# Jean Elizabeth Geiger Wright

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American conservationist, educator and animal activist

Jean Elizabeth Geiger Wright Born Jean Elizabeth Geiger[1] 1924 Atlanta, Georgia United States Died March 4, 2002(2002-03-04) (aged 77–78) Cobb County, Georgia, United States Alma mater Washington Seminary (1942)[2] Occupations Conservationist, educator, animal activist Known for Jean and Elwood Wright Environmental Education Center

**Jean Elizabeth Geiger Wright** (1924 – March 4, 2002) was an American [conservationist](/source/Conservation_movement), [educator](/source/Educator), and [animal activist](/source/Animal_rights).[3] After beginning with her family's own house and 19 acres (7.7 ha)[4] farm property in [Cobb County](/source/Cobb_County%2C_Georgia), Wright worked to restore multiple plots of land in Pickens and Union Counties. Her former property was purchased by Cobb County in 2003 for $650,000, far below market price, and today operates as the environmental education conservation, the Jean and Elwood Wright Environmental Education Center.[5]

## Early years

Jean Elizabeth Geiger was born in [Atlanta](/source/Atlanta), Georgia in 1924 to Mr. and Mrs. Lester Henry Geiger. She graduated from [Washington Seminary](/source/Washington_Seminary_(Atlanta)) in 1942[2] and worked for a time at the [First National Bank](/source/Wachovia#Wachovia).[1]

## Conservationism

In addition to restoring her own property in Cobb County, Wright worked with the [Georgia Department of Natural Resources](/source/Georgia_Department_of_Natural_Resources) on its Weekend for Wildlife (WFW) project, which included annual fundraisers on [Sea Island](/source/Sea_Island%2C_Georgia); the [Environmental Resources Network](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Environmental_Resources_Network&action=edit&redlink=1) (TERN); the [Mountain Conservation Trust of Georgia](/source/Mountain_Conservation_Trust_of_Georgia) (MCGTA); the Georgia Native Plant Society (GNPS); the [Nature Conservancy](/source/Nature_Conservancy); and the [Southeast Land Preservation Trust](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Southeast_Land_Preservation_Trust&action=edit&redlink=1), where she served as a director.

After the Wrights' deaths and the county took over ownership of their property, their house was converted to classroom space. The Wright Center was officially declared a wildlife sanctuary by the [Atlanta Audubon Society](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlanta_Audubon_Society&action=edit&redlink=1) in early 2019[4] and features nearly two miles of trails.[6]

## Animal advocacy

Wright was a central figure in working to pass two [bond referendums](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bond_referendum&action=edit&redlink=1), in 1978 and 1992, to expand existing animal shelter facilities. She also worked with the [Humane Society](/source/Humane_Society) to bolster adoption rates, co-established the [Homeless Pet Foundation](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Homeless_Pet_Foundation&action=edit&redlink=1), and lobbied the [Georgia General Assembly](/source/Georgia_General_Assembly) to pass animal protection legislation. Wright became a member of the [Cobb County Animal Control Board](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cobb_County_Animal_Control_Board&action=edit&redlink=1) in 1987, and served as director of special projects for the Humane Society of Cobb County in the 1990s.

After her children grew up, Wright fostered dozens of dogs and puppies, to the extent she was known as the "Puppy Lady".[7]

## Personal life

Jean Geiger married Ernest Elwood Wright on November 10, 1946;[1] the couple had three children, daughters Kris and Kathy and son Robert ("Bob"[8]).[9] In the late 1940s the family purchased a house and land in [Cobb County](/source/Cobb_County%2C_Georgia), which Wright worked for decades to restore to its natural state, seeking out native plants to install.[5]

Wright died on March 4, 2002.[9]

## Legacy

The Jean and Elwood Wright Environmental Education Center, commonly called the Wright Center, is named after Wright and her husband.

In 2020, Wright was added to the [Georgia Women of Achievement](/source/Georgia_Women_of_Achievement) Hall of Fame.[3]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ac-geiger-marriage_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ac-geiger-marriage_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ac-geiger-marriage_1-2) "Miss Jean Geiger To Wed on Nov. 10". *[The Atlanta Constitution](/source/The_Atlanta_Constitution)*. October 27, 1946.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-lhb-archives_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-lhb-archives_2-1) ["Lewis H. Beck Archives: Washington Seminary (1878-1953) Holdings"](https://westminsterschools.libguides.com/beckarchives/washingtonseminary). *The Westminster Schools*. November 12, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020. 1.34: Jean Geiger Wright Papers Class of 1942.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-gwa-wright-2020_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-gwa-wright-2020_3-1) ["Jean Elisabeth Geiger Wright"](https://www.georgiawomen.org/wright-geiger-elizabeth-jean). *Georgia Women of Achievement*. 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ecn-parker-2019_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ecn-parker-2019_4-1) Parker, Wendy (April 12, 2019). ["East Cobb's Wright Environmental Education Center certified as wildlife sanctuary"](http://eastcobbnews.com/east-cobbs-wright-center-certified-as-wildlife-sanctuary/). *East Cobb News*. Retrieved December 15, 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ajc-sager-wright-center_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ajc-sager-wright-center_5-1) Sager, Brenden (July 8, 2004). "Changing the Landscape to Resemble Yesteryear is the Wright Way". *[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution](/source/The_Atlanta_Journal-Constitution)*. p. JF1.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-mgv-wright_6-0)** ["Wright Environmental Education Center"](https://www.cobbmastergardeners.com/project/wright-environmental-education-center/). *Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County*. Retrieved December 15, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ajc-sherrer-1997_7-0)** Sherrer, Brantley (August 7, 1997). "They Call It Puppy Love". *[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution](/source/The_Atlanta_Journal-Constitution)*. p. J1.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-mdj-2020-bob_8-0)** Hartwell, Thomas (January 3, 2020). ["Jean Wright is first Cobb County resident to be inducted into Georgia Women of Achievement Hall of Fame"](https://www.mdjonline.com/mdj-wright-jpg/image_c6ac3370-2e51-11ea-99e0-778a3af88a72.html). *Marietta Daily Journal*. Former Cobb County Commissioner Thea Powell; Bob Wright, Jean Wright's son; and Judy Beard, master gardener project coordinator at the Jean & Elwood Wright Environmental Education Center, inspect a frog pond at the center in east Cobb.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-wright-obit-ajc_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-wright-obit-ajc_9-1) "Obituaries - Wright". [The Atlanta Journal-Constitution](/source/The_Atlanta_Journal-Constitution). March 7, 2002. p. F5.

v t e Georgia Women of Achievement 1990s 1992 Martha Berry Lucy Craft Laney Juliette Gordon Low Flannery O'Connor 1993 Dicksie Bradley Bandy Mary Musgrove Cassandra Pickett Durham Viola Ross Napier Ma Rainey 1994 Julia Flisch Carson McCullers Margaret Mitchell Ruth Hartley Mosley Emily Harvie Thomas Tubman 1995 Selena Sloan Butler Anna Colquitt Hunter Hazel Jane Raines 1996 Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson Nellie Peters Black Ellen Craft Corra Harris Lugenia Burns Hope 1997 Rebecca Latimer Felton Mary Ann Harris Gay Nancy Hart Lucy Barrow McIntire 1998 Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Julia Collier Harris Rhoda Kaufman Carrie Steele Logan 1999 Moina Michael Lillian Smith 2000s 2000 Sallie Ellis Davis Laura Askew Haygood Ellen Axson Wilson 2001 Julia L. Coleman Catherine Evans Whitener 2002 Wessie Gertrude Connell Lula Dobbs McEachern Alice Harrell Strickland 2003 Madeleine Kiker Anthony Helena Maud Brown Cobb Julia Lester Dillon Leila Ross Wilburn 2004 Mathilda Beasley Louise Frederick Hays Helen Dortch Longstreet Sarah McLendon Murphy Emily Barnelia Woodward 2005 Alice Woodby McKane Nina Anderson Pape Jeannette Rankin 2006 Eliza Frances Andrews Grace Towns Hamilton Sarah Porter Hillhouse 2007 Margaret O. Bynum Edith Lenora Foster Helen Douglas Mankin Sara Branham Matthews 2008 Elfrida De Renne Barrow Amilee Chastain Graves Susan Dowdell Myrick 2009 Caroline Pafford Miller Jane Hurt Yarn Harriet Powers 2010s 2010 Mary Ann Lipscomb Celestine Sibley Madrid Williams 2011 Lillian Gordy Carter Mary Francis Hill Coley May duBignon Stiles Howard 2012 Sarah Randolph Bailey Beulah Rucker Oliver Ethel Harpst 2013 Lollie Belle Wylie Mary Gregory Jewett Henrietta Stanley Dull 2014 Rebecca Stiles Taylor Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas Bazoline Estelle Usher 2015 Allie Carroll Hart Frances Freeborn Pauley Nell Kendall Hodgson Woodruff 2016 Sarah Harper Heard Ellamae Ellis League Katie Hall Underwood 2017 Carolyn Mackenzie Carter Clermont Huger Lee Lucile Nix 2018 Ludie Clay Andrews Susie Baker King Taylor Mamie George S. Williams 2019 Leila Denmark Mary Dorothy Lyndon 2020s 2020 Clarice Cross Bagwell Katharine DuPre Lumpkin Juanita Marsh Jean Elizabeth Geiger Wright 2021 Ruby M. Anderson Mary G. Bryan Laura Pope Forester Allie Murray Smith 2022 Lizzie Lurline Collier Josephine Fields Sanders Hedy West Josephine Wilkins 2023 Phyllis Jenkins Barrow Alice Coachman Luck Flanders Gambrell Dorothy Rogers Tilly 2024 Beatrice Hirsch Haas Adella Hunt Logan Valerie Murphey Elizabeth "Bessie" Tift 2025 Jessye Norman Alma Thomas

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jean Elizabeth Geiger Wright](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Elizabeth_Geiger_Wright) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Elizabeth_Geiger_Wright?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.