William G. Coleman papers

Finding aid for the William G. Coleman papers

BC.MSS.08.28

Butler Center for Arkansas Studies
100 Rock Street
Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201
(501) 320-5700

December 30, 2013

Arrangement

The materials in the collection are arranged alphabetically by topic and chronologically.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains manuscripts, photographs, books, maps, and manuals collected and created during William G. Coleman's career as an environmentalist and business development manager.

Biographical Information

Bill Coleman is a U.S. environmentalist and environmental activist as well as a business development manager.

William Gilbert "Bill" Coleman was born August 1, 1951, in Little Rock, Arkansas, and grew up in western Tennessee. He began attending college at the University of New Mexico in 1969 where he studied environmental and natural science. Coleman became actively involved in the environmental movement during the first Earth Day celebration and protests on the campus in 1970.

Coleman graduated from the University of New Mexico with a bachelor's degree in 1974 and took a job as the first staff environmental scientist hired by Arkansas Power and Light Company. He was eventually promoted to Manager of Environmental Affairs and served in that position from 1981-1984.

Bill Coleman participated in several conservation projects in the course of his involvement with the Arkansas Conservation Coalition. These included projects involving wilderness preservation, protection of water quality, wetlands and forest management, and the protection of unique species of plants and animals. He was appointed to two environmental committees during Bill Clinton's first gubernatorial administration and served as an advisor to a task force on timber management.

Coleman began work on a degree in environmental psychology at the University of Arkansas in 1982. In 1984, months after marrying his wife Robin Rae Crank, he accepted an executive internship position with the environmental and governmental affairs department of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) in Washington, D.C.. At the end of the EEI internship, in 1985, Coleman remained in D.C. and worked for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).

Coleman founded the Earth Assets Group, an organization that acted as a resource for information related to incentive-based restoration of the environment through the use of environmental credits. Later, he began working for Intertox, Inc. as manager of business development focused on human health concerns. Coleman was then offered the position of Chief Operations Officer for Planktos Inc. where he remained until 2007, leaving to serve as COO of the Green Building Exchange in Redwood City, California.

Bill Coleman has written on environmental issues for various publications and contributed eleven essays for a book of line drawings by Arkansas artist, Susan Morrison, The Arkansas Wilderness, published in 1983.

Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Unrestricted access.

Restrictions on Use

Non-circulating; in-house use only.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

William G. Coleman papers, MSS.08.28, Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Arkansas Studies Institute

Acquisition Information

Donated by Bill Coleman, July 15, 2008