Shelby White
Shelby White is the Founding Trustee of the Leon Levy Foundation, which was created from the estate of her late husband, Wall Street financier and philanthropist, Leon Levy (1925-2003). When Shelby decided to fund a memorial for her late husband, it only made sense to do so on the island they both loved so much. The Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve is the fulfilment of the vision of Shelby White, who wanted to celebrate Leon’s devotion to Eleuthera and its natural environment while contributing to a better future for its people.
“It has been such a joy to see the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve develop; to know that we have created something that is not only useful in the community but is known internationally,” Shelby said. “This is absolutely beyond anything I’d ever dreamed, and it has been really my pleasure – my benefit, almost. I feel as if I’ve been handed a gift.”
Over the last 30 years, Shelby has spent part of each winter at her home on Eleuthera. She continues to work closely with The Bahamas National Trust to oversee and develop the Preserve.
Shelby serves on the boards of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Institute for Advanced Study, The New York Botanical Garden, and New York University. In 2017, she was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in recognition of her far-reaching philanthropic work.