S. David Freeman was an energy policy expert, engineer, lawyer, and author who was a leading early environmental advocate for energy conservation and the development of renewable green energy sources.

Mr. Freeman’s career began as an engineer for the Tennessee Valley Authority after he graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He then attended law school at night at the University of Tennessee, graduating first in his class, and became an attorney for the TVA. In the 1960s and 70s, Freeman went to Washington to work for the Federal Power Commission, in the Office of Science and Technology for Presidents Johnson and Nixon, and as an advisor to the Senate Commerce Committee. Freeman also served as the Director of the Energy Policy Project of the Ford Foundation. That project culminated in the 1974 publication of the visionary work, “A Time to Choose,” one of the earliest studies advocating energy conservation as the necessary pathway to environmental protection.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter named Freeman Chairman of the TVA Board, where he served for six years. Freeman later headed several major power and energy organizations, including the Lower Colorado River Authority, the New York Power Authority, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He has been called an “eco-pioneer” for his leadership of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and came to be known as the “Green Cowboy.”

Freeman passed away in May 2020. His family is continuing his legacy with the endowment of academic scholarships for University of Tennessee students majoring in Sustainability. Information about that scholarship endowment is available on the University’s website on the giving page for the University’s Geography and Sustainability Department at: Support The Department - Geography and Sustainability Department (utk.edu).  (Please scroll down to bottom of the page to the description of the S. David Freeman Sustainability Scholarship Endowment.)  The direct donation page is here:  Donation · University of Tennessee, Knoxville · GiveCampus (utk.edu).