Jenny Blaker

As a life member of the Sierra Club since 1995, I wholeheartedly support the  Grassroots Choice (Petition) candidates for the Sierra Club – Chad Hanson, Nancy Muse and Maya Khosla. There seems to be a battle over the leadership and future direction of the Sierra  Club and I endorse these candidates who I believe will support  transparency, accountability, democratic values and a volunteer-driven  organization, and most importantly the protection of wildlands from abuse and exploitation.

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Chad Hanson's depth of knowledge and understanding of forest ecology, his leadership skills, and his dedication and commitment to forest protection, are extraordinary.  Having worked closely with Maya Khosla, I'm impressed with the range and depth of her knowledge, specifically of post-fire forests and the impacts of the biomass energy industry, from boots-on-the-ground first hand observation, in-depth study of the science, and also the depth of her commitment to advocacy for the natural world and for affected disadvantaged communities.  I believe that with this slate of candidates, the Sierra Club will be in good hands.

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Katherine T. “Kathy” Egland

I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude for the work of the Sierra Club and have a vested interest in seeing it maintain and expand its transformative advocacy. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with Chad Hanson for several years and have recently worked closely alongside Nancy Muse and Maya Khosla. I’m enthusiastically endorsing their candidacy for the Board of Directors of the Sierra Club because I feel they possess the principles, virtues, values, expertise and fortitude to return and keep the Sierra Club on a path to stability and prosperity, while building a diverse membership capacity. In such times as these, harmony, the stellar work and experienced guidance of the Sierra Club is needed now more than ever. This is the slate to answer that need. 

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I’m a lifelong civil/human rights activist and have been a longtime supporter and admirer of the Sierra Club. I’ve been a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since childhood and have served continuously as an at-large member of its National Board of Directors since 1998. I’ve chaired the National Board’s NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee since it was created 16 years ago. After years of working alongside Sierra Club members on environmental injustice issues in my Mississippi Gulf grassroots community, a few years ago my husband and I decided to become life members. I worked closely with Rose Johnson, the first African-American to lead a state Sierra Club Chapter. However, involvement and respect for the work of the Sierra Club has also been instrumental in my civil/human rights advocacy, as it relates to environmental and climate justice issues, well beyond the borders of Mississippi. I’ve survived Hurricane Katrina, but lost two of my dearest friends to drowning during the storm’s wrath. I’ve survived the BP Oil Spill and a failing coal plant located less than 4 miles from my home- that, thanks to the Sierra Club, has decommissioned its coal burning function.