Jake Markland 

Legal Administrative Assistant

Jake’s work in the Charleston office spans several areas. He supports the Climate Initiative and South Carolina energy work. He compiles and sends out South Carolina environmental news to staff. Jake also assists in proofing, formatting, and filing documents with courts, and in tracking federal funding awarded in SELC states. 

“The natural world needs defenders,” Jake said. “At SELC, I can be part of the team fighting the good fight. I am constantly in awe of every SELC employee’s passion, dedication, and knowledge.”  

In Charleston, Jake has become inspired by SELC’s coast and wetlands work. “Wetlands play a vital role in storing floodwater and shielding our shores, but that’s only if they are protected from damaging growth and development,” he said. “I am proud to be part of an organization that defends our coast and checks harmful development in a city on the front lines of the climate crisis.”  

Jake grew up in Atlanta, developing a fondness for Appalachia’s Blue Ridge Mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, particularly Roan Mountain and its surrounding area. While a student at Appalachian State, he spent many weekends “running off to hike Roan Mountain, Round Bald, and Jane Bald, sleeping on top of Grassy Ridge Bald,” he said. “As an Appalachian Trail thru hiker, I returned to the area – nearly 400 miles into my 2,200-mile journey – and camped next to the now-demolished Overmountain Shelter. That shelter was where I spent the night during my very first backpacking trip of college.”

• McAngus Goudelock and Courie, legal assistant  
• Appalachian State University