Karl Palmquist

Karl Palmquist
Residence
New York, NY
Nominating committee candidate
Member Since
2020
Occupation
Systems Biologist
Sierra Club Leadership Positions

  • Chair, Sierra Club NYC Group | 2023 – Present

  • Vice-chair, Sierra Club NYC Group | 2021 – 2023

  • NYC Group Delegate (or Alternate) to the Atlantic Chapter | 2021 – Present

  • Chair, Sierra Club NYC Group Zero Waste Committee | 2021 – Present

  • Chair, Sierra Club NYC Group Soil Health Committee | 2022 – Present

Other Leadership Positions

Organizer, Soil Symposium for Community Gardeners | 2023 – Present

Email
karl.palmquist@newyork.sierraclub.org
Statement

The Sierra Club draws its great power from its grassroots base. This foundation uniquely positions us to combat complex environmental issues, local to national. Although we have achieved many victories, we are not living up to the full potential required of this moment. As we face myriad crises—from water pollution and biodiversity decline, to climate change and food system collapse—we must start addressing issues holistically. I am a systems biologist and the Chair of the Sierra Club New York City Group. I bring a wealth of experience in researching interconnected systems and have put this into practice in my community by weaving together local and national campaigns to yield tangible victories.

While Chair, I had the opportunity to shepherd legislation transitioning NYC’s fleet to zero-emission vehicles, built a legislative strategy for community gardens and composting, and advanced partnerships with environmental justice organizations. As a young leader with the Sierra Club, I recognize that the grassroots essence of our organization must be front and center, now and in the future—the campaigns above featured coordination with national and other local groups, providing an example of how club entities can work together to bolster campaigns.

As a Director, I would be uniquely suited to chart such a collaborative path, opening avenues for new volunteers, and enabling mentoring opportunities for existing ones. In NYC—a group with some 15,000 members and supporters—we have done exactly this. By increasing and diversifying our Group leadership since I became Chair, we have broadened our expertise and perspectives, equipping us for innovative and successful campaigns.

As a candidate, I bring a background in data-driven and fact-based advocacy that is persuasive and sound. As a biologist, I have worked to build conceptual and technical skills to approach complex systems and believe local volunteers should have the information and tools they need to support their advocacy. As a Director, I would work to ensure our conservation policies are based on up-to-date science, to rally the public and our membership. As a local leader who has achieved concrete victories through our volunteer base and community collaborations, I promise to listen first and act swiftly as a Board Director. Thank you for the opportunity to serve our community.

Endorsements

Volunteer Leaders: Former President and Board Member, Ramon Cruz; Atlantic Chapter (New York) Chair, Kate Bartholomew; New Jersey Chapter Chair, Richard Isaac; New Hampshire Chapter Chair, Jerry Curran; National Grassroots Network Food and Agriculture Team Chair, Paul McCullough

Staff: Hannah Birnbaum

External: South Bronx Unite, Executive Director, Arif Ullah; President of the NYC Community Garden Coalition, Raymond Figueroa Jr., Atlantic Chapter, Florida Chapter

Election Forum Responses

Candidates were asked ten questions to give voters more information about relevant issues. You can view the responses of all candidates to a question by clicking on the individual questions below.

Question 1

Question 1

What is the role of volunteers in the Sierra Club? What can Sierra Club do to  better ensure volunteer leaders are equitably prepared and supported sufficiently  for their roles?

Volunteer recruitment, engagement, and retention is one of the most important goals of the Sierra Club as an organization. The Club’s volunteer base—spanning across the country with reach into many neighborhoods and communities—is a unique asset. As an organization, we must develop our leaders at the grassroots level, with the intention of strengthening local Sierra Club Groups. Volunteers provide power in numbers, but we also serve as the interface between the Sierra Club and the surrounding communities we seek to empower.

One critical way the Sierra Club can better ensure volunteer leaders are equitably prepared and supported is through improving membership outreach. Even as the Chair of a local Group, I have rarely been consulted on ways the Club can better support our local advocacy and leadership development. We should immediately correct this and find ways to structurally incorporate the feedback of grassroots volunteers.

Sierra Club volunteers understand the environmental issues in their communities and have the connections and partnerships to rapidly engage as issues emerge. In many cases, local Group Executive Committees consist of community leaders. As an organization, the Sierra Club needs to support Groups and Chapters as they build their Conservation Committees and Executive Committees to ensure that they represent diverse community interests. The Club’s organizing infrastructure—from texting to action alerts/petitions—is a great tool for recruiting new members. Local Groups and Chapters would benefit from easier access to these organizing tools.

Question 2

Question 2

Sierra Club leaders and members can often be on different sides of issues–how  would you address dissenting views like this and create a more unified Sierra  Club? 

As a Group leader, I have encountered this situation often. In my capacity as Group Chair, I have created systems to address this type of issue, ideally before it becomes a problem. Disagreement is okay. Dissenting views can often make an organization stronger because they allow us to think more deeply about our situation and examine nuance. However, dissension becomes a problem when it causes mutual resentment and dysfunction.

I believe that by addressing two major causes of this discord we can bring the Club into better harmony. First, I have found that, historically, communication between grassroots members and national leaders (staff and national volunteers) has been missing. When several of my local Group’s priorities were in opposition to the views of national Club staffers, I facilitated conversations with staffers and national volunteers. This helped the Group refine our positions, but also helped national leaders identify areas where they could offer better support to our Group. Under the new Club structure, regional staff should cultivate better working relationships with local Group Chairs to build such reciprocal working relationships.

econd, the Sierra Club needs to do a better job framing its policies so that they make sense to local members. I have found that Group members are more willing to accept Club policies and the input of Sierra Club leaders if time is taken to think about the policy as a roadmap to guide our local work, rather than as something that constrains what we do.

Question 3

Question 3

What fundraising and budgeting ideas would you have as a Sierra Club Board  Director to make Sierra Club fiscally stronger?  

Staff and volunteers often join the Sierra Club because they are terrified by the numerous environmental, climate, and justice crises we face. Although Sierrans excel at organizing and assessing environmental science and policy concerns, our organization needs to develop systems that promote fundraising, a less commonly held skill. Groups and Chapters should be empowered to raise the funds they need to address the crises relevant to their specific communities, and Chapter/Group Fundraising Committees should be given necessary resources. One additional approach is to move beyond traditional fundraising models where funds are tied to specific key performance indicators (KPIs) associated with overly specific campaign victories. Although this sort of venture philanthropy has been successful (just look at the Beyond Coal campaign), it is not the holistic approach needed to address the climate and environmental crisis of today.

In addition, we should draw budgeting insights from our most pronounced victories across the country, from the successes of Groups and Chapters to those of national campaigns. The Board of Directors should closely examine these efforts and look for the types of victories that have occurred, the expenses that went into these victories, and how these victories benefitted the Sierra Club brand. This type of strategy reevaluation will allow the Club to spend money more effectively, and to ensure that money received by members and donors is leading to concrete, tangible victories.

Question 4

Question 4

Environmental justice is core to Sierra Club’s mission. Please share one or more  examples of when you were able to cultivate relationships with EJ/frontline  communities?  

In New York City, environmental justice concerns have been at the forefront of our local Group’s work. My devotion to environmental justice is evidenced both by my local Sierra Club Group’s prioritization of partnerships with environmental justice communities and organizations, but also by my endorsement from two local environmental justice leaders. Locally, I have shown my commitment to environmental justice in numerous ways.

I hosted a symposium for community gardeners at a local university this past Spring. The purpose of the symposium was to bring gardeners and scientists together to discuss urban soil health. Community gardens are often resources for underserved communities, making this a key example of bringing together stakeholders from frontline communities, academia, and environmental organizations.

I have also cultivated a relationship with the environmental justice organization, South Bronx Unite—a group that represents the South Bronx in NYC, a community with some of the highest childhood morbidity rates due to asthma in the country. In coordination with South Bronx Unite, I spoke at a community event last Summer and have also worked to prioritize outreach to Sierra Club members in that community. Recently, we have begun building a program that would involve tending the garden beds of street trees in the South Bronx. In coordination with South Bronx Unite, we will activate our membership and provide resources to this community, something that can be extended to EJ communities across NYC.

Question 5

Question 5

How do you view the role of a nonprofit Board of Directors? What do you bring  that helps you fulfill the role of Sierra Club Board Director? 

Like other Boards, the Sierra Club Board of Directors has an important role in safeguarding the financial health of the organization. However, the unique responsibility of a Sierra Club Board Director accompanies immense, grassroots volunteer power. Sierra Club Board Directors have a unique responsibility to balance typical organization priorities—fundraising and budgeting—with the unique asset of having one of the largest volunteer bases of any organization. In particular, the Sierra Club Board of Directors must create and monitor systems that enable and empower volunteer infrastructure.

As a Group Chair, a Chapter Executive Committee member, and a volunteer with the grassroots network, I have developed strong connections with staff and volunteers at every level of the Club structure. Through this work, I have demonstrable experience in building relationships and bringing people together. During a time when many feel the organization is fractured, or at least under tension, uniting the Club is the most important goal for a Board Director.

Furthermore, as an environmental organization, I also believe that the Sierra Club has a responsibility to pursue the most up-to-date and holistic scientific information in its advocacy. As a scientist, I would bring to our organization a keen attention to detail and a prioritization of data.

Question 6

Question 6

What do you think is the role of national staff and representatives in the affairs of  Chapter decision making?

National staff and representatives are knowledgeable organizers, lobbyists, and have keen insight into Club priorities and focus areas. Yet, the skill of national staff and representatives cannot replace the fact that grassroots leaders—often Executive Committee members of local Groups and Chapters—know their communities best and are knowledgeable and skillful in their own rights. As has always been the case with the Sierra Club’s grassroots structure, local leaders should be at the center of Club strategies and campaigns. Rather than serving as an afterthought once strategy is decided upon, volunteers should serve at the nexus of decision making locally. National staff and representatives can play a key role in ensuring that volunteers have the resources they need, that their questions are answered, and that volunteer-led campaigns are impact-driven.

Furthermore, national staff and representatives have a key role to play in translating local victories into national success stories. The grassroots nature of the Sierra Club means that local campaigns are borne from local issues, but the national fabric of the organization enables a connectedness that can expand the impact of what we do as local volunteers. Staff have a key role in recognizing local campaigns that have the potential to be transformed into national ones and helping connect volunteers in one region with volunteers from across the country.

To summarize, serving as facilitators of change is the most efficient and effective role for national staff and representatives.

Question 7

Question 7

 Sierra Club has faced challenges around restructuring, staffing, and finances. As  a Board Director, what actions would you take to address these challenges? 

Significant restructuring—in fact any change—can bring friction and discomfort. Sierra Club entities, from Group and Chapter volunteers to staff, have voiced concerns about transparency, top-down control, and loss of our grassroots essence. One important step is to acquire more data on membership’s views of these challenges (data from a larger sample size from all levels—Groups, Chapters, National). The Board should then document and share how they will address the concerns enumerated in these data. These data and the Board responses should be shared with membership for additional feedback. This type of cycle—surveying, publicly addressing concerns, and soliciting additional feedback—should be something the Board does regularly to ensure the goals and actions of the Board are in line with the hopes of the membership.

As a candidate for the Board, I spent time connecting with staff and volunteers to learn about their views relating to organizational health, values, and priorities. As a Board Director, I would do similarly. With this information, I would work with my fellow Board Directors to assess what is working and what is not, and swiftly make changes. Furthermore, I would recognize that the correct solution for the Sierra Club will not be “one size fits all.” The Board must be responsive to the unique needs of each Chapter or Group, and we should fine tune the structure of the organization accordingly and the membership should be able to see if the changes are working.

Question 8

Question 8

Given that Sierra Club has limited resources, what would be the specific  environmental issues and priority areas that you would focus on as a Board  Director and why? 

One of the Club’s focus areas has been its energy work. It is critical that we prioritize our goals of creating a just and equitable transition from fossil fuels toward a clean energy future. I would also harken back to the Club’s past and prioritize our conservation work, tying this to our outings program. I would expand the mindset of conservation to include agricultural and urban areas, working to increase the Club’s role in more holistically assessing environmental decay. With the above goals in mind, I think it is incredibly important that the Club prioritize its political work and elect representatives who care about the environment.

One of the core strengths of the Sierra Club has long been its grassroots power. Volunteers have a strong desire to involve younger Sierrans in their work. The Club needs to focus on bringing youth into the organization, both to ensure that the organization has a sustainable volunteer base and to allow for mutual learning opportunities between younger and older members. Before I joined the Executive Committee of the NYC Group, there were no active volunteer leaders under the age of 30. Since I joined, I have cultivated a culture where half the Group Executive Committee now falls in this category, while also expanding our active members more generally and retaining existing members. As we work to address the environmental issues listed above, working to build and diversify our volunteer base in an equitable and sustainable manner is critical to achieving these goals.

Question 9

Question 9

What do you see as the role and use of data in the Sierra Club's mission and  health, and how would you advance the goal of furthering data-informed, values driven campaigns? 

As a scientist and PhD, I deeply value data. The Sierra Club should prioritize the use of data in two ways. First, data should be used internally to better measure our health as an organization. I am unable to think of a time during my tenure with the Sierra Club when I received a questionnaire about Club strategy or structure, and many of my colleagues at the Group level have similar experiences. As a large organization with multiple levels of structure (Group, Chapter, National), the Sierra Club needs to innovate new ways to collect feedback from its membership and prioritize analyzing these data in a transparent manner that informs decisions. The Board should prioritize the use of data in this way as it will allow the Sierra Club to identify areas where we are succeeding, areas where we need more attention, and ways to best chart a path forward. Importantly, I think these data should be sampled with the goal of acquiring a breadth of samples (unbiased and diverse) and a depth of information.

Second, I believe data should inform our advocacy, as well. Some of the most successful campaigns I have been a part of or witnessed locally have been ones where Sierra Club members compiled reputable, science-based information from primary sources and used this to advocate for a specific goal or outcome. The Sierra Club should train, support, and encourage its members to engage in data-based advocacy.

Question 10

Question 10

How do you view the role of outings fitting into the goals and objectives for Sierra  Club?

Two of the goals of the 2030 framework center explicitly on outings—underscoring the unique power that equitable access to nature offers in developing the conservationist mindset. My experience in New York City, a densely packed urban setting, has made this all too evident. Many disadvantaged communities have poor access to nature within the city, and do not have the opportunity to leave the city to engage with nature. I believe that equitable access to nature and the conservationist mindset should run through all Sierrans. By giving impacted and underserved communities the opportunity to connect with nature, and to help them realize opportunities for healthy ecosystems around them, we can build a strong, diverse base. Furthermore, the importance of developing outings programming for people in cities is especially important considering that 89% of the U.S. population is estimated to live in urban areas by 2050.

My hope, if elected to the Board, is that I can focus on strengthening the Club’s outings program, but specifically doing so in a way that serves those who have been historically neglected. Furthermore, I think it is then important to build programming opportunities for follow-up. That is, once we connect people with nature, we must have immediate ways that they can engage to protect and preserve it. This can result in a sustainable form of grassroots power that can be used to fuel local and national victories, and generate new, diverse leaders in the Club.