Victoria Smalls

Victoria Smalls, Executive Director, is a Gullah Geechee native of St. Helena Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, who specializes in Gullah Geechee history and culture, as a preservationist, historian, educator, artist, and arts advocate.

She proudly served the National Park Service as a National Park Ranger with Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, served at Penn School National Historic Landmark District – Penn Center as Director of the History, Art and Culture Program, Director of the York W. Bailey Museum, and Assistant to the Executive Director, served as Program Manager for the International African American Museum in Charleston, SC, served as an educator for Beaufort County School District, and served as a Federal Commissioner on the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission. Ms. Smalls is a Leo Twiggs Arts Diversity Leadership Scholar, Riley Fellow in Diversity Leadership with The Riley Institute at Furman University, and is currently, a State Commissioner for the SC African American Heritage Commission.

She attended South Carolina State University, Technical College of the Lowcountry, and University of South Carolina-Beaufort. Ms. Smalls is the newly appointed Executive Director of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor National Heritage Area. In this role, she helps to recognize, sustain, and celebrate the important contributions made to American culture and history by the Gullah Geechee; to assist federal, state, and local governments and public and private entities in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida in interpreting the story of the Gullah Geechee and preserving the culture for the benefit and education of the public.