Amy Cantrell ’94 to Speak at Converse Founder’s Day Celebration
Spartanburg native, Converse graduate, and nationally-known philanthropist Rev. Amy Cantrell ’94 will be the 2025 Founder’s Day keynote speaker at Converse University on Friday, April 25. This annual celebration bridges both past and present as the campus community celebrates graduating seniors and Converse alumni, who are on campus for Reunion Weekend.
Cantrell is founder and co-director of BeLoved Asheville, which brings together people from all walks of life to create innovative solutions to some of the most challenging problems of our time, including housing, food insecurity, poverty, healthcare, and more. Her work with BeLoved Asheville has been featured in national media, including Good Morning America and People Magazine, for its initiatives to support Asheville and the surrounding areas after the catastrophic flooding and devastation brought on by Hurricane Helene.
Cantrell credits Converse for bolstering her commitment to service and her desire to build communities where everyone thrives.
“We are honored to have Rev. Amy Cantrell as this year’s Founder’s Day speaker,” said Converse President Dr. Boone J. Hopkins. “Through her compassion and innovative commitment to strengthening communities, she truly lives out the mission set forward by Converse’s founder to ‘see clearly, decide wisely, and act justly.’”
Cantrell credits Converse for bolstering her commitment to service and her desire to build communities where everyone thrives. As a young student, she traveled with her classmates and professors to New York City and built relationships with the area’s unhoused population. “My passion was spurred from my time at Converse,” she shared. “That college trip was pivotal in my life. As I returned to Spartanburg, I started to take a deeper dive into these issues.”
The idea of building community with impacted people and working to transform the world together morphed into a lifetime of direction when Cantrell later moved to North Carolina and created BeLoved Asheville.
“…She truly lives out the mission set forward by Converse’s founder to ‘see clearly, decide wisely, and act justly.”
President Boone J. Hopkins
Cantrell earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Converse and her Master’s in Divinity at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta. Converse honored Cantrell with the Alumni Community Service Award in 2024, the same year she was named one of the USA Today Network’s Women of the Year. Cantrell passed the NASCLA national licensing exam in 2020, becoming a general contractor to help support BeLoved’s project to build deeply affordable homes. In 2017, she received the Western North Carolina Peacemaker of the Year Award. She is married to Adrienne Sigmon and is mom to twin daughters Myla and Eleecia.
Converse University’s annual Founder’s Day ceremony includes a procession of the Senior Class, faculty, and platform party. During the ceremony, the university also honors the recipient of the Dexter Edgar Converse Award and the Katheryn Amelia Brown Award. The celebration continues with a traditional Founders Day lunch outside of Wilson on the Johnson Plaza, including Dexter Edgar Converse’s favorite dessert, strawberries and cream.
The ceremony will be live-streamed, and details can be found on the Founder’s Day webpage.