Leslie M. Turner Joins The Bay Park Conservancy’s Board of Directors

November 11, 2020 – Sarasota

The Bay Park Conservancy (BPC), the non-profit organization responsible for overseeing the redevelopment of 53-acres of City-owned land along Sarasota Bay into a public park, is pleased to announce that Leslie M. Turner has joined its board of directors. Turner brings deep legal, boardroom and senior level advisory experience to the BPC board, and is actively involved with various nonprofits in the Sarasota community.

“I’m delighted to be a new board member for The Bay Park Conservancy and this project really resonated with me because I believe public, open spaces have a huge impact in people’s lives,” said Turner. “Being able to access the water and a beautiful park like The Bay is so important, and I’m excited to be part of a project, a board and a community that are committed to embracing the diversity of experiences and people.”

Turner recently retired as Senior Vice-President and General Counsel for The Hershey Company and previously held the position of General Counsel for Coca-Cola North America. Her 30 plus years of experience in strategic planning, multi-stakeholder considerations and collaborative decision making include her tenure as a Washington D.C. based law partner and U.S. Senate confirmed appointee at the U.S. Department of the Interior under then-Secretary Bruce Babbitt. In addition, Turner has been a frequent speaker on governance topics and received recognition from various organizations including the New York Stock Exchange, Governance Services; The Directors’ Roundtable; The National Association of Women Lawyers; and Corporate Counsel Women of Color.

“Leslie’s board experience is uniquely strong in strategic and mission planning, in part due to her prior positions as General Counsel for The Hershey Company and Coca-Cola, North America. As someone who loves the outdoors and fitness, the mission of The Bay Park Conservancy deeply resonates with her,” said Cathy Layton, BPC Board Chair. “Leslie’s volunteer work identifying the next generation of inclusion fits perfectly with The Bay’s vision of creating a park that is open, welcoming and free for all. We are all thrilled to have Leslie join our team.”

Deeply committed to developing the pipeline of diverse leaders, Turner’s board service includes FirstEngergy Corporation (Audit and Compensation Committees), Georgetown University (Board of Regents), Georgetown University Law Center (Board of Visitors), and the HBCU Stillman College (Board of Trustees). Previous board participation includes the next generation leadership work of the Student Conservation Association, the social justice initiatives of Georgia Appleseed and the equity and fairness work of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. Active in the Sarasota community where she resides, Turner is also a founding member of Impact 100SRQ, the Sarasota chapter of an international nonprofit organization of women that provides transformational grants to local nonprofits.

Turner holds a Master of Laws in Law and Policy from American University’s Washington College of Law; a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center; and a Bachelor of Science from New York University. She was in the founding class of Harvard Business School’s Women on Boards, Executive Education.

For more information about The Bay Park Conservancy, visit www.bayparkconservancy.org.