Board of Directors
Laura Turner Seydel, Chairperson and Member of Executive Committee
Philanthropist & Volunteer
Rutherford Seydel, Secretary
Davis, Pickren & Seydel, LLP
Ann Bergstrom
Chattahoochee Nature Center
Jennie Garlington
Philanthropist and Volunteer
George McKerrow, Member of Executive Committee
Ted’s Montana Grill
Brian McPheely
Pratt Industries
Barbara Pyle
Original Founder, Captain Planet Foundation
Producer, Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Executive Producer, Barbara Pyle Productions
Christina Stevens, Interim Executive Director
Blue Sky Productions
Beau Turner
Turner Enterprises, Inc.
Rhett Turner
Red Sky Productions
Shirley Watkins
Former Undersecretary of US Department of Agriculture’s Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Agency
Marilyn Gordanier
Laurel Springs School
Anthony Pratt
Chairman and CEO of Pratt Industries
Laura Turner Seydel
Chairperson
Living an eco-sensitive lifestyle has always been a priority for Laura Turner Seydel. Growing up green with her father, environmental pioneer Ted Turner, Laura was taught the values of respecting nature’s resources, taking care of the environment, and giving back whenever possible. These lessons learned formed the foundation to a life-long dedication to the protection of the planet and inspired her quest to become an advocate for environmental causes and community involvement. Today, as a national environmental activist and eco-living expert, Laura believes that the path to a sustainable future can be made possible through a collective effort and she aims to inspire families, youths, and individuals alike to do their part by educating them on the benefits and opportunities of earth-friendly living.
With an unrelenting passion, Laura plays an integral role in Atlanta’s environmental movement and spearheads community initiatives to spread the environmental message, whether it is teaching composting techniques to her daughter’s Girl Scout Troup or creating a non-profit to tackle a tough issue. Such was the case in 1993 when, together with her husband Rutherford, she co-founded the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper to secure measurable improvements in the health and future of the river, and later in 2004 when she helped found Mothers & Others for Clean air to raise awareness of the undeniable connection between asthma and air pollution. Laura is also chairperson of the Captain Planet Foundation, chair of Atlanta’s Zero Waste Zone, an active board member of many organizations including Earth Share of Georgia, Nature Conservancy of Georgia, League of Conservation Voters and Defenders of Wildlife, and serves as Trustee to the Turner Foundation and Jane Smith Turner Foundation, whose funding priorities include the arts, children’s health, and the environment.
As an extension of her environmental upbringing and sustainable message, in 2007 Laura and her husband Rutherford built their home EcoManor (www.ecomanor.com), the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified residence in the Southeast. The home is a showcase for healthy living and energy-efficient design and serves as educational tool for builders, architects, interior designers, landscapers, and homeowners to promote green living, conservation options, and improved residential building practices. Ultimately through EcoManor, Laura is able to demonstrate real-world applications and offer hands-on experiences to further support her eco-living message.
A Georgia native, born in Macon, Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oglethorpe University and has spent time working with Greenpeace. In addition to her philanthropy work, Laura is the eco editor of Southern Seasons magazine and pens a regular “Going Green” feature, writes a monthly “green insider” column for Atlanta INtown, and is president of Laura Turner LLC. She currently resides in Atlanta with her husband and their three children, John R, Vasser, and Laura Elizabeth.
For more information about Laura Turner Seydel, visit LauraSeydel.com.
Christina Stevens
Interim Executive Director
Christina Stevens is an award winning filmmaker, environmental strategist, author and inspirational speaker. Working at the intersection of cultural preservation, humanity and media communications, she specializes in out-of-the-box problem solving.
From her early years in advertising, as creative troubleshooter for Young & Rubicam International, and later as Snr. VP & Creative Director of Ogilvy & Mather, she created breakthrough models of universal marketing and communications.
Having lived and worked all over the world, her global foresight and innovation, studying complex trends at the apex of sustainability, has led her more recently to the visionary Kingdom of Bhutan; where she is developing a feature length movie, a globally interactive Educational Curriculum and the Virtual Embassy ~ a multi-media model establishing the cutting-edge future in global communications, cultural and economic exchange and personal empowerment for remote and developing nations.
Christina was born in Sydney, Australia ~ the fifth generation in a prominent theatrical family. She is the great granddaughter of Randolph Bedford, M.L.A. member of Parliament, publisher and lauded as one of the most colorful personalities in Australian letters and politics; granddaughter of Madam Bedford-Young, acclaimed as Australia’s first female writer-producer-director and daughter of “Baby Peggy” beloved child star of the Australian Theatre. While in Australia, Christina wrote a series of children’s books for Paul Hamlyn Publishing that are now collector’s items.
Christina is recipient of the coveted Gold Lion, the highest award from the Venice Film Festival. She has also won numerous Clio’s, New York Art Directors’ and International Broadcasting Awards, including one for her series, “Voices from the Heart” featuring messages from Nobel Peace Prize winners, His Holiness, the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa M.C. Her movies have won more than awards – the fundraising film she made for Steven Spielberg’s Starbright Foundation won them perhaps the largest one showing donation of any documentary ever – seven million dollars.
As a former board member of ECO, Earth Communications Office, media consultant for Greenpeace USA and the American Council for Renewable Energy she has worked alongside many of today’s leading environmental scientists, activists, political and religious leaders.
Christina serves on the Special Projects Committee of the Directors’ Guild of America, alongside Academy Award winners Robert Wise, Arthur Hiller, Norman Jewison and Katherine Bigilow. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Captain Planet Foundation, whose mission is to empower the worlds’ youth to work as environmental stewards, during this vital transformation of life on earth. To relax, Christina is a licensed pilot and it’s her love of antique planes that has brought her invitations from the US Government to fly display, preceding the Blue Angels.