John Suttles

Deputy Director

John Suttles has worked at SELC for more than two decades, and he leverages that experience as a principal partner and advisor to the executive director. John provides guidance and yes/no decision-making for staff, and supervises, supports, and coordinates the work of director-level leaders while also helping shape SELC’s programmatic efforts. He is most proud of the exceptional work and remarkable results of the colleagues he supports. In his own career as a litigator, he points to SELC’s successful regional campaign to prevent construction of new coal-fired power plants and to hasten retirement of the existing coal fleet “among my proudest professional achievements.” 

Growing up in the 1960s in Hillsborough, N.C., John was influenced by young protesters who demanded change to segregation, foreign wars, and environmental destruction. He was also inspired by his father, a NASA engineer, whose team used slide rules to build rockets for human space travel. Legislation, litigation, and resourcefulness are essential tools for protecting the planet.  

“This tiny blue planet and our existence on it is miraculous and humbling,” John said. “We are beneficiaries of profound natural wonders; we live in a moment of unprecedented opportunity. We also face daunting challenges—many of our own creation. My formative years revealed to me and history demonstrates, time and again, the possibility of truly transformative change when people join together with common purpose and clear resolve.” 

Sunrise is John’s favorite moment outdoors, either in Great Smoky Mountains National Park or Cape Hatteras National Seashore. “No matter what transpired the day before, it is a time of renewed opportunity and optimism in two of the most beautiful, invigorating, and inspiring places on the planet,” he said. “I am still here at SELC because I want to work to make the world a better place and the South is my home.”   

• Former litigation director, SELC 
• Former of counsel, Schafer & Schafer 
• Former deputy director, Tulane Environmental Law Clinic 
• Tulane University School of Law, cum laude; Master of Law, with distinction 
• University of Virginia, Dean’s List