Clay Henderson

Clay Henderson serves as Executive Director of the Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience at Stetson University which utilizes faculty and student research to inform policy options for significant environmental issues.  Previously he served as senior counsel at the national law firm Holland & Knight LLP practicing in the public policy section in the field of environmental law.   He also served as President of Florida Audubon Society and was elected to two terms on the Volusia County Council.

Henderson has long been engaged in environmental policy in Florida.  He served on the 1998 Florida Constitution Revision Commission and sponsored most of the environmental provisions in Florida’s Constitution including the creation of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.   He co-authored the Florida Water and Land Legacy Initiative, the largest conservation funding program our nation’s history ratified in 2014. He was also a leader in the development of Florida’s signature land acquisition programs and negotiated the acquisition of over 300,000 acres of conservation lands.

Henderson has been recognized for his body of work including the national public service award from The Nature Conservancy and Bill Sadowski Memorial Award from the Environment and Land Use Section of the Florida Bar.