Elizabeth Belenchia

Elizabeth Belenchia has had a lifelong passion for cultural geography. Her first international trip was as a Girl Scout to Canada where the troop was met by Mounties. A stint as a registered nurse brought her in touch with medical residents from around the world to reinforce this interest. Soon there was not enough challenge, and she changed careers, entering the field of real estate, with no glass ceiling. After 3 years in 3 states of residential marketing, and a move to the international community of Spartanburg, SC, she found a lifelong challenge in international industrial real estate with an emphasis on foreign direct investment. This route took her on foreign trade missions with South Carolina to Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Leadership positions opened in public relations, MLS President, PTA President (a single mom with 4 children living on commission led the challenge). She led a campaign to raise $400,000 to create a teen center in an abandoned warehouse and served as president for two years.

When USC Upstate began an International Advisory Board, she was selected and brought relationships with international universities. This led her to train 160 interns from around the world. One intern reviewed her files and determined she had assisted companies from 28 countries to locate manufacturing operations in the Carolinas. She became a delegate to the Southeast US/Japan where she continues to serve. A Rotarian for 15 years, she was selected to lead a Group Study Exchange Team to Japan (Iwate Prefecture). Returning to SC she founded and raised funds for an Upstate Rotary International Peace Park. Annual Peace Symposiums were conducted for 9 years and USC Upstate engaged with the Peace Corps on campus.

As a member of the International Real Estate Federation since founding her company in 1976, she became a UN Representative in 2004, and has served for 20 years. She leads 33 UN Representatives around the world. She was selected to the first People to People Real Estate Mission to China. She was involved in sustainable solutions early and wrote and managed for four years the first SC EPA Brownfield Pilot Project that was a national success story. She is a corporate member of the UN Global Compact where she was appointed to the Working Group for ISO 26000 (Corporate Social Responsibility).

Transitioning to Hilton Head Island, she served on an HOA Board, leads the Women’s Association Nature Exploration Group (5 years), and serves on the Town of HHI Sustainability Committee, coordinating citizen engagement for their Audubon International Certification. Elizabeth wrote a book about Sea Turtles at Hilton Head. Elizabeth and her husband, Thomas, have been active in Great Decisions and have made the World Affairs Council a centerpiece of their island life.

• Cindy Petitt, Vice President
• John Lang, Treasurer 
• Bill Patterson, Secretary
• Ben Kinnas, Program Chair
• Elizabeth Belenchia 
• Peter Cooper
• Lynn Cordy
• Clair Goddard
• Richard Moniuszko, President