About Thumbs Up
Established in 1995, Thumbs Up is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Sister Mary Trzasko who had a passion for helping disadvantaged young students.
Partnering with their schools, teachers, and parents, we offer a volunteer-driven program that provides one-on-one homework tutoring, small group learning sessions, and other enrichment activities. We work with Elementary School students as we believe early academic mentoring creates long term success. When a student’s early foundation is solid, they continue to grow successfully.
Our goal is to create a loving, nurturing, and caring environment. We focus on character development, and self-confidence building - all of which are key to enhancing our students' academic progress, self-esteem, and socially acceptable behavior. We work with Elementary School students as we believe early academic mentoring creates long term success. When a student’s early foundation is solid, they continue to grow successfully academically and emotionally building a foundation of self-confidence.
Our goal is to create a loving, nurturing, and caring environment.
Meet Our Board Of Directors
J. Wood Rutter (“Woody”)
Chairman of the Board
Retired educator, having served in independent schools for more than 40 years as a teacher, admissions director, Head of School. Woody has served on the Thumbs Up board for approximately 20 years. He also serves on the boards of Salisbury School (CT), ASSIST Scholars Inc., Historic Beaufort Foundation, The Public Library Foundation of Beaufort County (Co-President), Salvation Army of the Lowcountry, USCB Chamber Music. And the Scholarship Committee of St Mark’s Episcopal Church in Port Royal.
Kennith Clyburn, Vice Chairman
He has 40 years’ experience in Health Information Management working in several healthcare (Mental health, substance abuse, rehabilitation, etc.) facilities. He has been a director for over 20 years. He is a member of AHIMA and SCHIMA where he has been the state president and has spoken at several meetings. He also is a member of Tabernacle Baptist Church where currently serves as a financial officer.
Usman Ismail, Treasurer
Has 45+ years of experience in the financial services industry as a senior executive in both early stage and large technology companies. His experiences are in general management, business development, global sales, and marketing management. Usman currently sits on the board of three non-profits as treasurer – I-Care Fund America USA, Thumbs Up and Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Beaufort. Usman holds a BS degree from MIT and an MBA from Columbia University.
Kathleen Ismail, Clerk
Had a thirty-year career working for several unique high-tech companies in Cambridge, MA. and was a Senior Vice President for Atari, Inc., responsible for managing their Human Resources, Facilities, and Information Technology departments. In 2010, Kathleen founded of the Ghana Scholarship Fund, Inc. a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which educates children in rural Ghana, West Africa. She is also the author of the book, “You Can Too”, which chronicles her experiences in Ghana.
Shep Raskind, Director
Shep was born in Boston. Graduated from Boston University and enlisted in the U.S. Army for two years. Upon discharge, he attended Columbia Graduate School of Business. He also studied Electrical Engineering at the Lowell Institute of M.I.T. During his business career, Shep held important Marketing positions at United Shoe Machinery Corporation, American Can Company, and Keyes Fibre Corporation. He was Director of Market- ing Research for both McGraw Hill Publication Division and Lebhar-Friedman Publishing Company. After retiring to Beaufort, South Carolina in 1960, he volunteered as tutor at Beaufort Elementary Schools and Thumbs Up and Joined the Board of Thumbs Up and was the Treasurer of the Board for over fifteen years.
John Smith, Director
John Smith is an Air Force Veteran and native of Ridgeland SC. John is married, has two children and three beautiful grands. John has over 30 years of experience in the telecommunication industry, including previous positions at both Alltel and Verizon. He currently holds a position as Senior Community Relations Advisor at Sparklight (formerly Hargray Communications). John holds an associate degree in Electronic Technology from Nielson Electronics Institute. John supports many local community events. In his free time, enjoys spending time outdoors, watching football and spending time with his family.
Sam Burke, Director
Amy Painton, Thumbs Up Site Director
Thumbs Up of Beaufort is excited to welcome Amy G. Painton as its new Director. A longtime advocate for children and literacy, Amy brings a deep passion for public education and a belief that every child is unique and capable of learning. She attended the University of Georgia and has since built 14 years of experience in school operations and community engagement since moving to the Beaufort area nearly 18 years ago.
Amy played a key role in expanding public school options in Beaufort, serving as Vice-Chair of the planning committee for Bridges Preparatory School and helping secure its charter in 2012. After her work on the planning committee, she spent 10 years supporting the school as part of the operations staff.
She then became Operations Manager at Sea Islands Academy, overseeing academic operations and fostering strong connections with students, families, and the community.
Her dedication to education and literacy is personal as well as professional. Amy’s experience supporting her own child through challenges in the classroom has strengthened her commitment to ensuring every student receives the guidance and resources they need to build confidence, develop skills, and achieve their full potential.
She lives on St. Helena Island with her husband of 25 years, their daughter is currently attending college..
When Sis. Mary Trzasko relocated to the Lowcountry, she had already dedicated a full career to a life of service and education. She could have simply retired and lived out her senior years in peace and quietude, but that wasn't Mary Trzasko. What you need to know is that Sis. Mary wasn't simply an educator. She was a woman of great faith, having served for most of her adult life as a member of the Felician Sisters and later as a member of the Dominican Sisters. Sis. Mary was an activist and community organizer who cared deeply about children and families.
An Enrichment Program for Those At Risk
Initially, she saw a need among the children of parents who are disabled. She wanted to ensure that families who needed the additional sets of eyes, hands, and feet to help their children succeed could get it. What she found is that there were so many other students with profound challenges and obstacles. Sis. Mary wouldn't give up. She reached out to her network for help, and the support poured in.
From Penn Center, to Port Royal Elementary, to the Boys & Girls Club of Beaufort, Sis. Mary poured her energy and personal resources into empowering students of any and every background that had a need. She was like a mother hen with her brood of chicks; protecting them, guiding them, and caring for them each day. It is her commitment and tenacity that still shines as a beacon for the work that we do today and everyday. Sis. Mary was very small in stature, but she is a giant to us all.