Stone Soup Leadership Institute

Captain Planet: A Philanthropic Environmental Leader

Growing up, John R. Seydel loved the cartoon series Captain Planet, which was co-created by his grandfather, media mogul and environmental philanthropist Ted Turner. At the end of every episode, there would be a Planeteer Alert, where the diverse team of global heroes would talk directly to the audience about ways to find solutions to the environmental problems in their communities. “It taught us how to be part of the solution, not part of the problem—and to inspire others along the way,” he says. John R. is carrying on this legacy through serving on the boards of a variety of Turner family foundations, including the Captain Planet Foundation. He is also currently serving as the City of Atlanta’s Director of Sustainability; in that role he is proudly working to make Atlanta a top-tier sustainable city, and to help them reach their goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2035.