Darla Moore, founder of the Charleston Parks Conservancy, is a prominent businesswoman who grew up in South Carolina and who makes Charleston her second home. She is dedicated to improving the quality of life in Charleston and the state, and in addition to forming the Conservancy, she founded the Palmetto Institute, a nonprofit think tank which aims to bolster the per capita income in South Carolina.
Currently vice president of Rainwater, Inc., Moore also enjoyed a very successful career in banking and was the first woman ever profiled on the cover of Fortune magazine. Fortune also named her to its list of the “50 Most Powerful Women in American Business" in both 1998 and 1999. She also received the "Business Person of the Year Award" from the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and was inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame.
Moore is well known for her philanthropy to South Carolina institutions, including Clemson University and the University of South Carolina, which named its business school in her honor. She serves on the board of the New York University Medical School and Hospital and has served on numerous boards, including University of South Carolina and Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. She is currently a member of the board of The South Financial Group, MPS Group and the National Advisory Board of JP Morgan and was formerly a managing director of its predecessor, Chemical Bank.
Moore is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and holds an MBA from George Washington University. She grew up in Lake City, S.C., and still owns her family home there.
