Thomas Salley, Chair
As a partner for Cooley LLP, Thomas Salley’s clients include venture capital, private equity, mezzanine, real estate, and other funds, such as business development companies, REITs and public and private companies. After formation, he works with funds and companies throughout their lifecycles.
Tom also serves as legal counselor to boards and business owners on company transitions and other major events.
Prior to joining Cooley, Tom was a partner at Andrews & Kurth in Washington, DC, and general counsel of Allied Capital, a NYSE-listed investment company engaged in venture capital, LBO, mezzanine and real estate finance and investment adviser matters.
Tom is a Rappahannock County resident, along the Hughes River. He particularly appreciates ACP’s work combining local job programs with its environmental mission, focusing attention on our natural resources and improving our communities, as accomplished by StreamSweepers and SoilKeepers.
David Perdue, Vice-Chair
David Perdue is a real estate developer/investor primarily in the field of historic preservation. Projects he was involved with in Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia have won numerous awards for historic rehabilitation and historic preservation.
David moved with his wife and three children from his hometown of Atlanta, GA to Somerset, VA in 2003. Since arriving in Virginia he has enjoyed serving the Boards of Grymes Memorial School, Piedmont Environmental Council and Orange Downtown Alliance. In Atlanta he continues to serve as Chairman of the Board of A.G. Rhodes Health & Rehab, Inc. He earned a B.A. from Washington & Lee University. David came to ACP as an early supporter of the StreamSweepers project.
Joel M. Temme, M.D., Treasurer
Dr. Joel M. Temme is board-certified in Internal Medicine and is affiliated with Inova Alexandria Hospital in Northern Virginia, where he also co-chairs the Hospital Quality and Safety Committee. He received his medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 40 years. Joel is a member of the Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action and serves on the organization’s Advocacy Committee. A few years ago, he bought a historic home in the village of Rapidan, within walking distance of Rapidan Mill and the offices of American Climate Partners. He became involved in our efforts when he reached out to us about the regenerative landscaping services offered by our SoilKeepers program.
Harriet Giles, Secretary
Harriet Giles is a native of Kentucky and a graduate of Vanderbilt University where she received a B.A. in Interdepartmental studies of Philosophy, Sociology, and German. A Girl Scout Camp that employed her in the summers and treks on the Appalachian Trail introduced her to many outdoor skills and backcountry experiences that have shaped her life.
Harriet and her husband Ben lived on the Hazel River in Rappahannock County in the seventies. They moved back to Kentucky while their two children were growing up and Harriet started a cottage industry that specialized in hand-woven rugs she designed. She trained and employed women who wanted to work at home and continues weaving custom rugs through her business, The Weavery.
They returned in 2012 to the Slate Mills community they love and where they have many longtime friends. Living a couple of miles from the Hughes River, Harriet helped organize support for its cleanup in 2016. They have a small farm and grow most of their own organic fruits and vegetables.
Harriet is concerned about global warming, pollution, invasive species, and other environmental issues and thinks the efforts and projects of American Climate Partners are an excellent way for people to get involved in helping to preserve a healthy environment.
Michael Carter
Michael Carter Jr. is an 11th generation farmer in the United States and is the 5th generation to farm on Carter Farms, his family’s century farm in Orange County, Virginia where he gives workshops on how to grow and market ethnic vegetables. With Virginia State University, he works in the capacity of the Small Farm Resource Center Coordinator for the Small Farm Outreach Program. He sits on the board of directors of the Virginia Association of Biological Farmers (VABF), Virginia Food Systems Council, Virginia Agrarian Trust and Virginia Foodshed Capital respectively.
He serves as a fellow for ACP for Food Systems and Community Transformation. Michael was recognized as a 2020 Audubon Naturalist Society Taking Nature Black Regional Environmental Champion, the 2020 VSU Small Farm Outreach Agent of the year and Future Harvest Casa Farmer of the Foodshed for 2021. He acquired an agricultural economics degree from North Carolina A&T State University and has worked in Ghana, Kenya and Israel as an agronomist and organic agricultural consultant.
Fred D. Circle
Fred Circle is the CEO of Fred D. Circle Enterprises (FDCE). FDCE is comprised of a team of professionals with a passion for conservation and bioenergy. Mr. Circle manages a strong team with on the ground experience and production capabilities combined with collaborative efforts with other industry leaders, prestigious universities and state/federal agencies that separates his enterprises from others in the industry. The FDCE team leverages their experience in site evaluation, superior input products and production efficiencies to develop turn-key services that result in predictable success on every project.
Thomas “Tee” Clarkson
Tee Clarkson is a lifetime outdoorsman who juggles his time working on conservation projects with landowners at Atoka Conservation Exchange, running fishing, hiking, kayaking and mountain biking youth programs through his business, Virginia Outside, and writing about hunting and fishing and conservation issues for national publications and as the Outdoors Columnist at the Richmond Times Dispatch.
Chip Queitzsch
Chip recently retired from the Federal Aviation Administration where he was the Chief Scientist and Technical Advisor for Engine System Dynamics. Prior to that, he worked for Boeing as a Technical Fellow in Engine Technology, and was an independent consultant on mechanical issues for companies developing small turbo-generators. His lifelong avocation for outdoor activities includes canoeing, sea kayaking, upland bird hunting, cross country skiing, and hiking.
Chip has been involved in many volunteer activities ranging from teaching canoeing and sea kayaking to helping local government agencies assess risks to paddlers and fishers related to proposed in-stream structures intended to mitigate river bank damage during high water events. At home, he is working on bird habitat projects on his family property along the Rapidan River. Chip earned his BS, ME, and PhD degrees in Civil and Mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia.
Kelly Scott
Kelly Scott is the Vice President–Technical Services, Dominion Energy Virginia (DEV). He is responsible for the operations of DEV’s renewable generating facilities as well as the technical and project support functions for all DEV non-nuclear generation assets. He joined Dominion Energy in 1997. Over the years, he has held several leadership roles in New Technologies, Operations, and Business Development where he helped lead the company’s initial efforts in utility-scale solar. He was named to his current position in 2022. Outside of work Kelly enjoys being in the great outdoors.
Al Weed
Albert C. Weed II, Former Chairman and Co-Executive Director of Public Policy of Virginia (PPV), owns and operates Mountain Cove Vineyards in Nelson County. A founder of the Virginia Wine Industry, he was involved in every significant legislative, regulatory and organizational development of this now vibrant industry’s first quarter century.
Mr. Weed also founded Rural Nelson, a land preservation group in his home county, and has served as a board member, director, and trustee for numerous non-profit concerns, including Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population (ASAP), a group whose mission includes preserving the rural character of Albemarle County and protecting it from sprawl development. At the request of the Governor of Virginia he serves on the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Twice the Democratic candidate for the 5th Congressional District, Mr. Weed’s op-eds have been published in major publications, and he speaks frequently in all areas of the state about climate change, biomass energy, and a broad range of other public policy issues.
He has a BA cum laude from Yale in Latin American Studies, a Master’s Degree in Economic Development and Political Modernization from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School, and served a total of almost 43 years mostly in the Reserve Components, retiring from Army Special Operations as a Command Sergeant Major.
Advisors
Edward H. Bain, Jr., Charlottesville, VA
Frank Balint, Fairfax, VA
Jay Billie, Crozet, VA
John H. Bocock, Richmond, VA
Robert “Doc” Hall, Hondo, TX (deceased 2/16/24) https://americanclimatepartners.org/in-remembrance-dr-robert-doc-hall/
Donald A. King, Jr., Keswick, VA
Mark Kington, Orange, VA
Geoff Pitts, Barboursville, VA
Lawrence Silverman, Charlottesville, VA
Mike Simpson, Charlottesville, VA
Philip Stafford, Charlottesville, VA
Page Sullenberger, Orange, VA
Roger Voisinet, Charlottesville, VA