California Exodus: Sierra Club's Leadership Crisis of 2024

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 longtime volunteer leaders. Meanwhile, two other ExCom members decided not to run for re-election, including Co-Vice Chair Katie Davis, an exceptional fundraiser for Sierra Club California. In 2024 alone, she raised over half a million dollars - an extraordinary achievement, especially considering that raising several thousand dollars in a year is already an impressive record for a volunteer.

Despite the ongoing turmoil in the chapter under the longtime volunteer leaders, three current ExCom members are now running for Sierra Club’s national board. 

• Secretary and former Chair Mary Ann Ruiz (ExCom terms: 2013-2019 and 2022-2025)
• Vice Chair Igor Tregub (ExCom terms: 2020-2025)
• Member Nathan Chan (ExCom term: 2024-2025)

Los Angeles Times noted, “California plays an outsize role in the Sierra Club. . . To a degree, some of the debates roiling the California branch mirror those for the national organization. . . [Ramona Strategies’] report portrayed the unpaid base as an almost lawless entity, describing hostile power struggles with staff and near-total impunity.” Similarly, in August, Politico’s Alex Nieves touched upon "toxic workplaces” in 3 questions for Sierra Club California’s new leader.

At the national level, I noticed some high-level staff turnover in 2024 too. Managing Director Eva Hernandez left in March. Chief Field Officer Deb Pasternak left in April. Chief Conservation Officer Chris Hill and Deputy Field Director Whitney Pearson both left in September.  

While Sierra Club’s internal conflicts have been increasingly reported by the media over the decades, the organization appears resistant to meaningful change. What reforms do Sierra Club California’s leaders plan to bring to the national board?