Alumni Spotlight Emily Held Farr '96

Emily began her Hammond career in high school when her family moved to Columbia, and she graduated in 1996. During her time at Hammond, she cheered for football and basketball teams and was very involved with theater.  She was a problem solver and team player even then as she distinctly remembers how she and some other students banded together to direct their own productions when Hammond was lacking a drama teacher.

Another favorite memory centers on her junior class trip to Belize and Guatemala. She still remembers it vividly- seeing things and doing activities that she would never have done otherwise like living without electricity or running water and sitting on top of one of the highest temples in Tikal watching the sun set as parrots and monkeys went by in the treetops below.

Emily attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill double majoring in Political Science and Communication Studies.  She continued on to law school at the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she was a Petigru Scholarship recipient and served on The South Carolina Law Review, and during the summers, she clerked and was exposed to civil litigation. This led her to join the civil litigation team at Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd in Columbia after graduation. Because of the national recession occurring during this time, her firm received a large volume of work related to consumer financial litigation, so this became her concentration. Ultimately, she was ready to shift from litigation to advice and counsel in an area that challenged her - employment law.  She provided advice and counsel in employment law to the firm's clients for several years before leaving private practice to join state government. 

Her latest challenge has been taking the helm at the South Carolina Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation. She was appointed as interim director by Governor Nikki Haley in 2016 and confirmed as Director in 2017.

“I am very thankful for the opportunity to serve South Carolina in this role,” said Farr. “I truly enjoy working with a team to execute programs and find solutions to problems that can really make a difference in South Carolina.  Many people do not realize the agency's programs affect every citizen of our State.  It includes occupational licensing of almost every profession in SC that requires a license or registration; state labor programs, including SC OSHA and elevators and amusement ride inspections; and State Fire, which includes the State Fire Marshal and the SC Fire Academy.”

In addition to her professional work, Emily is also involved in the community working closely with Junior Achievement of Greater South Carolina for many years teaching financial literacy and entrepreneurship classes to students and serving on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. 

Emily and her husband, Ellis, have been married nearly 20 years, and they have a son, Will (12 years old) and twin daughters, Catie and Carter (nine years old).