ExCom Election: It is time to elect new leaders for the Alabama Chapter of the Sierra Club. Every Chapter of the Sierra Club has an Executive Committee to provide guidance and leadership. The Alabama Chapter Executive Committee consists of 8 elected members (4 of whom are elected each year for a 2-year term), plus a delegate from each of our 6 Groups. All active members of the Chapter are eligible to vote in this election. Ballots are due by December 25. You should have received your ballot in mid to late November.
Candidates for this election include:
Casie Jones: An enthusiast of the outdoors, advocate of personal & environmental health, woman of science, & life-long learner—I am eager to dedicate my time & efforts to promoting healthful experiences for all. As a well-rounded science educator, I have taught AP Biology, Marine Biology, & AP Environmental Science in a public high school setting, along with, directing a summer Outdoor Adventure Camp for elementary-age children. I am currently involved in research in the field of Public Health. I believe in the investment in youth to become informed & inspired future stewards of our earth. In my free time, I consider nature as my interest & advocacy as my passion. I advocate that individuals make decisions that reflect health for their own lives & for the earth. I believe that the activities we pursue, the mindsets we maintain, the knowledge we seek, & the action we take can have everlasting impact on our own lives & the earth we are indebted to.
I enthuse on the beauty of our state & the amazing biodiversity in Alabama. I insist that the resources that we have be protected. I promote that we act locally & think globally in our action towards environmental health & justice. I believe that we can successfully reach our goals only through social movement & the time to act is now. I have served on the Sierra Club executive committee for the past several years &, currently, serve as Chair for the 2019-2020 term. Throughout this experience, I have been inspired by the environmental efforts in our state & motivated to seek new pathways of understanding & action.
Ida Gleaton: I have been a nature lover from as far back as I can remember. It began with playing in the woods as a child to camping from young adulthood till present (our kids didn’t know what a vacation was that did not include camping). I am treasurer of the West Alabama Group of the Alabama Sierra Club, treasurer of the Blanche Dean Chapter of the Alabama Wildflower Society, a member of the Alabama Hiking Trail Society, & a member of the local Master Gardeners in Tuscaloosa, AL. I have been a bookkeeper by trade & am now partially retired, only working 2 days a week. There is much we need to do to help “explore, enjoy, & protect” our environment. It is regretful that we have to ‘fight’ to preserve this good earth we have for future generations. It seems as if ‘everyone’ should want that, but obviously it is not so. We must strive to do the best we can & I hope that I can help in some way by being on the Ex-Com for the Alabama Sierra Club.
Bob Melczarek: My name is Robert Melczarek. I go by Bob or Melzie. & I’d like to be a member of the Sierra Club Alabama Chapter ExCom. Below I have outlined a few reasons why I think I’d be an asset as an ExCom member. The first half of my childhood was spent growing up in Australia. That instilled in me a life-long fascination with & admiration of nature. & the uniqueness of the nature & the problems encountered there continually deepens my understanding of the broad scope & the minute details. And as a true Aussie & a lover of sport, I continually hear our sports icons talk only about the boys, the girls, i.e. the team, & highlight others, not themselves. So I’ll be a team member. And as for being a “team player”, those that know me know I’m not afraid to speak my mind. But I’m also very good at just listening & absorbing. As a professor of Educational Technology I served on several planning & implementing committees so I naturally think about the short & long term considerations. I also naturally think about how each little piece affects the whole puzzle. Though I have seen where stereotypes about committees were true, I believe in people working together as a team towards a common goal. Technology has been an integral part of my professional life. So I naturally think about how things can be done differently, done better. But more importantly I think about new possibilities of doing & thinking. I often think outside the box. I have been a member of the Montgomery Sierra Club Group for six years now & I believe the members there will vouch for my commitment to & involvement with the Group. I have served on the Group Executive Committee, & made several presentations at Group meetings. I work at home & have very few family obligations so even though the time that I can give is not limitless, it is very flexible. Thank you & have a bonza day!
Laura Quattrochi: Laura Quattrochi has been on the Executive Committee of the Alabama Chapter of Sierra Club since 2017, & would love to be re-elected for another term. She is very involved with the Beyond Coal Campaign & is partnering with Sierra Club to do Home Energy Efficiency Upgrades throughout neighborhoods in North Birmingham. Laura is the Program Director at Alabama Environmental Council, building on her Americorps service with AEC from 2015-2017. She graduated in May 2015 from the University of Montevallo with a B.S. in Psychology & Social Work. Laura currently is pursuing a Masters of Anthropology for Peace & Human Rights from The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Laura shares her passion for environmental advocacy through community outreach & creating conservation-based programs that will benefit all Alabamians.
Roger L. Tanner: Roger L. Tanner is a retired atmospheric chemist with 40+ years of experience in national air quality issues, with special expertise in airborne particulate matter, its origin & fate. He directed studies at the Look Rock air quality site in Great Smokey Mountains National Park from 2001 to 2013, in collaboration with the National Park Service & the Environmental Protection Agency. He has been a member of the Sierra Club since 2012 & although not an active member until recently, he has been a moderate voice for responsible environ¬mental regulations & an ardent foe of profit-driven deregulation efforts. Since retirement, he has recognized the need to take a more active role in Sierra Club activities in the Alabama chapter given the current political, particularly in the areas of air quality & habitat preservation. He has been a member of the Shoals Environmental Alliance since 2001, & was active in efforts to save the TVA trails (a National Trails site) from development, thus retaining this ecologically important habitat on the Tennessee River. He has supported several other environmental groups through the years, including the National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy, & the World Wildlife Fund. He has also canoed local streams & rivers, & has been an active hiker, especially in the Sierra Nevada, where he has hiked more than half the Tahoe Rim trail. He has served as a member of the Sierra Club Alabama Executive Committee since January, 2019.
Terica West: My name is Terica West & I am a lifelong resident of Attalla/Gadsden located in Etowah County in Northeast Alabama. I have always had a love of nature & animals. As a child I spent a lot of time outdoors in the woods & at our natural landmark Noccalula Falls walking trails to collect rocks & bugs. I attended Emory & Henry college located in the Southwest corner of Virginia where I doubled majored in Art- Graphic Design & Mass Communications- Visual Communications. My love for nature & the natural world around us grew even more while in the Virginia Highlands. I am currently employed at Hood Packaging as a graphic artist. I serve in various community clubs/organizations including The Etowah County Democratic Women’s Club as co-chair, a member of Club Blue (a service organization of the Etowah County Boys & Girls Club), I have been a dog rescue foster mom, and support various community efforts. I currently serve on the Coosa Valley Sierra Club Executive Committee. I would love to be a member of the Chapter Executive Committee to better serve the community and world through the mission of the Sierra Club to explore, enjoy and protect the planet. To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out those objectives.
Submit your ballot today and help the Alabama Chapter explore, enjoy, and protect the planet.