Marilyn L. Hemingway is founder and president of the Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce, the Gullah Geechee Chamber Foundation Inc and The HemingwayGroup, a communications firm.

A native of Georgetown, SC, Marilyn’s Gullah Geechee roots extend along the entire coast of South Carolina from Horry to Beaufort counties and includes a long line of family civic, business, education, and political engagement.An advocate for environmental justice and green, renewable energy, Marilyn created the annual Gullah Geechee Environmental & Energy Conference hosted in South Carolina and Georgia with plans to expand to North Carolina and Florida.As a civic leader and entrepreneur, Marilyn leads the GullahGeechee Seafood Trail, celebrating and promoting the Gullah Geechee Maritime Heritage,seafood businesses and creators launching in January 2024 as a global tourism destinationmarketing tool through the Saltonstall-Kennedy grant program of the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Ms. Hemingway earned her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of SouthCarolina and is a certified Impact Economics Consultant (College of Charleston), and in 2020completed Sea Level Rising and Energy certifications through the national NAACP.Marilyn was recognized in 2020 by the Post and Courier as “12 African American Leaders toknow in South Carolina.” She is a recipient of the 2020 Conservation Voters of South CarolinaHarriet Keyserling Community Advocate Award, the Georgetown NAACP Branch #5520Leadership Award and the SC African American Heritage Commission 2021 Herbert A DeCosta Trailblazer award.In 2022, Marilyn received the Brookgreen Gardens Huntington Exemplary Service Award forworking to improve race relations and a presidential appointment to the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission.In 2023, she was recognized by SCBizNews magazine as one of the 50 Most Influential People in South Carolina.