As the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation marks its 20th anniversary, it also bids a grateful farewell to one of its most effective and influential leaders. Hillary Stringfellow will be stepping down as Chair of the Board of Directors at the end of 2025. Her service as Chair was extended by the Board from the usual two-year stint to four-years when she oversaw the leadership transition in the President & CEO role, resulting in the hiring of St. Simons Island native, Keeva Kase, who returned home from Atlanta with his family to assume the role in 2023. Hillary said about her extended tenure, “I wanted Keeva to feel a sense of stability at the Foundation as he resettled his family and started up in the role.” She continued jokingly, “These two years getting to know Keeva, I have learned quickly how convincing he is, which is how he was able to talk me into doing this whole thing with Elegant Island Living.” Along with Hillary, the Executive Committee of the Foundation also stayed together to ensure a smooth transition for the Foundation, for which Hillary is most grateful.
Benjamin Galland, VOLO Project
Hillary Stringfellow, Jeff Barker
With deep Georgia roots and a career grounded in both legal excellence and community service, Hillary has been a guiding force for the Foundation through one of its most significant periods of growth. She credits her role models of service, her parents, Anne and Luke Smith, along with her mentor and law partner, Rees Sumerford, who is a past chairman and along with his wife, Brooke, one of the Founders of CCGF.
“It has been one of the greatest honors of my career to help steward this organization,” Hillary reflects. “The Foundation is more than a financial institution – it’s a connector of people and purpose, a catalyst for long-term change. I am proud of what we’ve accomplished together.”
Founded in 2005, the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation (CCGF) has grown into a regional powerhouse for philanthropic giving. With more than $55 million in assets under management and over 130 funds serving donors and communities alike, the Foundation has distributed nearly $50 million in grants to nonprofits across Camden, Glynn, and McIntosh counties, and beyond.
Benjamin Galland, VOLO Project
Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation Board Members and President/CEO
CCGF Incoming Chair Jeff Barker, Treasurer René Shellnut, Immediate Past Chairman Jack Kilgore, Chair of Board Hillary Stringfellow, President and CEO Keeva Kase
“The Foundation brings structure, transparency, and lasting value to charitable giving,” says Jeff Barker, who will succeed Hillary as Board Chair. “What makes Hillary’s leadership so special is how she’s helped maintain that mission while making it deeply personal.”
During Hillary’s tenure as Chair—and her many years on the Executive Committee—CCGF expanded its fundholder base, launched the transformational “Under One Roof” housing initiative, and renamed its community grants to honor the late Bernard McCloud, a fellow board member and beloved local leader.
“She’s incredibly strategic, but never forgets the human side of philanthropy,” says Rees Sumerford, Hillary’s law partner at Gilbert Harrell. “Whether she’s guiding a client through a complex trust document or chairing a board meeting, Hillary leads with empathy, precision, and vision.”
A partner at Gilbert Harrell Sumerford & Martin, Hillary is widely recognized as one of Georgia’s foremost experts in estate and trust law. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia with a law degree earned magna cum laude, she clerked for Judge Duross Fitzpatrick before joining her firm in Brunswick. She is a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a former chair of the Fiduciary Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia, and a past appointee to both the Judicial Nominating Commission and the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, which she chaired for two years.
“She makes everything she touches better,” says Dr. Johnny Evans, Jr. President of the College of Coastal Georgia, where Hillary also serves as immediate past Chair of the College Foundation’s Board of Trustees. “From her guidance in board governance to her support for student scholarships, Hillary exemplifies what it means to serve with purpose.”
In addition to her extensive legal and civic résumé, Hillary has lent her time and expertise to organizations such as St. Francis Xavier Catholic School, the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Georgia and the Coastal Georgia Historical Society. Professionally, in her law practice, she enjoys counseling and working with additional charitable organizations and causes close to her heart.
By Keeva Kase, President & CEO, Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation
