Aisander Duda 

Senior Development Officer

Aisander builds partnerships to support the critical work of SELC across our region. He connects the passions and interests of our supporters with SELC’s most environmentally significant programs and projects. Based in Chapel Hill and living in Durham, Aisander also shares the impact of SELC’s work with communities across North Carolina and the SELC region, increasing awareness and funding for SELC’s mission and vision.  

“The South is blessed to be a place with bountiful and diverse natural resources—majestic old growth forests, unique and exceptional freshwater systems, and breathtakingly beautiful coasts,” Aisander noted. “But those natural systems, and the important benefits they provide us, are facing mounting challenges—climate change, industrial pollution, a fast-growing population, and development pressures that erode important ecosystems. SELC is one of the most important organizations in the South and the nation tackling the challenges facing our environment, and in turn facing our communities, at all levels of government and in all three branches.”  

Aisander is most passionate about SELC’s work on water issues, especially wetlands. “Every community deserves to have clean drinking water, to turn on the tap in their homes and not worry about what’s coming out,” he said.  

North Carolina’s Stone Mountain State Park is a favorite spot for Aisander and his family. “This park has so many of the features people love about the Southern Appalachian mountains—unique geology, cold water trout streams, waterfalls, and beautiful views,” he said. “I take my three children hiking there and it always captures their imagination and expands their curiosity about nature. It’s a special place.” 

• The Nature Conservancy, N.C. Chapter, associate director of philanthropy
• North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, director of advancement
• B.A., James Madison University