Lisa Young, Idaho Chapter Director (She/Her)
Lisa brings over 10 years of experience in community organizing, policy advocacy, and coalition-building for climate justice to her role as Idaho Chapter Director. Born and raised in Boise, she attended Boise State University, where she earned a degree in Chemistry and developed a passion for grassroots environmental organizing. She went on to serve as Clean Energy Organizer at the Snake River Alliance, working with Idaho electric utilities, regulators, lawmakers, and community members to begin shifting Idaho away from coal. Lisa then moved to Massachusetts and earned her Master of City Planning & Environmental Policy degree from MIT. After graduate school, she served as the Climate Justice Partnerships Organizer at 350 Massachusetts, fostering partnerships with racial, economic, and Indigenous justice groups to lift up frontline community voices and build collective power. Lisa is honored to now help lead Idaho Sierra Club toward continuing its legacy of bold environmental progress in her home state. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, dancing, and watching her two young daughters discover the wonders of nature.
Vienne Aberle, Idaho Chapter Communications & Advancement Coordinator (She/They)
Vienne joined the Idaho Chapter in 2021 to support all things communication, giving, and whatever else she can do to lighten the loads of others! Originally from Southeast Virginia, Vienne moved to Boise in 2020 to attend Boise State University, where she graduated with a degree in Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication and a Certificate in Technical Communication. While in Boise, Vienne has looked for ways to get involved in the local advocacy community. For example, they have had writing published in the Writing for Change Journal, a local community advocacy platform, and worked with the Intermountain Fair Housing Council, a local housing justice nonprofit organization, to develop fundraising and planning materials. She is incredibly passionate about accessibility and justice being centered in the work she takes on. In their free time, Vienne loves to cook, read, attempt to crochet, and tend to her growing plant collection (which is somehow thriving, despite her lack of experience with gardening).
Amanda Reed, Idaho Chapter Organizer (She/Her)
Amanda was born and raised in Spokane, Washington. In high school, she began to get involved with grassroots organizing work for the first time by participating in the Sunrise Movement and March for Our Lives. She later interned with the nonprofit Refugee Connections Spokane and worked to provide translated health booklets to refugees in the Spokane area. In college, she majored in English, Spanish Studies, and Psychology, intending to become an English as a second language teacher. However, throughout college, she changed her career focus as she gravitated more and more toward social justice and organizing work. She interned with the Philadelphia Chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, organized an educational equity mentoring program, and launched a research project to encourage allyship behavior toward LGBTQ+ college students. These experiences cemented Amanda’s passions for social justice, educational equity, and climate justice, and led her to pursue a career in nonprofit organizing. In her free time, Amanda loves to read and spend time outside hiking, camping, and paddleboarding. She’s thrilled to join the Idaho Chapter to help lead its efforts in climate justice.
Julian Matthews, Idaho Chapter Wildlife & Lands Coordinator (He/Him)
julian.matthews@sierraclub.org
Julian is an enrolled Nez Perce tribal member, living in Pullman, WA, who has been involved in a number of environmental issues primarily related to the Nez Perce Treaty of 1855 that encompasses approximately 11 million acres of land that was ceded to the US Government while the tribe retained hunting, fishing and gathering rights in this area. His work over the past 20 years has evolved into working with a number or Tribal groups, families and individuals and other NGO's on environmental issues in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Canada, and is committed to working with many groups as we work to protect the environment for all.. He grew up in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho in an area that was resource extraction heavy and saw the misuse of lands for timber and mining interests. He graduated from Kamiah High School in Kamiah, Idaho and then went into the US Navy, serving 6 years and being honorably discharged, graduated from Gonzaga University with a BA in Finance, and received a Masters in Public Administration from University of Idaho. He has most recently worked for his tribe in the Human Resources area, and now joins the Idaho Sierra Club team as the part-time Wildlife & Lands Coordinator! He is committed to ensuring that the youth have the ability to hunt, fish and gather into the future. By advocating for protection of the land, water, forests and air today we can ensure that there will be a viable future for all.