ORANGEBURG, SC, May 13, 2026, Most men would call surviving financial ruin a comeback. Most men would call three suicide attempts a warning. WarChief Dragon Canoe — known to the business world as John B. Gethers — calls it a calling.

Recognized this year in Marquis Who's Who, one of America's most prestigious biographical registries since 1899, Dragon Canoe now stands at the intersection of two lives most people never dare to live simultaneously: a nationally recognized small business authority with more than $100 million in capital raised for entrepreneurs, and the elected WarChief and Principle of the Erati Tsaragi Cusabo Nation — the coastal and lowland moundbuilders of the Southeast.

"I didn't survive to be successful. I survived to be obedient. GOD doesn't call the equipped — He equips the called."
— WarChief Dragon Canoe

A CAREER THAT MOVED MOUNTAINS — AND MONEY

Over nearly two decades, Dragon Canoe built one of South Carolina's most quietly formidable records in small business development. As CEO of Epiphany Management Consulting, he has guided entrepreneurs through the complex journey from founder-dependent startup to professionally managed enterprise — scaling revenues, building back-office infrastructure, and creating companies that outlast their founders' best days.

His signature Construction Business Accelerator has produced measurable results: multiple participants have crossed the $1 million revenue milestone within three years. As Regional Director for the SC Small Business Development Center (SC SBDC) at South Carolina State University since 2022, he inherited an office in crisis and was delivered the State Star Award in his very first year — a recognition of outstanding economic development impact across the state. In his second year, his team added Kostas Ioannidis who set a state record: $55 million in capital access secured for South Carolina small businesses in a single calendar year. That benchmark remains unmatched.

Earlier in his career, he served as vice president at Nile River Capital and president of Contractor Growth Capital, accumulating expertise across construction finance, project management, and government contracting. He holds a PMP certification from the Project Management Institute and earned his degree in Organizational Management from Claflin University.

THE RECKONING NO RÉSUMÉ CAN HOLD

Behind those numbers was a man quietly losing himself.
After losing a company buried in $500,000 in debt and later confronting $2.5 million in combined liabilities, Dragon Canoe survived three suicide attempts and four commitments to mental health institutions. He had spent decades pouring everything into other people's companies — their revenues, their growth, their legacies — while silently abandoning his own truth: his ancestry, his spiritual identity, and the ancient call of his people.

"I raised millions for other people's companies and nearly died broke — not broke in money, but broke in spirit," he reflects. "I had to nearly lose everything before I could finally become who I was always meant to be."

What brought him back was not a business plan. It was GOD — and the voices of his ancestors.

THE WARCHIEF REMEMBERED

Dragon Canoe is the elected WarChief and Principle of the Erati Tsaragi Cusabo Nation — the coastal and lowland moundbuilders whose ancestral territory spans Fairfield County to Colleton County in South Carolina. He is a descendant of the great healer Tina Greenleaf Wilson of the Erati Tsaragi Nation and of the legendary WarChief A'tenatenatenato (Round O)— a lineage of leaders, healers, and warriors that centuries of historical erasure have not extinguished.

Raised on a reservation immersed in Cusabo spiritual tradition, he has answered a divine call to serve as a Priest of IFA and Palo — ancient African and indigenous systems of healing, justice, and community restoration. His grandfather founded a federal credit union in the 1960s while running a store and a construction company devoted to lifting his community. His grandmother practiced traditional Native American arts as a spiritualist. These were not background details: they were blueprints.

The Nation's mission extends beyond its own members. The Erati Tsaragi Cusabo Nation is committed to providing housing and community support, at no cost, to all veterans, first responders, and their families who meet the Nation's criteria — a promise grounded in a belief that those who have given the most deserve to live free.

"GOD can call anyone to serve — no matter how broken, how buried in debt, or how far from home they have wandered. We are all instruments. GOD is the maestro."
— WarChief Dragon Canoe

WHERE BUSINESS ENDS AND PURPOSE BEGINS

At Epiphany Management Consulting, the name is not accidental. An epiphany is not a strategy — it is a revelation. The firm delivers fractional CFO and COO services, business transformation consulting, workforce development, and capital access strategy. But its true product is what happens when a business owner finally sees themselves clearly.

Dragon Canoe's spiritual journey did not pull him away from business. It showed him what business is for. Every company he helps build is one more step toward something larger than profit: community restoration, generational wealth, and the dignity of people who have been told their dreams are too big.

He continues his advocacy work with survivors of sexual abuse — a cause born from his own childhood experience — and serves as a mentor through the Truth Seekers Temple. His wife, a nurse practitioner specializing in rural and Native American health care, has deepened his understanding of the communities he serves. Together, they are building something that will outlast both of them.

AN INVITATION

If you are an entrepreneur ready to stop surviving and start leading — if you have been told your vision is too ambitious, your background too unconventional, or your moment not yet arrived — Epiphany Management Consulting invites you to begin the conversation.

If you or someone you know is a veteran, first responder, or indigenous person in South Carolina seeking connection, resources, or community, the Erati Tsaragi Cusabo Nation extends a welcome.

If you have experienced sexual abuse or know someone who has, Dragon Canoe and the Truth Seekers Temple are ready to walk that road with you.

ABOUT EPIPHANY MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
Epiphany Management Consulting is an Orangeburg, SC-based firm providing fractional CFO and COO services, business transformation consulting, capital access strategy, and workforce development to small and mid-sized businesses across South Carolina and the Southeast. Founded and led by WarChief Dragon Canoe (John B. Gethers), the firm specializes in guiding entrepreneurs through the gap between startup potential and sustained, professionally managed growth. Every engagement is rooted in the belief that true transformation is not merely financial — it is a revelation of purpose.

About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. The suite of Marquis® publications, including Who's Who in America® and Who's Who in the World®, remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the globe. Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

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