2024 North Carolina Awards: Thomas W. Earnhardt

Tom Earnhardt has dedicated his life to preserving and promoting North Carolina's rich natural and cultural heritage. Earnhardt extensive career of service includes time as an assistant attorney general at the N.C. Department of Justice, assistant secretary of the N.C. Department of Administration, and as a professor at North Carolina Central University School of Law. In 1971 Earnhardt was one of the first attorneys hired at the N.C. Department of Justice in the “new arena” of environmental law. Later, while working with Governor Jim Holshouser he played a key role in helping to preserve critical natural areas, including the New River in northwestern North Carolina and the southernmost Outer Banks, today’s Cape Lookout National Seashore. Beyond his legal work, Earnhardt has long been passionate about conservation and environmental education. He served on the boards of numerous natural resource organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and the North Carolina Botanical Garden. He is best known, however, through his work as the writer, host, and co-producer of the long-running PBS series “Exploring North Carolina,” which highlights the importance of our natural heritage in the life of every North Carolinian.