New Chapter Chair Rosa Hance (right) with Shruti Bhatnagar, Montgomery County Chair (left) and Laurel Imlay, Chapter Coordinator (center)
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Sierra Club, one of the largest and most influential environmental groups in America, announced today that it has elected new leadership for the 2020 for the Maryland Chapter. The Maryland Chapter Executive Committee has elected Rosa Hance as Chapter Chair and Randy Lyons as Vice Chair. Rosa is the youngest woman to serve as Chair since the inception of the Maryland Chapter.
Rosa Hance served at the Chapter Vice Chair for 2019, and has previously served two years as the Chair of the Southern Maryland Sierra Club. In these roles she has helped bring increased focus on community coalition building and emphasized the importance of demographic and ideological diversity in sustaining a strong environmental movement. A former Spanish teacher at a high needs High School, Rosa has also spent time as a manager at a local maritime history museum in St. Mary’s County. As an activist, she has testified on a variety of environmental issues before County Commissions, the Maryland Department of the Environment, and the EPA. She was instrumental in leading the petition drive in Southern Maryland in support of the 2017 ban on hydraulic fracturing, and has led testimony gathering efforts for numerous bills in the Maryland General Assembly. Rosa currently leads the Chapter Strategic Planning Team and the Annual Planning & Budget Committee, and serves as an Online Outreach Coordinator for the Maryland Sierra Club’s social media. In addition, she still finds time to lead local outings around the Southern Maryland Region, and is the creator of the popular ‘Weekly Wander’ and ‘Autumn Adventure’ outings series, which focuses on getting families with young children to spend time outside together, promotes healthy outdoor exercise, and helps spread information about resources available to those who wish to explore the natural places of Southern Maryland.
Incoming Vice Chair Randy Lyons is a longtime Sierra Club member and has supported the Executive Committee for three of the past five years as Chapter Treasurer. He has also assisted in voter registration and canvassing activities. Professionally, he has helped develop and implement federal environmental policy involving topics such as climate science and the protection of marine fisheries. He has testified before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and U.S. EPA, and published research on environmental management. He is looking forward to supporting the Chapter and groups in their work this year for clean energy, environmentally sustainable transportation, zero waste, natural places, and environmental justice.
“I’m truly honored to serve as the Chapter Chair for 2020,” said Hance, “It is invigorating to work alongside such dedicated and accomplished activists for the protection of the environment. The energy and motivation of our leadership and our membership is palpable. I think we’re going to have a very successful year as we fight to protect our natural resources and ecosystems, push for a just and equitable transition from fossil fuels, and work for a more environmentally sustainable future for the people of Maryland.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.