Cornelius Lewis

Digital Content and Strategy Manager

SELC’s social media program starts with Cornelius. He supports advocacy and marketing efforts, sharing SELC’s work and story in a way that grows the organization’s audience and resonates with people across our region and beyond. His work amplifies the issues, people, partners, and places across the southeast. 

“SELC’s place-based approach really resonates with me,” Cornelius said. “My previous work with roots musicians took me deep into the most rural parts of our region and connected me with people dealing with the environmental injustices SELC is working to fight. The people and places of the South are a vital source of our cultural identity and need to be acknowledged and protected. The South is complicated yet uniquely positioned to lead the way on environmental issues and climate change.” 

Cornelius has spent stretches of time in eastern North Carolina, and SELC’s environmental justice initiative there is especially meaningful to him. “Specifically, our work around industrial hog farming in Eastern North Carolina is very inspiring,” he said. “It is deeply upsetting to see how layered environmental injustices are compounded for Black and Brown communities.” 

A Chicago native, Cornelius has lived in North Carolina for three decades and is especially drawn to a spot in the northwestern part of the state. “The New River holds a special place in my heart,” he said. “I’ve spent considerable time there trout fishing, hiking, and canoeing in and around what is one of the oldest rivers in the world.”   

Previous experience

• Welcoming America, digital engagement manager 
• Music Maker Foundation, communications manager 
• Digital Communications graduate certificate, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
• B.S., Appalachian State University 
• With SELC since 2023