The Armstrong State University Foundation, Inc., recently appointed HunterMaclean partner Drew Ernst to chairman of the Armstrong Foundation Board of Trustees.

A proud Armstrong alum and accomplished attorney, Ernst earned a B.A., magna cum laude, from Armstrong in 1974 and was a recipient of the university’s prestigious Silver A Award for Academic and Civic Achievement. In 2014, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award and, in 2015, joined the Armstrong Foundation Board of Trustees.

“Over the years, Drew has been a strong advocate for key initiatives at Armstrong,” said Armstrong’s Vice President for Advancement William Kelso, who also serves as the executive vice president of the Armstrong Foundation. “He has a powerful commitment to his alma mater and to supporting student success through service on the Armstrong Foundation Board of Trustees.”

Ernst has practiced for more than 30 years in the areas of environmental law, land use, commercial real estate development, and industrial development. He earned a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law and has extensive experience in representing clients on wetland issues and coastal development matters arising under various facets of Georgia’s Marshlands Protection Act and Shore Protection Act. He also represents clients before regulatory agencies in obtaining permits under the Clean Water Act.

Ernst has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for environmental law since 1997 and in Chambers USA since 2004. A member of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, his work has been published in The Journal of Environmental Permitting and the Mercer Law Review.

Ernst developed coastal ecology programs for the Leadership Savannah Youth Program and co-chaired the Southeast and Georgia Wetlands and Water Law Program. Over the years, he has also served on the boards of the Coastal Empire Council of Boy Scouts of America, the Educational Properties Foundation, Georgia Conservancy, the Savannah Harbor Foundation and Skidaway Island United Methodist Church.