About Laura

Director, Turner Foundation
Chair Emeritus, Captain Planet Foundation

I inherited my passion for taking care of the planet from my dad, Ted Turner, the original Captain Planet. When my siblings and I were children, my father instilled environmental stewardship into us every chance he got.

Today, I work with organizations that are solving the biggest existential threats facing humanity.

I serve on the board for the UN Foundation, which works as a strategic partner to help the UN mobilize people and resources for collective action, and on the board of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), which is a global security organization focused on reducing nuclear and biological threats imperiling humanity.

I also serve on the board of Project Drawdown, the world’s leading resource for climate solutions, and Waterkeeper Alliance, a network of more than 300 waterkeeper organizations protecting clean water in communities around the world.

Additional organizations served are the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, Georgia Conservation Voters and as a Patron of Nature with the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

With my husband, Rutherford, I co-founded Chattahoochee Riverkeeper to help protect the drinking water of more than 5 million Georgians. I also co-founded Mothers and Others for Clean Air (MOCA) to improve air quality for at-risk populations in metro Atlanta.

In the field of regenerative agriculture, I serve on the board of the Turner Institute of Ecoagriculture (TIE), which researches, practices and disseminates sustainable strategies for conserving ecosystems, agriculture and rural communities.

I am on the advisory board for Kiss the Ground and associate producer for the documentary “Common Ground,” which promotes regeneration and healthy soil as viable solutions for wellness, water scarcity, the climate crisis and the extinction crisis.

I live with my husband, Rutherford, in Atlanta. We have three children, John R, Vasser and Laura Elizabeth, and one granddaughter, Nora.