SELC Attorneys Receive Honors

Three members of SELC’s law and policy team have received special recognition in recent weeks for career achievements and their work on environmental issues.   They are

Rick Middleton, SELC's founder and Executive Director. At its commencement ceremony in May, Wofford College of Spartanburg, South Carolina, will award Rick an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. The college reserves this honor for individuals who have served our region with distinction and whose lives and careers reflect their dedication to the public good. Rick has devoted his legal career to the betterment of the South and the protection of its natural resources and special places.

David Pope, Director of SELC’s Georgia/Alabama Office. The Environmental Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia has honored David for a career that spans three decades. David received the state bar’s Award for Service to the Profession of Environmental Law, the equivalent of a lifetime achievement Oscar. Before joining SELC in January 2007, he was a founding partner of the Atlanta firm of Carr, Tabb & Pope, LLP, and practiced as a plaintiff’s attorney in all areas of environmental law for 28 years.

Kay Slaughter, Senior Attorney. The Charlottesville, Virginia, Planning Commission has named Kay the Citizen Planner of the Year. Kay is a former mayor of Charlottesville and was recognized for recent work on protecting critical slopes. She has called for strengthened measures to steer development away from steep slopes to slow down flow and absorb rainwater carrying pollutants to urban streams (most of which need restoration), and to preserve natural buffers and wildlife habitat.