Sally S. Bethea

Sally Bethea is the founding director of Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, a 4,500-member nonprofit environmental advocacy organization established in 1994 whose mission is to protect and restore the Chattahoochee River, its tributaries and watershed.

She has an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a masters degree in city planning from Georgia Tech, and an honorary doctorate from LaGrange College—as well as thirty years of experience in environmental issues. Sally has served on the national boards of Waterkeeper Alliance and River Network, and the Georgia Board of Natural Resources (1999-2007). Currently, she is a member of the board of Earth Share of Georgia.

In 2008 , Georgia River Network established the Sally Bethea River Champion Award and recognized her as its first recipient. She also received the 2008 Ullman Innovative Leadership Award presented by the Georgia Center for Nonprofits. From 2002 through 2007, Sally was named one of the 100 Most Influential or Most Notable Georgians by Georgia Trend Magazine. In 2001 and 2002, she was named one of the 100 Most Influential Atlantans by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Other recognition of Sally’s work includes the 1989 Water Conservationist of the Year Award from the Georgia Wildlife Federation, 1998 Southern Environmental Leadership Award from Southern Environmental Law Center, and 2002 Certificate of Merit from the Garden Club of Georgia.

She has lived in Atlanta’s Ansley Park neighborhood for three decades and is the proud mother of two grown sons, Charles and Robert.