“Brad Ives is a highly regarded leader whose experience, creativity, and wisdom make him an ideal fit as the next leader of Catawba’s Center for the Environment,” said Catawba College president David P. Nelson. “As Brad joins our already outstanding faculty, Catawba College aims to be a national center of distinction in sustainability.”
Ives currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Credo ESG Solutions Inc., a company he co-founded that provides advisory, management, reporting, and innovation services for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters for investment firms and operating companies. He previously was Chief Policy Officer at Strata Solar and served as Director of North Carolina’s Task Force for Emergency Repurposing of Manufacturing in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
From 2015 to 2019, Ives was the Chief Sustainability Officer and Associate Vice Chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). At UNC, he teamed with Google, Apple, and Walmart to improve state renewable energy laws while leading numerous operational and sustainability innovations. Prior to joining UNC, he was North Carolina’s Assistant Secretary for Natural Resources. In that role, Ives drove new policy resulting in the state’s first wind farm and became a respected environmental leader while directing the State Parks, Museum of Natural Sciences, Marine Fisheries, Aquariums, and Zoo.
He is a demonstrated leader with a track record of building and managing complex organizations in the renewable energy, financial, legal, state government, and university sectors.
“Brad comes to us with great experience in environment and sustainability efforts,” said Dr. Constance Rogers-Lowery, Catawba College provost. “I am confident he will advance our campus goals, and those of the greater Salisbury/Rowan County community, for increasing sustainability and efficiency in the community.”
Ives has served on numerous industry, educational, and non-profit boards where he has provided leadership on environmental, social, and governance issues. He holds the Sustainability and Climate Risk Certificate from the Global Association of Risk Professionals, is a GRI Certified Sustainability Professional, and is the recipient of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association’s Individual Energy Leader Award. He currently serves on the Durham Advisory Board for M&F Bank (America’s second-oldest minority-owned bank) and the Board of the Clemson University Institute for Parks.
Ives is a graduate of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and received his Bachelor of Arts and Law degrees from the University of North Carolina where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar.
“I am thrilled to be joining Catawba College at such an exciting time in its history," said Ives. "We have a unique opportunity to build on the College’s historic commitment to environmental education and sustainable operations by becoming one of the nation’s leading environmental liberal arts institutions.”
Catawba’s Center for the Environment’s mission is to provide education and outreach centered on prevalent environmental challenges and to foster community-oriented sustainable solutions that can serve as a model for programs throughout the country. The Center for the Environment at Catawba College has been deeply involved in North Carolina’s environmental issues since its inception in 1996. The Center strives to serve as a model to the region, lending expertise on a wide range of issues – from air and water quality to land preservation and sustainable development. In the process, Catawba students receive a value-added education through involvement in the Center’s activities.
Ives and his wife, Debra, have relocated to Salisbury, NC. They are the proud parents of a daughter, Emily, who is completing her MA at Kings College London, and a son, Lawton, who works in management consulting in Denver, CO.
