Ledbetter becomes forestry foundation’s chairman

Charles City resident David O. Ledbetter has been elected as the new chairman of the 500-Year Forest Foundation.

Ledbetter helped form the Foundation in 1998 as pro bono counsel and has served as a director and officer ever since. He will continue as foundation secretary, while serving a pivotal role on the transition team that will lead expansion of operations.

The nonprofit foundation is dedicated to conserving old-growth forests and protection of 1,100 acres in Virginia from being timber harvested.

Ledbetter’s career as an environmental lawyer began with major hazardous waste site civil prosecutions and legislative and policy duties at the United States Department of Justice, including work on the Superfund law and its implementation. He actively practiced with Hunton & Williams for 25 years, until his 2010 retirement as partner. He was also the principal author of a leading reference work on federal judicial decisions related to hazardous waste regulation and site remediation.

“As might be evident from the other work I’ve done, I’ve had a keen interest in and concern for environmental progress and conservation my entire life,” said Ledbetter. “My work with the Foundation, including this new role, simply advances that.”

Ledbetter earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from the University of the Redlands in California and his law degree from the University of California-Hastings College of Law in San Francisco.

He and his wife, Judith, maintain an 1859 diverse-use farm in Charles City, where the couple has lived since 1986. They have two adult children and recently welcomed their third grandchild.

Ledbetter is also serving as president of the Charles City Ruritan Club and devotes himself to the John Tyler Community College Foundation and the Partnership for Smarter Growth.