The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

The SC Chapter of The Nature Conservancy recently announced the addition of five new members to its Board of Trustees. They are: 

Ms. Catherine Heigel:  Ms Heigel is president of Duke Energy-South Carolina Region. She earned a bachelor of arts degree, with honors, in International Studies from the University of South Carolina in 1992 and a juris doctor from Ohio State University in 1995. She is a member of the South Carolina Centers of Economic Excellence Review Board, the Palmetto Business Forum, and the University of South Carolina President’s Initiative Committee. She serves on the boards of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance and Meals-on-Wheels of Greenville County. She also is an incoming board member of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra. Ms Heigel and her husband, Jonathon, reside in Greenville.  

Dr. Harry Shealy Jr.:  A professor of biology at the University of South Carolina Aiken, Dr. Shealy teaches courses in botany and conservation. He received his doctoral degree from the University of South Carolina and is a founding board member and past president of the Aiken Land Conservancy. He serves on several other boards, including the Heritage Trusts Natural Areas Committee of the SC Department of Natural Resources, and as president of the board of Conservation Voters of South Carolina. He is also vice president of the board for the Hitchcock Woods Foundation. Dr. Shealy and his wife, Margaret, live in Aiken.  

Ms. Natalma “Tami” McKnew:  Ms. McKnew is an attorney with the firm of Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP. She is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of California and Los Angeles, and the Northeastern University School of Law. In addition to The Nature Conservancy, Ms. McKnew is active in a number of other civic organizations, including the United Way of Greenville, Clement’s Kindness for Children, the Priester Foundation, and the South Carolina Institute for Child Success. She previously served as Chair of the South Carolina Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and as its first Trustee Liaison to the National Board of The Nature Conservancy. In 1999, Ms. McKnew won the Metropolitan “Hearts in the Arts” Award. She resides in Greenville. 

Ms. Patti McAbee:  Ms. McAbee is a lifelong resident of South Carolina and has devoted her life of service to her family, nonprofit leadership, and her community. Since 1993, she has served as a member of Clemson University’s Board of Trustees, with the distinction of being the first (and only) woman to sit on its board. McAbee founded the McCormick Arts Council at the Keturah, which received the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award and the Southern Arts Federation’s Rural Arts Award. She also has served on dozens of civic boards and points to the South Carolina Arts Alliance, Upstate Forever, and the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor as highlights of her early service. She was awarded the Order of the Palmetto during the administration of former Gov. Richard Riley. McAbee continues her professional work as president of Patti McAbee Consulting LLC, a firm that focuses on nonprofit philanthropy. She lives in Greenville with her husband, Dr. Tommy Eison.  

Dr. Doug Rayner:  A professor of biology at Wofford College, Dr. Rayner teaches field botany, field biology, ecology, conservation biology, and evolution. He regularly involves students in his long-term research projects, and, in 2008, he was awarded the Roger Milliken Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Science. Dr. Rayner also is a private biological consultant specializing in endangered plants, wetlands, and the identification of natural areas. Before coming to Wofford College, he was inventory coordinator and botanist for the S.C. Heritage Trust Program. Dr. Rayner received his bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and his master’s and Ph.D. in biology from the University of South Carolina. He is the co-author, with Dr. Richard Porcher, of A Guide to the Wildflower of South Carolina, and he is completing an update of Dr. Wade Batson’s Genera of the Eastern Plants. Dr. Rayner and his wife, Ellen Tillett, reside in Spartanburg. 

The Nature Conservancy of South Carolina Board of Trustees has 21 members. Mr. Arnold Nemirow of Mt. Pleasant serves as Chairman, Mr. George Durban of Columbia is Treasurer, and Mr. Tom Mauldin of Columbia is Secretary. Mr. Mark Robertson is Executive Director of the SC Chapter.  

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