James Galyean blends a distinguished legal pedigree with a visionary approach to public education and economic growth in South Carolina. Admitted to practice before both the Supreme Court of South Carolina and the Supreme Court of the United States, he earned his J.D. from the University of South Carolina’s Joseph F. Rice School of Law and a B.A. in history and political science from Furman University. His federal service began as an Assistant United States Attorney, where he secured convictions in complex white-collar and violent-crime cases, and continued on Capitol Hill as chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime & Drugs, shaping pivotal national-security legislation in the early 2000s.
Mr. Galyean later spent nearly ten years at Nexsen Pruet, LLC, guiding corporations through high-stakes regulatory and antitrust matters. In 2018 he pivoted to K-12 innovation, founding Reason & Republic, an education management organization now operating SC Preparatory Academy and SC Preparatory Leadership School—tuition-free, statewide virtual charter schools that deliver a rigorous classical curriculum for grades 6–12. His earlier brick-and-mortar ventures, Belton Preparatory Academy and Summit Classical School, both earned top state accolades under his leadership.
Beyond education, Mr. Galyean chairs Icelaven, an investment firm funding growth-stage businesses, and serves on the boards of Tri-County Technical College Foundation and Upward Sports Foundation. A lifelong Anderson resident and former South Carolina House District 9 candidate, he remains committed to expanding school choice, fostering entrepreneurship, and strengthening his community.
