Sleepless in SIERRA: A Tale of CLUB Politics and Transparency

Check out my new piece on Substack:  6 Issues with Sierra Club Elections, Per ChatGPT . Thanks. 

In October, Los Angeles Times’ Lila Seidman wrote in her article  The Sierra Club’s California members are torn over its mission. Can a new leader forge consensus? , “California membership in the Sierra Club has dropped by roughly 32,000 members, or 19%, since 2019.” She also highlighted the turnover among Sierra Club California’s top staffers.  Here’s the full story of staff turnover within 12 months. Director Brandon Dawson left in December 2023. Senior Policy Strategist Sakereh Carter left in March 2024. Acting Director Jason John went on parental leave in July 2024, and hinted at no return . Acting Deputy Director Erin Woolley left this week. All senior staff in 2023 have left by now.  Sierra Club is a volunteer-led organization. Chapter staff is managed by the chapter’s Executive Committee (ExCom). In September, I resigned from ExCom and as Co-Chair of the Zero Waste Committee because climate activism was increasingly blocked over the years by the top-level ...

"Power building" is a term frequently used by the Sierra Club to describe both a method and an objective within the grassroots movement. Throughout my years with the Club, grappling with its practical implications has been a consistent challenge. Anyone can join the nation's largest environmental organization as a volunteer without any assessment of his/her skills or leadership capabilities, even rise to powerful positions without any performance review. As Ramona Strategies’ report pointed out, “Being a ‘volunteer-led’ organization cannot stand for volunteers having carte blanche.” How to engage Club leaders who consistently fail to respond to emails? I started to encounter this pervasive problem shortly after I joined the Club. Many leaders say they have too many emails to read. Some even pressure activists to send fewer emails. The arguments have centered around the quantity of emails, rather than their effectiveness or email management. While the debate between quant...

I’m not going to be another person telling you to vote. But voting is a privilege that I didn’t realize until I found myself embroiled in Sierra Club's politics. It all began in 2021 in Orange County, where I was barred from Sierra Club activism by local leaders who alleged that I excluded them from my activism in city halls. Some told me this decision was an example of racism, sexism, and ageism. Then, a policy was drafted aimed at excluding Sierra Club California from activities in Orange and Los Angeles Counties. It wasn't about me anymore. It was time for reform. So I decided to run for Sierra Club California elections. In 2022, I became the chair of the Conservation Committee and then a member of the Executive Committee.  As the only chair in Sierra Club California's history who is not white and possibly not retired, I found myself battling against an entrenched power structure that maintains its dominance through control of the election process. Voters : Up to 100 vot...

Last week, I repeatedly read an article titled Diversity Policy Backlash Drives Cuts to DEI Staff by Inc. magazine’s Bruce Crumley. It struck a chord with my experiences at Sierra Club where I continue to learn about racism, sexism and ageism. I've began to wonder if the 132-year-old organization is really too big to fail. In 2021, an article titled Sierra Club culture tolerated ‘anger and aggression,’ report finds by Politico's Zack Colman exposed Sierra Club’s toxic culture to the public. In May 2023, The Guardian ’s Dharna Noor provided an update, “After the report’s release, the group hired an internal investigations team and conflict resolution team. . . But both have now been eliminated, according to staff.” In September 2023, Maxine Joselow of The Washington Post ’s revealed Sierra Club's harmful approach to address equity. Chief People Officer Aida Davis, a Black woman, bravely spoke out, "I have never felt more undermined, gaslit and disrespected, and my dig...