About
Staff
Marisa Adams
Director of Finance and Administration
Phone : 803.765.0517 ex. 115
Email : marisa.adams@scbarfoundation.org
Melissa Collins
Director of Marketing and Development
Phone : 803.576.3791
Email : melissa.collins@scbarfoundation.org
Olivia S. Jones
Executive Director
Email : olivia.jones@scbarfoundation.org
Olivia Stafford Jones is a native of Columbia, South Carolina. She graduated from the South Carolina Honors College in 2001 with a B.A. in Spanish. After graduation, Olivia lived in Chile for a year on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, where she obtained an Associate’s Degree in Public Administration and became fluent in Spanish. Olivia graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2007. Olivia has previously worked as a staff attorney at the S.C. Administrative Law Court, a staff attorney at S.C. Legal Services, where she was named a Nelson Mullins Fellow, and an associate at a non-profit immigration law firm. From 2015-2023, she ran a solo practice, where she handled family law, family-based immigration, and probate work. In September 2023, Olivia began serving as the Executive Director of the SC Bar Foundation.
Olivia is a member of the Richland County Bar Association, the Lexington County Bar Association, the S.C. Women Lawyer’s Association, and the American Immigration Attorneys Association. Olivia is the chair of the Richland County Bar’s Public Service Committee and has served on that committee since 2008, a member of the S.C. Access to Justice Commission, a member of the USC School of Law Pro Bono Program Advisory Council, a board member for the Palmetto Center for Children’s Legal Access, and the 2022-2023 president of the Rotary Club of Five Points having been a member since 2009. Olivia volunteers at the Homeless Legal Clinic (H.E.L.P.) and the Divorce Help Desk in Richland County, and also teaches self-help divorce classes to the public. In 2020, Olivia was honored to be named the S.C. Bar’s Pro Bono Attorney of the Year.
Marisa Adams
Director of Finance and Administration
Phone : 803.765.0517 ex. 115
Email : marisa.adams@scbarfoundation.org
Marisa Adams serves as the Foundation’s Director of Finance and Administration. Marisa is an accomplished operations and financial manager with progressive experience in private and nonprofit sectors in South Carolina, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Before coming to the South Carolina Bar Foundation, Marisa worked for the Congaree Land Trust as well as the Municipal Association of SC. She also previously managed foreign aid projects and international student exchange programs in the former Soviet Union and southeastern Europe.
Marisa holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Management and a Bachelor’s in Russian Language & Literature from the University of Maryland.
Marisa currently serves as a Board member for Sharing God’s Love, a local ministry that provides emergency food, clothing and financial assistance to those in need. She also serves meals to families experiencing homelessness at Family Promise of the Midlands and volunteers with Lighthouse for Life to educate the community and help eradicate human trafficking.
Melissa Collins
Director of Marketing and Development
Phone : 803.576.3791
Email : melissa.collins@scbarfoundation.org
As the Foundation’s Director of Marketing and Development, Melissa works to create marketing materials that are cohesive and engaging to promote the mission of the Foundation and increase its recognition throughout the state. In addition to being responsible for the social media, newsletters, and marketing pieces, she also coordinates and plans events hosted by the Foundation and works to educate potential donors of the advantages of helping support the Foundation and in turn those who need access to legal help.
She received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communications from The University of South Carolina in 2007 with an emphasis on Advertising which she implemented for 12 years while working as a free-lance graphic designer and photographer. Melissa is excited to apply the skills she has accumulated in that time for the benefit of the South Carolina Bar Foundation and those it serves.