Reverend Leo M. Woodberry was born and raised in New York City. There he became involved with community organizing at an early age, as a student organizer. Reverend Woodberry oversees and operates the Strategic Planning Division of Woodberry & Associates. With over 20 years’ experience managing non-profit and for-profit organizations, Reverend Woodberry has accumulated a wealth of knowledge, partnerships, alliances and expertise in the environmental justice movement.
He became involved in environmental work in the 1990s with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, around their issue of mercury emissions and advisories. He joined the newly formed African American Environmental Justice Action Network in 1994 which was instrumental in uniting people of color across America, and in influencing the Ford Foundation and other philanthropic entities to support people of color communities disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards. Reverend Woodberry has also worked with a host of other organizations such as the Southern Organizing Committee, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Xavier University of Louisiana, Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, Environmental Protection Agency National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, National Wildlife Federation, South Carolina Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, Coastal Carolina League, South East Climate Network, Green Faith, Clemson Education and Research Center, Francis Marion University, WEACT, Advancing Equity and Opportunities, Agricultural Missions, Inc. and a host of other organizations.
He has and continues to work in the areas of water, air, as well as renewable and sustainable energy issues with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the US Environmental Protection Agency. In August 2001, Reverend Woodberry attended the United Nations Conference on Racism and Xenophobia in Durban South Africa. There he presented a paper on the HIV AIDS epidemic entitled “The New Trade Triangle” and was a contributor to the resultant environmental statement added and adopted to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and subsequently signed by 161 countries. Reverend Woodberry works with NGOs certified with the United Nations Civil Society Organization. Woodberry & Associates has offices located in Florence, SC.
Reverend Woodberry attended Francis Marion University and The University of South Carolina. He retired from AT&T after 20 years of service and received three Vice Presidential Corporate awards. The South Carolina State Senate also presented him with an award in recognition of his community service. Reverend Woodberry is the pastor of Kingdom Living Temple, Executive Director of New Alpha Community Development Corporation in Florence, SC, and a member of the South Carolina Environmental Justice Network.
