Mrs. Helen Rosemond Saunders

Helen Rosemond-Saunders of Seneca represents Oconee County. She was appointed to serve on the Commission in 1993 and represents Oconee County on a continuing basis. In 1997 she was elected vice chair and later served as chair from 2007 to 2011. Currently she serves on the Curriculum and Instruction Committee.  

A veteran educator, she taught home economics in the public schools of Seneca for 20 years before becoming a guidance counselor at Seneca High School in 1986. She became director of guidance at the school in 1991 and retired from public education in 2005.

 At the state and national levels, Rosemond-Saunders is a charter member, former chair and vice chair for the S.C. Association of Technical College Commissioners (SCATCC). She also served on its Executive Board. She is the recipient of the 2024 SCATCC Trustee Leadership Award. The award honors an individual who has made significant contributions to promote the technical or community college concept. This is the second time this honor has been bestowed upon Commissioner Rosemond-Saunders.

She currently serves on the Trustee Advisory Committee for the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and is past chair of the ACCT Diversity Committee and a past member of its Governance and Bylaws Committee. She spearheaded the development of the first Commissioner Academy to educate new Commissioners about their role in community college governance and advocacy. She was named the Outstanding Trustee for the Southern Region by the national ACCT in 2017.

She was honored June 12, 2023, with the Order of the Silver Crescent, the state of South Carolina’s highest civilian award. Senator Thomas Alexander presented her with the award at a luncheon to celebrate her 30 years of service on TCTC’s governing board.

She holds a bachelor's degree in Home Economics from South Carolina State University, a master's degree in Nutritional Science from Clemson University, and 30-plus certification in Secondary School Guidance from Clemson University.

She was selected as one of 12 distinguished alumni to receive the 2017 – 2018 Stellar Alumnus for S.C. State University.  

She is a life member and Golden Soror of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the oldest black sorority in the nation and has served as Cluster VIII Coordinator of the South Atlantic Region. She also has served as president and vice president of the Epsilon Tau Omega Chapter in Greenville, SC, and as graduate advisor of the Lambda Theta Chapter at Clemson University.

She is an active member of Pleasant Hill Baptist in Westminster.