Sheryl McAlister, a former Bank of America Executive, has been named Executive Director of the Alliance for Women, a unique public-private partnership created by Columbia College and the South Carolina Commission on Women, the College announced today.
 
The Alliance for Women was established in 2004 to improve the status of women in South Carolina through a network of colleges, universities, government agencies, non-profit organizations, corporations and individuals dedicated to working together to bring about positive changes in the state and region.
 
McAlister retired in 2007 from Bank of America in Charlotte after 18 years and was most recently a Senior Vice President and Corporate Public Relations Executive with the bank. Her experience included public relations for Chairman and CEO Kenneth D. Lewis as well as many of the company’s brand-defining moments.
 
“I am very pleased that Sheryl McAlister will now join and lead this effort to enhance the lives of all South Carolinians through policies and programs that support the economic development of our state's women,” said Dr. Caroline Whitson, President of Columbia College. “Dr. Linda Salane, who has been extraordinary in establishing this unique public/private partnership while also running our Leadership Institute, will work closely with Sheryl in the early stages as she takes on the work of the Alliance.”
 
McAlister, a Columbia native, is a graduate of Leadership Charlotte and served as a board member for the Charlotte Community School of the Arts. She served as a member and chair of the Columbia College Board of Visitors, and is currently a board member of the Alzheimer’s Family Services of Greater Beaufort. She also was a member of the marketing committee of the Charlotte NASCAR Hall of Fame bid committee, was a member of the Charlotte Organizing Committee for the 1996 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four and was an advisory board member for the Women’s Professional Fast Pitch Softball League of 1997. She was a member of the Evanston Group, a public relations organization.
 
A Columbia College graduate, McAlister was previously a sportswriter and editor at the Aiken Standard and a sports copy editor at The Greenville (SC) News. She resides on Fripp Island, SC.