OUR MISSION:
We fund efforts that protect our region’s incredible wildlife and great outdoors for the benefit of our children.
Our Programs
Awareness
We support fact-based communication projects in the U.S. Southeast to inform communities about our changing climate and other environmental challenges.
Accelerator
We fund projects that accelerate the pace of conservation in our region and strengthen environmental protection, prioritizing work in the Southern Appalachians.
Land
We partner with accredited land trusts, state and local agencies and national conservation organizations to invest in regional land conservation projects.
Our grantmaking is done with a new-venture mindset. We prioritize high-potential projects that need support getting off the ground.
Our Team
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Roy is Green South’s Founder and President. He is the retired chief executive of Southwire Company. Currently he serves several boards and teaches in the fields of leadership and corporate governance. Roy is a hunter, fisherman and lifelong Southerner. He grew up in rural West Georgia and now lives in Charlotte, NC.
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Noel is President of The Thorn Company, LLC, which provides advisory services to Green South. Noel has a long and distinguished career in real estate and conservation. Noel is the former CEO and Board Chair of Wild Dunes Associates, the owner, builder, developer and operator of residential and resort communities in the Southeastern U.S. He is also the former Land Protection Director of The Nature Conservancy, SC Chapter. Noel lives in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
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Greg is the Managing Director of the Valentine Family Office which provides accounting and administrative services to Green South. He left Ernst & Young LLP after a 20-year tax career before forming the Valentine Family Office. Greg grew up in rural Alabama and now resides in Atlanta.
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Diogo leads our Awareness and Accelerator Programs. He is a former BCG consultant interested in sustainable economic growth and preserving the wonders of the great outdoors. He has an MBA from Harvard and a BSc in Mathematics and Economics from The LSE. Diogo lives in Durham, NC.
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Sarah works on our Awareness and Accelerator Programs. She was formerly a climate change research and communication fellow at the EPA and holds an MA in Media and Communication and a BA in Environmental Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill. She grew up in the mountains of Western NC and now lives in Durham.