Meet The National Cox Conserves Hero

Driving positive environmental change. That’s a big part of who we are at Cox. And one of the ways we’re working to build a better future is though our Cox Conserves Hero program.  

Between Oct. 1–15 people visited CoxConservesHeroes.com to vote for their favorite volunteer from local winners selected in July. The people have spoken, and this year’s national winner is … (drum roll, please) …  Diana Christopulos from Virginia! 

Why Diana? 
People in her community and across the country voted for Diana because of her passion for the environment and the wide scope of her volunteer work. Along with serving on the Presidents Leadership Council of the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club, Diana is also helping support sustainability as:  

• President of the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy, the region’s largest private land conservation organization. 
• Co-Founder and Past President of the Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition, which led the campaign to have local governments determine their carbon footprints and reduce their energy consumption. 

Diana’s a leading voice to reduce the region’s carbon footprint, save public and private open spaces and minimize the adverse environmental impact of development projects. She frequently educates the public on conservation issues, often through op-eds in the Roanoke Times. She even helped persuade the Mountain Valley Pipeline to relocate its pipeline route to mitigate the environmental impact. 

For the Winner 
As the national winner, Diana has won an additional $50,000 to donate to the environmental nonprofit of her choice. This is in addition to the $10,000 she already won with eight other local winners. All donations are courtesy of the James M. Cox Foundation. 

How Cox Conserves Heroes Works 
The Cox Conserves Heroes program recognizes community members who work tirelessly to create, preserve or enhance outdoor spaces. First the program honors standout environmental volunteers from local markets in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington. Winners from these markets are awarded $10,000 to donate to their nonprofit of choice. These individuals then go on to compete in the national competition, which is voted on by the public. 

In partnership with The Trust for Public Land, Cox Conserves Heroes is part of Cox Enterprises’ national Cox Conserves sustainability program. Through Cox Conserves Heroes, the James M. Cox Foundation has contributed nearly $1 million to environmental nonprofits and honored more than 200 volunteers across the country.