Jack West (he/him) joined the Alabama Rivers Alliance as Policy & Advocacy Director in 2020, just a couple of days before Covid shutdowns started happening across the US. He brings legal experience from corporate private practice, as well as an entrepreneurial background to ARA. Jack is a Birmingham native and grew up camping in Cheaha State Park, fishing in Lake Guntersville, and backpacking Alabama’s Pinhoti Trail.
Prior to joining ARA, he worked in-house with a solar company advising on issues of state policy. He also previously founded a technology company at Birmingham’s Innovation Depot. After hours, Jack volunteers with Citizens’ Climate Lobby and is a member of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama’s Roundtable.
Jack graduated from Sewanee: The University of the South where he indulged his love of the outdoors caving and hiking along the Cumberland Plateau. He earned his law degree magna cum laude from the University of Mississippi School of Law, serving as an associate editor on the Law Journal.
Jack and his wife, Emily, live in the Roebuck Springs neighborhood with Ruffner Mountain’s 14 miles of trails conveniently located right outside the back door.