Sustainability Leadership Initiative (SLI)
The Sustainability Leadership Initiative (SLI) is an innovative leadership development program that uses cross-boundary dialogue, field sessions, and experiential learning to enhance skills and equip fellows to enact positive change in their organizations and communities.
We are visionaries and collaborators who find and implement transformative strategies at the intersection of commerce and conservation to facilitate systems change. We build trust through sharing ideas, solutions, and best practices while challenging each other and celebrating sustainability successes.
Applications for 2024 - 2025 are closed.
For any questions, please reach out to Cynthia Davis at Cynthia@sustainsouthcarolina.org.
For more information, WATCH THE WEBINAR .
Hosted throughout the state, SLI focuses on developing the qualities leaders need to navigate South Carolina through unprecedented changes in human and natural communities, while supporting economic prosperity and resilience.
The six-session program accepts 25 participants each year, and spans six months, from January to June. Each fellow is required to attend all six sessions to meet the certification requirement.
Through cross-boundary dialogue, active learning, case studies, site tours, and community projects, Fellows will emerge with enhanced skills to be drivers of positive change within their organizations and communities.
To ensure that the curriculum is hands-on, interactive, and participant-driven, each SLI class is limited to 25 participants. Each year we select from a large pool of applicants across South Carolina, to create a balanced cohort of private, public, and conservation NGO professionals.
SLI Program Objectives
NETWORKING
Create a strong, cross-sector network of sustainability leaders to serve South Carolina.
SUSTAINABILITY
Explore and understand complex sustainability systems from multiple perspectives (commerce and conservation) and identify levers for systems change.
LEADERSHIP
Build and enhance the leadership skills needed to enact positive change.
Furman University
THE SHI INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities trains leaders and conducts applied research for a more Sustainable South Carolina.
Launched in 2020, the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities works at the intersection of socio-economic and ecological systems to tackle our most pressing sustainability challenges. The Institute places students and faculty at the heart of the work, making positive impacts through applied research, hands-on learning, and sustainability leadership training. The Institute builds on over a decade of proven success and national renown of the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability to envision a world that meets the needs of all people within the means of the living planet. Residing in a net-zero, LEED-certified, sustainable showcase home, abutted by an organic-practice farm in the heart of Furman’s campus, the Institute is emblematic of Furman’s commitment to sustainability.
SLI Sessions Overview
SESSION 1
January 9-10, 2025
Foundations of Sustainability Leadership
SESSION 2
February 6-7, 2025
Land Management and Conservation
SESSION 3
March 6-7, 2025
Forestry and Agriculture
SESSION 4
April 3-4, 2025
Energy and Emissions
SESSION 5
May 1-2, 2025
Materials and Circularity
SESSION 6
June 5, 2025
Graduation and Leadership Presentations
SLI Fellowship
REQUIREMENTS
Each Fellow will be responsible for approximately 2-hours of preparation work before each session. This can include listening to an assigned podcast and light reading. Fellows will also do a short reflection of each session that may be selected for a social media post (#Fellow Fridays). At graduation, all participants are required to deliver a short presentation which describes their strategy for addressing their specific sustainability work challenge. Participants will be given time to work on this throughout the program, but should also plan significant preparation time for this final presentation.
Each fellow is required to attend all sessions to meet the certification requirement. The sessions take place across six months, from January to June 2025.
Hear from experts who are actively engaged in sustainability practices.
Engage in small group, facilitated, guided discussions.
Share challenges and discuss best practices with organizational leaders and practitioners from across South Carolina.
Practice what you’re learning with guided activities and group problem solving.
Tour facilities engaged in innovative sustainable practices.
Tackle an organizational challenge (solutions-oriented approach in collaboration with fellows).
Each session incorporates networking, personal sustainability leadership development, engagement with other fellows and outside experts, field experiences around the state, all within a hands-on learning environment.
Upon completion, successful participants will become certified Sustainability Leadership Fellows for the following three years. Fellows will remain part of an active and tight-knit network of sustainability leaders. They will be eligible to participate in exclusive Sustain SC and Shi Institute events and have the opportunity, through continued participation, to recertify their Fellowship.
Only one person per organization is eligible for SLI Fellowship per year.
COST
The cost of the program is $4,500, which includes SLI curriculum & programming, materials, access to participants and experts, lunch, snacks & happy hour. Lodging, transportation, and other meals are not included. Information on hotels will be provided, and must be booked and paid for by individual participants.
For those interested in partial scholarships please contact Dr. Cynthia Davis, Senior VP of Sustain SC at cynthia@sustainsouthcarolina.org.
LOCATION
Sessions take place across South Carolina. Past locations have included Greenville, Columbia, Lake City, Beaufort, Hartsville, and Charleston.
KEY DATES AND APPLICATION
For more information, watch the informational webinar from Thursday, July 25th at 1:00 pm here.
Applications are now closed.
For any questions, please reach out to Cynthia Davis at Cynthia@sustainsouthcarolina.org.
SLI Leadership
Andrew Predmore
Andrew brings extensive expertise in sustainability to Furman, having worked in both private industry and higher education. He most recently served as sustainability manager for Milliken & Company, where his work focused on reporting environmental, social and governance metrics, integrating life cycle assessment methodologies into Milliken’s business, and developing greenhouse gas reduction and climate mitigation strategy.
Prior to Milliken, Andrew was Director of Sustainability at Indiana University, where he was responsible for improving sustainability education and operations across seven campuses, serving more than 90,000 students. He led efforts to standardize waste and recycling at the Bloomington campus, created a cohesive approach to greenhouse gas emissions accounting, and developed an externally funded, climate-focused internship program serving cities, businesses, and non-governmental organizations across Indiana.
Andrew was previously a tenure-track professor of environmental studies at the University of Illinois-Springfield. In his academic career, Andrew has authored over 15 peer-reviewed papers on natural resource management and sustainability. Working at Furman is a return home to the Upstate, as Andrew is originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Leslie Skardon
Leslie is the CEO of Sustain SC, a nonprofit organization connecting sectors across South Carolina to optimize the use of our natural resources in a way that is sustainable for both our economy and our environment. With a business development background and passion for sustainability, Leslie unites smart growth with conservation to sustain South Carolina’s economic prosperity.
Prior to joining Sustain SC, Leslie built and executed strategies to drive business growth for Fortune 500 companies, governments, non-profits, and institutions. As a strategic communications and public affairs professional, Leslie specializes in advising purpose-driven clients to uncover strategies to meet business goals while positively impacting their communities.
Leslie is a community leader. She was recently named as South Carolina's Top 50 Women to Admire and was selected to be in the 2023 Lowcountry Class for the Riley Institute Diversity Leaders Initiative. Leslie was appointed to be a Commissioner on the City of Charleston's Commission on Women, founded Charleston Civil Rights and Civics (C3), and serves on the Charleston Chamber of Commerce's Regional Policy Committee. Leslie completed her MBA from Georgetown with a focus in Non-Market Strategy to help businesses be a force for good in the world.
Cynthia Davis
Dr. Cynthia Davis has been at the forefront of South Carolina's economic growth and development for decades. Since 2017, she led the Existing Industry program at the South Carolina Department of Commerce, a role she undertook following her 10-year tenure in workforce development and 15 years of dedication in the educational sector. While working in the public school system, Cynthia taught middle school science and math and served as an assistant principal at the middle and high school levels. Cynthia has developed collaboration with local economic development organizations and allied partners throughout South Carolina.