SELC welcomes SEJ members to the South!

The Southern Environmental Law Center is delighted to welcome environmental journalists from across the U.S. and the world to our “backyard” for the 18th annual SEJ conference.

SELC is a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the environment and health of the Southeast. For more than 20 years, SELC has played a central role in every major environmental issue in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama.

 The theme of this year’s SEJ conference – energy, coal and global warming – couldn’t be more on-target. As a region, our six states rank 7th in the world for carbon dioxide emissions. Some of the country’s dirtiest power plants are located here, with more in the pipeline. In addition:

  • Mountaintop-removal coal mining is devastating Appalachian forests, streams, wildlife habitat, and communities.
  • The current controversy over off-shore drilling has direct impacts on the fragile coastal resources of Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia – which also are threatened by rising sea levels.
  • The South is the fastest sprawling region in the U.S. – begetting more driving and carbon emissions, more paved surfaces and polluted runoff, and skyrocketing energy demand.

SELC staff will be on hand throughout the SEJ conference, October 16-18, to share the latest information about these and other issues. (See below.) Working at all levels of government to create, implement and enforce environmental law and policy, SELC’s attorneys are nationally respected experts in their fields, and provide unique perspective on the most pressing environmental issues facing the South, and the country. Make sure to drop by our hospitality suite (Roanoke Ballroom F) on Thursday evening for barbecue, bourbon and bluegrass. See you there.

Jeffrey M. Gleason, Deputy Director and Director of Regional Programs

  • Clean air expert; recipient of Clean Air Conservationist of the Year and EPA’s Clean Air Excellence Awards
  • Union College with honors; University of Virginia School of Law

Deborah M. Murray, Senior Attorney
Tour speaker, Almost Level 1: Cutting Down Mountains for Coal

  • Primary focus on Virginia and Tennessee
  • Litigation specialist with 18+ years experience in water quality, wetlands, and transportation
  • University of Virginia with highest honors; University of Virginia School of Law with honors; executive editor, Virginia Law Review

David W. Carr, Jr., Senior Attorney
Tour speaker, What are Forests Worth?

  • National Parks and Forests Program Leader
  • National expert and regional leader for Southern Appalachian national forest conservation
  • Princeton University with honors; University of Virginia School of Law

Katherine E. Slaughter, Senior Attorney
Tour speaker, Nuclear Power – from Ore to Volts

  • Senior attorney, Virginia special projects
  • Former mayor of Charlottesville
  • Founding member and former president of Virginia Conservation Network
  • University of North Carolina, Phi Beta Kappa; University of Virginia School of Law

Derb S. Carter, Jr., Director, NC/SC Office
Panel (Friday 11:15), Joy Ride or Ecocide?
Network Lunch (Friday), Pollution trading

  • North Carolina Conservationist of the Year (2004)
  • Wetlands and coastal expert; winner of 2000 National Wetlands Award
  • University of North Carolina; University of Oregon Law School; editor of Oregon Law Review

Caleb Adam Jaffe, Senior Attorney
Panel (Saturday, 10:45), Climate Change and Emerging Legal Challenges

  • Primary focus on clean air
  • Former law clerk for judges in U.S. Court of Appeals (4th Circuit) and U.S. District Court
  • Yale University; University of Virginia (M.A.); University of Virginia School of Law, Order of the Coif; editor-in-chief, Virginia Environmental Law Journal

Cat McCue, Senior Program Communications Manager
Cat will be available throughout the conference; also, look for SELC's literature display.

  • Oversees SELC's media relations and other program communications
  • Former environmental reporter for The Roanoke Times; recipient of Scripps Howard Fellowship in Environmental Journalism
  • University of Tennessee, Phi Beta Kappa; University of California, Berkeley (M.J.)