COLUMBIA, SC (October 27, 2016) – Inez Tenenbaum, former Chairman of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and former South Carolina State Superintendent of Education, has joined Wyche, P.A. Tenenbaum will focus her practice at Wyche on consumer product safety and risk management, working particularly with manufacturers and retailers of consumer products to ensure compliance with applicable consumer product safety requirements and to protect the client’s brand. She also will counsel clients through public policy issues regarding education on a state, regional, and national level.
“Wyche has a long history of community involvement and legal leadership,” said Inez Tenenbaum. “I am excited to work with Wyche and to continue that tradition of great results for our clients and our State.”
Ted Gentry, Chair of Wyche’s Executive Committee, commented, “Inez embodies the world-class excellence that Wyche strives to deliver. Her experience and passion for making a difference will be tremendous assets.”
In 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Tenenbaum to chair the CPSC. She was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate, and served until her term expired in November 2013. During her tenure, the CPSC launched innovative initiatives to reduce and eliminate risk associated with products internationally and in the United States.
Tenenbaum was elected South Carolina’s State Superintendent of Education in 1998, and again in 2002. At the end of her tenure in that office, South Carolina was a leader in the nation in education improvement. Standard & Poor’s identified South Carolina as an “outperformer” on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and the state’s SAT scores increased 34 points over the eight years, the largest such gain in the nation.
Tenenbaum serves on the Board of Directors for Safe Kids Worldwide, the Advisory Board for South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics and Science, the National Advisory Board for the International African American Museum, and is a member of the Southern Regional Education Board’s Early Childhood Commission. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, and earned both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Education degree from the University of Georgia.