DC BLOX, a provider of data centre and fibre network services across the Southeastern US, has appointed Diane Sanzone as vice president of environment and sustainability. Sanzone has more than 25 years of experience in environmental permitting, compliance, and stakeholder engagement. She most recently worked at Ramboll, and previously held senior roles at BP, AECOM, and Kleinfelder. She will lead environmental work across the company's data centre, fibre, and cable landing station projects. That includes permits, risk management, and community engagement, as well as delivering the pledges in the DC BLOX Community Commitment on water conservation, air quality, and site design. "Her leadership ensures that as we scale critical digital infrastructure, we protect local ecosystems," said chief executive officer Jeff Uphues.

DC BLOX elevates sustainable infrastructure strategy with appointment of Diane Sanzone as Vice President of Environment and Sustainability. Infrastructure Leader Brings More Than 25 Years of Experience in Environmental Permitting, Compliance, and Stakeholder Engagement ATLANTA-(BUSINESS WIRE)-DC BLOX, a leading provider of connected data center and fiber network solutions across the Southeastern United States, today announced the appointment of Diane Sanzone, Ph.D., as Vice President of Environment and Sustainability. Sanzone brings more than 25 years of experience guiding complex infrastructure projects in the energy, technology, and telecommunications sectors through permitting and compliance, while managing environmental and social risk and stakeholder engagement. "Diane brings the exact blend of deep sustainability expertise and civic and economic stakeholder collaboration needed to operationalize our Community Commitment pledges." -Jeff Uphues, CEO of DC BLOX. Share In her new role, Sanzone will lead environmental and sustainability work across DC BLOX's data center, fiber, and cable landing station projects. That includes overseeing permits and regulatory requirements, identifying and managing environmental risk, and working with the communities near each project. Sanzone's appointment directly supports the DC BLOX Community Commitment, a pledge outlining ten foundational pillars designed to ensure digital infrastructure is developed with the needs of the community in mind and preserving local ecosystems. In her role, she will lead the execution of environmental protection pledges across all projects, with her scope including technologies for water conservation, air quality safeguards, responsible site design, and project transparency with local stakeholders. "As DC BLOX expands across the Southeast, our commitment to lead with transparency, trust, and environmental accountability remains foundational," said Jeff Uphues, CEO of DC BLOX. "Diane brings the exact blend of deep sustainability expertise and civic and economic stakeholder collaboration needed to operationalize our Community Commitment pledges. Her leadership ensures that as we scale critical digital infrastructure, we protect local ecosystems, respect natural resources, and remain a trusted, long-term neighbor in every community we serve." Sanzone holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and an M.S. in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development from the University of Georgia and was a Fulbright Scholar in Iceland. She teaches stakeholder engagement for digital infrastructure at UC Berkeley and serves on the boards of Berkeley's Global Digital Infrastructure Certificate Program and CoastX, a marine science education nonprofit. She has held senior technical and environmental leadership roles at BP, AECOM, Kleinfelder, and Ramboll. Most recently at Ramboll, Sanzone's work spanned data centers and hyperscale computing, subsea fiber-optic systems, telecommunications infrastructure, and energy support systems. "Throughout my career, I've worked at the intersection of infrastructure, the environment, and communities. I'm excited to bring that experience to DC BLOX and help shape a more sustainable future for digital infrastructure - one that supports technological progress while caring for the natural resources and people that make it possible," said Sanzone. "What makes this opportunity especially meaningful to me is DC BLOX's commitment to making the communities it serves better. I believe we can build essential digital infrastructure while protecting the environment, listening to local priorities, and creating lasting community benefits." About DC BLOX DC BLOX is a digital infrastructure provider in the Southeast that delivers integrated data center and fiber network solutions at scale to enable hyperscalers, enterprises, communications providers, and technology companies to offer enhanced digital services to their customers and accelerate the region's economic growth. DC BLOX owns and operates interconnected multi-tenant and hyperscale-ready data centers, robust dark fiber network routes, and critical cable landing stations across Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee. For more information, please visit www.dcblox.com or connect with DC BLOX on LinkedIn. Contacts. Media Contact: Hannah Tarro, JSA Tel: +1 866.695.3629 Email: [email protected]

Former Georgia regulator who helped set policy for data centers now works for company building them. September 17, 2026 12:02 PM Tricia Pridemore resigned from the Public Service Commission and is now the executive vice president of energy, regulatory and policy for DC BLOX. Credit: Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder Tricia Pridemore, who until recently served as an elected utility regulator in Georgia, is now working for a corporation that builds data centers primarily in the Southeast. Pridemore, who is a Republican, will serve as the executive vice president of energy, regulatory and policy for DC BLOX, where she will represent the company in policy discussions with lawmakers, regulatory bodies and utility providers. Pridemore resigned from the state Public Service Commission on Sept. 4, leaving her post a few months early. Pridemore said in an interview Wednesday that she'll be "leveraging [her] experienced understanding of the energy space, as well as Georgia policy and law, and being able to do that to support one of the largest customers in the state." "The world of energy and utilities is very detailed. It is likely one of the most... detailed policy and regulatory spaces that exist in states, and so I am intimately familiar with rate structures, tariffs, the Georgia Territorial Act, the entire section of the OCGA that regulates energy and energy deployment across the state," Pridemore said. Pridemore was appointed to the commission in 2018 by former Gov. Nathan Deal despite not having previous energy or regulatory experience. She ran for the seat that November and won with just over 50% of the vote. She has not faced an election since then because the 2024 commission elections were postponed. While the commission does not directly control the growth of data centers in Georgia, it regulates electric utilities and contracts they sign with data centers, as well as the energy infrastructure that power these facilities. During her tenure, the commission passed a rule aimed at helping ensure data centers pay for the energy infrastructure they need, but critics raised concerns that the rule did not do enough to protect residential ratepayers from paying for some of those costs. Lawmakers attempted to pass legislation that would have codified the rule into law, as well as numerous other bills dealing with data center regulations, but all failed to become law. Instead of running for the seat she held on the commission, she opted to run for Georgia's 11th Congressional District seat, but she ended up coming in third in the Republican primary earlier this year. When asked why step down from the position before her term concluded, Pridemore said that there are federal projects that are moving quickly and "DC BLOX needed [her] to be involved in those in the beginning stages of those projects." She mentioned particularly that the U.S. Department of Energy tapped DC BLOX to help build a data center at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. "This is a project that really gained my interest because it is new not only to what the feds are doing, but it's great to have it right here in the Southeast with such close South Carolina and Georgia ties," she said. But her appointment has raised questions about whether it could give DC BLOX an unfair advantage in navigating the regulatory environment in Georgia. DC BLOX already has one data center in Rockdale County, and another in Douglas County, and the company has plans for another one near where Sara Kennedy, a Rockdale resident of 20 years, lives. Kennedy, who has been pushing back against the DC BLOX's second data center in Rockdale since she found out about the plans in May, called it a "system failure" that the law allows a formerly elected official to go to work for an industry they were charged with regulating. "When you have someone in place like this person who knows the ins and outs, the way the system is supposed to work, the way that it's actually working, and they're moving on to the side of corporate profit over tax-paying residents, it's terrifying," Kennedy said. Brionté McCorkle, the executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, a political advocacy organization focused on the environment, raised concerns regarding Georgia's revolving-door policy. Georgia law prohibits public officials from registering as a lobbyist or engaging in lobbying for one year after leaving such office. "That matters because DC BLOX is actively expanding data centers in Georgia, including a Conyers campus with 216 megawatts of power committed by Georgia Power. During Pridemore's time on the commission, she voted on major expansions of Georgia Power's system driven substantially by data-center demand," McCorkle said. But Pridemore said her duties at DC BLOX during the first year will be outside of Georgia in neighboring states and at the federal level. While she will continue to live in Georgia, she said her "roles and responsibilities for the first year will be centered around other projects." "You won't see me appearing before the commission, or doing commission-type business, but the years of experience that I've gained - they're all in my head, and it's the same work that I've taken and represented Georgia and the great things that we've done in energy and utility regulation and management all across the country," Pridemore said. Even so, Edward Queen, the director of Emory University's Center for Ethics, said in an interview that when a public official moves to the private sector, they run the risk of undermining people's trust in the system. Even if the rules are followed, he said that there can still be the public perception that corporations have unfair access to insider information. "Public policies or the acceptance of public policy fundamentally rests on people's trust in the system, and when there are activities that at least on a kind of facial appearance would lead a reasonable person to lose that trust, there's a fundamental problem," Queen said. Queen said perhaps having a longer waiting period before a public official joins the private sector could help address those concerns, but even that may not be enough to tamp down concerns. "People that are going to kind of willfully suspect what's going on are going to do it no matter what happens," Queen said. This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Georgia Recorder. Reporter, Georgia Recorder Alander Rocha is a journalist based in Atlanta. He previously worked for KFF Health News and the Red & Black, Georgia's student newspaper. He is a Tulane and Georgia alumnus with a two-year stint in the U.S. Peace Corps. The Georgia Recorder is an independent, nonprofit news organization focused on connecting public policies to the stories of the people and communities affected by them. Georgia Public Broadcasting bring a fresh perspective to coverage of the state's biggest issues from its perch near the Capitol in downtown Atlanta. Georgia Public Broadcasting view news as a vital community service and believe that government accountability and transparency are valued by all Georgians. Support quality journalism. GPB is committed to bringing you comprehensive news coverage from Georgia, across the country and around the world. Your support makes this possible. 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