Jay Leutze

Jay Leutze was born in Virginia and lives in the Southern Appalachian mountains on the North Carolina-Tennessee border. Trained as an attorney, he has become a leading voice for state and federal conservation funding for investment in public lands. He is a past board president and currently senior board advisor of Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, one of the nation's most established land trusts. He is the author of Stand Up that Mountain: The Battle to Save One Small Community in the Wilderness Along the Appalachian Trail (Simon & Schuster). He is has acted as a spokesman for the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition and has testified before Congress on the need for increased funding for public land conservation.