Greenville Leader

Sustain SC and the Furman University Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities have selected a group of two dozen professionals across diverse sectors to join the inaugural class of the Sustainability Leadership Initiative (SLI).

According to Furman News, the SLI cohort will participate in sustainability programming from October to April.

“We are excited to partner with Sustain SC on the state’s first leadership development program focused on sustainability,” Courtney Quinn, SLI director and adjunct professor in Furman’s Earth, Environmental and Sustainability Sciences Department, told Furman News. “We are hopeful that bringing together representatives from industry, government and NGOs for engaging discussions will help drive smart, sustainable growth in our state.”

According to whosonthemove.com, topics covered in the program will include: "What is Sustainability"; "Systems Thinking"; "Boundary-Spanning Leadership"; "Futures Thinking"; and "Sustainability Storytelling." 

Quinn will lead the sessions, along with Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities Executive Director Weston Dripps, Shi Institute Associate Director of Sustainability Programs Kelly Grant Parvis, OpenFields CEO Grady Powell, and Sustain SC President and CEO Ethel Bunch, according to whosonthemove.com.

“A leadership program focused on sustainability has been a dream for many in our state,” Bunch said. “The launch of our inaugural class for the Sustainability Leadership Initiative will be a game-changer for South Carolina as our state’s leaders find new ways to think about sustainability from a business and economic development perspective.”