin Wildlife Refuge. They use a sustainable, floating-cage oyster farming system to raise the oysters from 4mm seed to 3-inch single oysters.

Bob Baldwin

Treasurer

Bob is a clam farmer in McClellanville and has been in the business for decades. Bob has been involved in shaping the shellfish mariculture industry from day one in South Carolina; from developing technologies to crafting regulations. He is happiest on the water and takes pride in producing a great product and doing his part to maintain a healthy ecosystem.

Caitlyn Bierce

Secretary

Caitlyn serves as a board member for the South Carolina Shellfish Growers Association and a panel member of the Shellfish Growers Climate Coalition . She co-founded Charleston Oyster Farm located in Charleston, SC and is an adjunct at the College of Charleston who teaches mariculture field sciences along with environmental geology. She worked as the farm and business manager of Charleston Oyster Farm and has worked in the environmental industry for over 10 years. Prior to her oyster career she studied water quality, geospatial sciences and environmental policy and interned with NASA and the SC Space Grant Consortium. In grad school she was awarded the NOAA Marine Science Fellowship and the Kathryn Sullivan Scholarship which allowed her to pursue research in modeling water quality in the ACE Basin using satellite imagery. While obtaining her degrees she worked at several restaurants around Charleston, and became passionate about sustainable local food and flavor and how to integrate the science of mariculture into an impactful economic and environmental endeavor.

Brad Blake

Board Member

Brad Blake, Executive Chef of Skull Creek Boathouse, has been a Hilton Head local for over 29 years and began his career in the Lowcountry as Executive Chef of Wexford Plantation’s Clubhouse. Thereafter, he was Chef at Sunset Grill for 9 years before opening his own restaurant, Blake’s and Blue Coyote. Chef Blake joined the SERG Culinary Team in 2008 at Marley’s Island Grille. He currently serves as a board member for the South Carolina Shellfish Growers Association and brings his valuable chef’s perspective to the board.

Deja Knight

Board Member

Deja serves as a board member for both the South Carolina Shellfish Growers Association and Be A Mentor. She is the Founder and CEO of Pearl Public Relations in Charleston, S.C. She has worked in the communications field for nine years—as a reporter for five years and in public relations for four. Her work as a broadcast journalist was featured on CBS, CNN, FOX, and The Weather Channel and was nominated for two Emmys. As a publicist, she has successfully launched, rebranded, and elevated brands all over the country by executing high-level public relations strategies. In 2020, she was hired as the South Carolina Communications Advisor for presidential candidate Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN) – an assignment she won’t soon forget. She was also named “Top 40 under Forty” by the Charleston Regional Business Journal based on her professional accomplishments and community service. Deja is passionate about mariculture and sustainable farming.

Jeff Massey

Board Member

Jeff Massey serves as a board member for both the South Carolina Shellfish Growers Association and the South Carolina Farm Bureau. He manages Livingston’s Bulls Bay Seafood in McClellanville SC and raises clams, oysters and soft-shell crabs for the wholesale market.