Laura Turner Seydel

For Laura Turner Seydel, living an eco-sensitive lifestyle has always been a priority. 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, giving back whenever possible, and the undeniable connection between the health of our planet and our own welfare. 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. 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. Laura is Chairman of the Captain Planet Foundation A partner program to the highly successful, environmentally focused Saturday morning cartoon, Captain Planet and the Planeteers which acts as a national education conduit dedicated to funding and growing the number of learning gardens and outdoor classrooms in schools across the country. She is also Co-founder of Mothers & Others for Clean Air, an organization create to raise awareness of the undeniable connection between asthma and air pollution. Laura serves as Chairman of the Zero Waste Zone, an Atlanta Recycles partnership with the Green Food Service Alliance to reduce Atlanta to zero waste, Vice Chair of the League of the Conservation Voters Education Fund, Executive Committee Member of Defenders of Wildlife, Trustee to the Turner Foundation and Jane Smith Turner Foundation, whose funding priorities include the children’s health and the arts, and is an Advisory Board Member of Georgia Conservancy, Earth Share of Georgia, and the Ron Clark Academy. She is also a Board Member of League of Conservation Voters, Ted’s Montana Grill, Waterkeeper Alliance, High Museum of Art, Oglethorpe University, and the Atlanta Ballet. 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. 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 at EcoManor in Atlanta with her husband and their three children, John R, Vasser, and Laura Elizabeth.