Furman Innovation Lab
Shaping Leaders, Sparking Change
Professional certificates, graduate programs and leadership development from Furman University, built for working professionals and the organizations they lead. Wherever you are, whether growing your career, developing your team or driving change in your community, we meet you there.
The Furman Advantage, reimagined
For 200 years, Furman’s liberal arts tradition has paired rigorous research with learning that serves its community. The Innovation Lab brings that standard to working professionals and organizations through applied programs built for today’s challenges.
Our Partners
Our work is built through partnership. We collaborate with organizations across our region to understand their challenges, design experiences around their needs and help their people put new ideas into practice. The organizations featured here represent just some of the teams that have trusted us to support their leaders, people and continued growth.
Signature programs
Where our programs come from
Where would you like to start?
From insight to impact: What our partners are saying
Walking away, I felt like a builder. I could take what I’d learned and pour it into others. I wanted to give back what had been given to me. I was able to go help others, share the wealth, share the knowledge.
Dr. Edwina Perrin
Founder
Leadership Matters Academy
Furman tapped into instructors who had real-world experience. These are people who’ve built businesses, and they can talk about their positive and, more importantly, their negative learnings. The entrepreneurs were able to really take those lessons and apply them to their own initiatives and immediately get feedback.
Brett Owen
Head of Incubation
North American Michelin Innovation Lab
The camaraderie, the joy that we all receive from being in class together every month, we miss it. So, I’m just grateful for the opportunity.
Brittany Brackett
Executive Director and Founder
Outstanding Youth Awards Initiative
Experts driving impact
Behind every Furman Innovation Lab experience are experts who bring research, real-world insight, and bold ideas to the table. They ignite curiosity, guide discovery, and help learners and organizations turn potential into lasting impact.
Garrett Stern
A mission-driven innovator, Garrett Stern leads Furman’s Center for Innovative Leadership with a passion for connecting universities and communities to solve real-world challenges.
With more than a decade of experience in higher education, he designs programs that strengthen leadership and build workforce resilience. A national speaker on the future of education and work, Garrett helps organizations navigate transformation with human-centered solutions.
Bryan Boroughs
Prior to coming to Furman, Bryan Boroughs served as chief operating officer and general counsel at the Institute for Child Success. He previously served as an investigative counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and for several youth-serving organizations, including Young Invincibles, Mountainview Whisman Elementary School District, the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County, and Mental Health America of Greenville County.
Bryan Davis
Over the past 15 years, Bryan Davis has a track record of successfully launching and growing high-impact initiatives ranging from health-tech startups to universities and multi-billion-dollar healthcare centers.
Bryan has been responsible for the launch and growth of numerous initiatives within the institute, executed new external partnerships, and secured new funding. He founded a startup program nominated nationally for “Excellence in New Venture Creation” (GVL Starts) and helped lead South Carolina’s first-ever statewide student pitch competition (SC Innovates).
Andrew Predmore
Andrew Predmore brings extensive expertise in sustainability to Furman, having worked in both private industry and higher education. He most recently served as sustainability manager for Milliken & Company, where his work focused on reporting environmental, social, and governance metrics, integrating life cycle assessment methodologies into Milliken’s business, and developing greenhouse gas reduction and climate mitigation strategy.
Kerry Sease
As a primary care physician with a 20+ year career in academic medicine, Kerry Sease brings a unique awareness to community health needs and solutions. Kerry has held multiple roles in the healthcare setting, including co-establishing the Bradshaw Institute for Community Child Health & Advocacy, leading the Pediatrics Residency Program, developing clinical programs to address gaps in care, and leading the Pediatric Community Health Needs Assessment for Prisma Health.
Zachary White
Zachary White has published research addressing topics such as authentic leadership, managing uncertainty, communicating stigmatized role experiences, digital equity, and caregiver communication.
He teaches courses in communication theory, innovation and creativity, and narrative communication.
Dr. White recently served on the North Carolina Institute of Medicine’s Task Force on Healthy Aging.
Garrett Stern
A mission-driven innovator, Garrett Stern leads Furman’s Center for Innovative Leadership with a passion for connecting universities and communities to solve real-world challenges.
With more than a decade of experience in higher education, he designs programs that strengthen leadership and build workforce resilience. A national speaker on the future of education and work, Garrett helps organizations navigate transformation with human-centered solutions.
Bryan Boroughs
Prior to coming to Furman, Bryan Boroughs served as chief operating officer and general counsel at the Institute for Child Success. He previously served as an investigative counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and for several youth-serving organizations, including Young Invincibles, Mountainview Whisman Elementary School District, the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County, and Mental Health America of Greenville County.
Bryan Davis
Over the past 15 years, Bryan Davis has a track record of successfully launching and growing high-impact initiatives ranging from health-tech startups to universities and multi-billion-dollar healthcare centers.
Bryan has been responsible for the launch and growth of numerous initiatives within the institute, executed new external partnerships, and secured new funding. He founded a startup program nominated nationally for “Excellence in New Venture Creation” (GVL Starts) and helped lead South Carolina’s first-ever statewide student pitch competition (SC Innovates).