15th Annual Danielle Hope Watson Commitment to Justice Award

Event Date:
Thursday, September 17, 2026

Deadline for Sponsorship Pledges:
Friday, July 31, 2026

Deadline for Ticket Sales:
Monday, August 31, 2026

Event Location:
Francis Marion Hotel
387 King St., Charleston, SC 29403.

Event Time:
5:30 PM – 8:00 PM ET

Cocktail Hour:
5:30 PM ET

Award Ceremony:
6:30 PM ET

The Center for Heirs’ Property® (CHP) will host its 15th Annual Danielle Hope Watson Commitment to Justice Award reception to raise funds to fuel our mission and to honor a remarkable humanitarian and standard bearer of justice whose work has impacted South Carolina – and the country.

This year, we will be honoring Mr. Anton Gunn, a nationally recognized leader and culture expert who helps leaders build trust, inspire teams, and drive meaningful impact. With a distinguished career spanning public service, healthcare, and executive leadership, Anton has consistently broken barriers while advancing opportunities for others.

Throughout the event, guests will enjoy a silent auction, delicious food, and live music while coming together to support the important work of the Center for Heirs’ Property®.

We warmly invite you to be part of this special evening as we celebrate CHP’s mission to preserve family land, protect generational ownership, and help build a more just and equitable future for all and to honor Mr. Gunn.

If you are interested in sponsoring this event, please reach out to Nulani Bennett, Director of Development, at nbennett@heirsproperty.org or 843-745-7055, ext. 246.

Danielle Hope Watson Commitment to Justice Award Honoree:

Anton Gunn

The Center for Heirs’ Property® (CHP) is proud to present the Danielle Hope Watson Commitment to Justice Award, honoring individuals who demonstrate an unwavering commitment to equity, leadership, and service in their communities.

This year, we are honored to recognize Anton Gunn as the 15th Annual Danielle Hope Watson Commitment to Justice Award recipient. Anton Gunn is a nationally recognized leadership and culture expert who helps leaders build trust, inspire teams, and drive meaningful impact. With a distinguished career spanning public service, healthcare, and executive leadership, Anton has consistently broken barriers while advancing opportunities for others.

A trailblazer from an early age, Anton became the youngest CEO of a statewide nonprofit advocacy organization at just 27. He later made history as the first African American elected to the South Carolina Legislature from his district.

His leadership continued on the national stage as a senior advisor to President Barack Obama and as a presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he served as Director of External Affairs.

Anton also made history in healthcare as the first African American C-level executive at the Medical University of South Carolina Health System (MUSC Health), earning recognition as one of the Ten Most Influential Minority Executives in Healthcare. Today, he is a sought-after advisor and speaker, working with organizations across the country to develop strong leaders and build resilient, purpose-driven cultures.

Throughout his career, Anton has remained deeply committed to advancing equity, strengthening communities, and creating pathways for opportunity. His work reflects the very spirit of the Commitment to Justice Award-championing fairness, expanding access, and inspiring transformative change.

At CHP, we believe that land is more than property—it is legacy, opportunity, and a foundation for generational wealth. Through legal services, education, and sustainable land use strategies, CHP works alongside families to protect heirs’ property and ensure it remains a source of stability and prosperity for future generations. This commitment reflects the very spirit of the Danielle Hope Watson Commitment to Justice Award. Like Anton Gunn, CHP’s work is rooted in expanding opportunity, strengthening communities, and advancing equity in ways that create lasting change across generations.

We invite you to join us in honoring Anton Gunn and supporting CHP’s mission to preserve land, protect family ownership, and build a more just and equitable future. Your sponsorship directly supports this critical work while aligning your organization with a powerful commitment to community, legacy, and impact.

History of Danielle Hope Watson Commitment to Justice Award

The Center for Heirs’ Property® (CHP) inaugurated the annual “Danielle Hope Watson Commitment to Justice Award” reception in the spring of 2011. The purpose of the event is two-fold:

To honor a remarkeble humanitarian and standard bearer of justice whose work has impacted South Carolina.
To raise awareness about CHP.

Danielle Hope Watson

In 2022, CHP’s Danielle Hope Watson Commitment to Justice Award was named in honor of Danielle Hope Watson. Hope began working with the Center for Heirs’ Property® in 2014 as an outreach coordinator. Her personality, the relationships she developed within the role, and her knowledge of the law helped her transition easily to become a staff attorney for CHP.

She became a formidable attorney providing legal education, advice and counsel, and extended legal services to heirs’ property owners across our service area. Unfortunately, Hope left us way too early and passed away in 2021. CHP honors the lasting mark her work left on the organization and how it helped shape its development during her tenure. Hope’s passion and commitment to justice and protecting family land for families was unwavering.

The event has since attracted 250 guests each year to honor recipients, including:

Judge Richard E. Fields
Judge Alex Sanders
Dr. Theodore S. Stern
Ret. Chief Justice Ernest A. Finney, Jr.
Honorable Lucille S. Whipper
Ret. Chief Justice Jean H. Toal
Rev. McKinley Washington, Jr.
Judge Bernard Fielding
Armand Derfner, Esq.
Christine Osburn Jackson
Dr. Millicent E. Brown
Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III
David J. Dennis Sr.
Cecelia Gordon Rogers

Keynote Speaker

Mia S. McLeod

Mia S. McLeod, 2023 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award® recipient and Best Selling Author of The Unlikely Disruptor: South Carolina’s First Black Woman to Run for Governor, is an authentic, principled leader with over two decades of public and private sector public affairs, public policy and political navigation experience, helping individuals and organizations make high-stakes decisions with clarity, conviction and confidence. A globally recognized leader and master-strategist, Mia is an authority on systems-level advocacy, engagement, alignment and impact.

As Founder and CEO of McLeod Butler, Mia represents a diverse clientele across disciplines, industries and sectors. Whether advising executives, coaching leaders through high-stakes transitions or speaking to audiences about the true cost of courage, her work is rooted in the belief that authenticity and courageous, principled leadership are necessary to create lasting impact. Her specialties include custom, mission-driven strategies, navigation of complex environments, stakeholder engagement and alignment with core values. From the executive and legislative branches to Fortune 500 companies, boardrooms and global public leadership fellowships…Mia’s multidisciplinary vantage point uniquely equips her to lead in the most difficult environments.

Recognized internationally for courageous leadership, civility and bipartisan collaboration inside systems that are extremely resistant to change, Mia is known for her strong, independent voice, bold, enterprising ideas and principled stances. The first woman to occupy each elected and appointed position she held in state government, Mia led one of South Carolina’s most diverse, fastest-growing swing districts during her 14 years in the South Carolina Legislature, serving on critical legislative committees, including: Judiciary, Legislative Oversight, Medical, Military & Municipal Affairs, Transportation and Rules, while working across party lines to advance key public policy initiatives.

After earning a Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law and Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Carolina, she also successfully completed the FastTrac Growth Venture Business Development Program at Midlands Technical College and Facilitating Economic Growth Executive Education Program at Columbia University. As a former South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Board member, Mia actively served on its Small Business, Education, Communications & Public Relations Committees and chaired its Diversity Committee.

Her South Carolina fellowships include: Liberty Fellowship (member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network – AGLN), Diversity Leaders’ Initiative and SC Education Policy Fellowship. In 2017, Mia was nominated and invited into the Aspen Institute’s prestigious Rodel (Public Leadership) Fellowship (Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN).

A 7th generation South Carolinian, Mia’s family recently celebrated 111 years in business. She has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, People, Black Enterprise, Glamour and Governing magazines and interviewed on CBS News, Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, Good Morning America and other national media outlets. Because of their bipartisanship and courageous public policy stances, Mia and her Sister-Senators received the 2023 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award®, a global disfunction fewer than 100 people in the world enjoyed before them.

A proud mom of two young adult sons, Mia retired from public service in 2024 and lives in Columbia.