Templeton is the former President of US Brick[1] and the former Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation in the Cabinet of Governor Nikki Haley.

Templeton worked for Roger Milliken and then earned a Juris Doctor in 1998 from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

[4] In 2009, Templeton got involved in a national education effort with retired United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor designed to increase civics knowledge among middle school students about the way government works.

[9] In 2012, Governor Nikki Haley appointed Templeton to the Director's position at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

On December 8, 2010, Governor-elect Nikki R. Haley appointed Templeton to be the South Carolina Director of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (LLR).

In 2011, Templeton halted the LLR audit program that checked whether S.C. employers were verifying the legal immigration status of new hires by implementing a state-wide EVerify requirement.

[13] In her first two months as director, Templeton "cut a swath through personnel and agency practices, raising hackles in the General Assembly."

Templeton laid off nine agency staffers while creating "three high-dollar executive positions, a move that exasperated anti-tax supporters who expected her to cut costs.

[27] In early August 2017, Templeton attracted controversy when she stated at a campaign event in Pickens County, "I am proud of the Confederacy," while also saying that she supports the General Assembly's decision in 2015, following the Charleston church shooting, to remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina State Capitol.

Her volunteer work includes board positions with the Junior League, Gibbes Museum of Art Women's Council, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Garden Club of Charleston, Parents' Association President at First (Scots) Presbyterian Kindergarten, and Sunday School Coordinator at St. Michael's Church.