Jane Preyer was the director of the Southeastern Office of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) until she retired in 2017. In that role, Ms. Preyer was senior adviser for policy and political strategy on a broad range of issues and on fundraising. Her leadership helped pass some of the most effective environmental policies in the Southeast, including laws to reduce pollution from coal plants, to address climate change impacts, to reduce pollution in watersheds, and to increase use of renewable energy and efficiency measures. She also managed EDF’s initiative with national companies to increase the use of environmentally preferable paper.

Prior to her work at EDF, Ms. Preyer coached women’s tennis at Duke University (1985-1993) and had a professional tennis career (ranked 43rd in the world). She was named ACC Coach of the Year four times, and she was inducted into the NC Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991.

Currently, Ms. Preyer serves on the boards of Earthshare NC, NC Institute of Political Leadership, and Piedmont Trust Company, in addition to the National Health Law Program. Former Board service includes: NC Center for Nonprofits, Children’s Home Society of NC, NARAL-NC, and UNC-Chapel Hill Institute for the Humanities. She received both her M.P.A. and B.A. in English from the UNC-Chapel Hill (Phi Beta Kappa, Order of the Golden Fleece, All-American in Women’s Tennis,).