New Nonprofit Initiative Launched to Inspire & Empower Sea Islands Residents

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Aug. 6, 2015 - PRLog -- Today, the Islands Society announced the launch of the South Carolina Barrier Islands Society. The nonprofit’s latest constituent society, the new society aims to inspire and empower the people of the Sea Islands, especially the Gullah people, women and the next generation of island leaders.

“Over the past three years, the Islands Society has worked very hard to inspire and empower islanders around the world,” says Keiko Ono, Vice President of the Islands Society. “To date, much of our focus has centered on inspiring and empowering islanders in the Pacific Islands and Remote Islands (Japan). Having now established our platforms for those communities, we are very excited to be able to finally launch a new platform for islanders in our local community.”

“The launch of the South Carolina Barrier Islands Society marks a major milestone for our nonprofit,” adds Eddie Walsh, President of the Islands Society. “Once we establish this community, we will be able to start building bridges between our local community and our other communities in East Asia and the Pacific. In this way, we will be able to create new social networks that will help islanders in all three communities connect with one another.”

According to Keiko Ono, “one of the most exciting aspects of this launch is that it allows us to not only help individuals in our local community overcome the geographic boundaries that separate them from their fellow islanders in the Asia-Pacific. It also helps to ensure that the states of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina are better positioned to realize their full potential in what has been dubbed the Asian Century.”

Since its founding, the Islands Society has quickly grown from a grassroots organization into a global nonprofit that has already made an impact on the lives of tens of thousands of islanders around the world. To date, the organization’s two other constituent societies - Pacific Islands Society and Remote Islands Society - have attracted over 3,600 followers on Facebook. The Islands Society has also launched a number of programs that have successfully provided women, students, and young professionals from seven countries with opportunities to have their voices heard on the world stage. Along the way, the organization and its staff have been recognized with a number of awards, including the “Top-Rated Nonprofit” Award by GreatNonprofits.org.

About the Islands Society

The Islands Society is an independent, non-partisan, non-governmental organization that develops and implements projects that inspire and empower islanders around the world. These projects are currently organized around two main themes: community projects and next generation leaders. The community projects center on nine issue areas, including charity, conservation, democracy, disaster relief, education, equality, health, innovation, and sustainability. Meanwhile, the next generation leader projects support artists, athletes, chefs, incubators, musicians, policymakers, storytellers, and technologists. The Islands Society is headquartered on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Website: www.islandssociety.org

About Eddie Walsh

Eddie Walsh is the Founder and President of the Islands Society. He is also a Young Leader at Pacific Forum CSIS and a member of the Emerging Security Challenges Working Group at the Partnership for Peace Consortium. Prior to these roles, Walsh was the Vice Chair of Foreign Correspondents at the National Press Club and a Senior Environmental Marketing and Communications Manager at Microsoft. He has also served as a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University, Chair of the Public Diplomacy Discussion Group at Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, Academic Guest at the University of Zurich, Next Generation Fellow at the American Assembly, Exchange Researcher at Waseda University, Adjunct Fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, Visiting Researcher at Universität der Bundeswehr München, WSD-Handa Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Participant at New York Forum Africa, Participant at Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship Public Diplomacy Luncheon, and Freelance Foreign Policy Commentator for.Various International Media Outlets. Mr. Walsh received his MA from Johns Hopkins University SAIS and his BA from The Johns Hopkins University. He also completed professional training at the United States Institute of Peace and executive education at Harvard Business School, The Wharton School, Columbia Business School, and The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Walsh is the recipient of a number of awards, including the Vivian Award at the National Press Club.