Grant Cothran

Executive Director @Recraft Creative Reuse Center

Greenville County, SC, US

My role is the chief visionary of a growing grassroots org in Greenville, SC. Accountable to ReCraft\'s Board of Directors I set operational culture, care for our org\'s health, and guide our development and growth. I\'m the public face of ReCraft (hi!) and manage external relationships with a broad coalition of constituents.Origin Story: In 2019 I founded ReCraft with a borrowed pickup truck, a cluttered garage, and a small group of supportive volunteers. I\'d seen see the positive effects creative reuse was having in other regions and \"ReCraft\" became my capstone Clemson MBA project. The Covid Trials were a major disruption, but opened doors with local educators and nonprofits. Still masked, we opened a small retail space in a windowless basement in early 2022. The outpouring of community support was equal parts awe-inspiring and overwhelming as we kept up with a thousand brilliant ideas and grew, and grew. In summer 2023 we took a hot offer to relocate into a larger, more prominent space that immediately helped us multiply our impact. In 2024 we\'ve returned pounds of useable creative materials to the local community, directly engaged youth with programming, and given free supplies to 100+ schools in South Carolina.What excites me most is planning for the future of creative reuse. We call ourselves \"South Carolina\'s first creative reuse center\" because our location in central Greenville County is a demonstration project - only the first step to promote creativity and sustainability to an broadening region of support. I believe every community deserves a creative reuse resource, and our team is committed to seeing this vision expand over the coming years.

Clemson University

Master of Business Administration - MBA, Innovation

William & Mary – Raymond A. Mason School of Business

BBA, Business Marketing, German Studies

University of Oklahoma

Completion, Economic Development Institute