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Chapter Staff
Vickash Mohanka, Chapter Director
Vickash Mohanka is currently the Chapter Director at the Massachusetts Sierra Club. Prior to joining Sierra Club, he worked as the Transformational Climate Finance Manager for The Chisholm Legacy Project, a national environmental and climate justice nonprofit centered in the frameworks of Just Transition and Black Liberation. He has experience consulting companies and nonprofits to support innovative solar justice and economic development projects. He was an organizer and advocate for Clean Water Action, supporting BIPOC communities with the Green Justice Coalition, leading the largest environmental coalition in Massachusetts with Mass Power Forward, and running the Clean Water electoral program which endorsed progressive candidates and issues statewide. Before organizing, he was a legislative staffer writing energy policy at the Massachusetts State House.
Throughout the last decade, he has worked with many communities, activists, academics, and politicians across Massachusetts to further climate and economic justice. An experienced public speaker, he enjoys educating youth and has developed trainings to introduce the energy system and environmental justice to various audiences.
He holds a B.A. in Economics from UMass Amherst and an M.S. in Climate Science and Policy from Bard College’s Center for Environmental Policy.
Contact vick.mohanka@sierraclub.org
Michele Brooks, Boston Lead Organizer
Michele is the Boston Lead Organizer for the Massachusetts Chapter of Sierra Club. She graduated from Westfield State University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Science and Regional Planning, and a minor in Geographic Information Systems. In her role as an organizer, she has focused on achieving key victories to decarbonize the city of Boston while advancing a just transition to a clean energy economy which prioritizes the most vulnerable communities; these include the city's Community Choice Electricity program in addition to many policies and programs which seek to reduce building emissions. Her favorite part of the work is getting to collaborate with so many community partners in coalition spaces. In her free time, Michele enjoys practicing yoga and dance, rollerskating, and spending time outside soaking in the healing benefits of nature.
Contact michele.brooks@sierraclub.org
Emma Brown, Digital Strategist
Emma joined the chapter in 2019 and is currently the chapter's digital strategist. In their role, they supports the chapter's campaigns to more effectively use data and technology to achieve our goals. Prior to joining the chapter, Emma worked in composting and food scrap hauling while organizing with the Sunrise Movement in their free time. Emma is a vermicompost enthusiast, which you probably already know if you've ever had a single conversation with them. Outside of work, you can find them riding their bike to the beach, sewing, or building something with questionable structural integrity in their basement. Emma is the chapter's resident data and map nerd, zoom chat jokester, and Airtable evangelist. Emma received their B.A. in linguistics from the University of New Hampshire, their Certificate of Technical Ability in Composting from the Maine Compost School (UMaine Extension), and Masters in Data Analytics from Northeastern University.
Contact emma.brown@sierraclub.org
Jess Nahigian, State Political Director
Jess joined Sierra Club in the fall of 2021 after being part of Sunrise Boston and Sunrise National, where Jess led partnerships work and helped steer the Mass Renews Alliance, as well as organize and support volunteer teams and coaches around the country. Before Sunrise, Jess worked with Indivisible Massachusetts, where Jess honed digital organizing and chapter management skills. Jess also has electoral campaign experience as a high school organizer for Obama's 2008 campaign, as an intern and campus organizer with Senator Warren's 2012 campaign, and as the interim field director of Bob Massie's gubernatorial 2018 campaign, as well as 2 years of municipal government experience in energy planning and policy with the City of Cambridge. Originally from Cambridge, Jess earned her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in Political Science with a minor in Environmental Studies and a Senior Thesis on the Massachusetts Bottle Bill campaigns of 1982 and 2014.
Contact jess.nahigian@sierraclub.org
Kira Liu, Chapter Coordinator
Kira joined the Sierra Club Massachusetts Chapter in November 2022 as the Chapter Coordinator. Originally from Massachusetts, Kira earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. She spent the next several years working on climate change organizing in Minnesota; engaging communities around the state in collective action, advocacy, and movement building. Kira is passionate about storytelling as a tool for activism, and co-edited Eyewitness: Minnesota Voices on Climate Change, a chapbook of stories, poetry, and artwork representing Minnesotans’ experiences of climate change. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, baking, and hiking around New England.
Contact kira.liu@sierraclub.org
Celeste Venolia, Forest Protection Coordinator
Celeste joined the Sierra Club Massachusetts Chapter in April of 2023 as the Forest Protection Coordinator. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Science and Policy and Biological Sciences from Smith College and a M.S. in Biological Science from the University of Rhode Island. Her thesis focused on modeling the growth of sugar kelp in Rhode Island Aquaculture systems. She has also worked broadly in environmental spaces as an outdoor educator, farm hand, trail steward, and most recently, a volunteer coordinator with Boston Harbor Now and the National Parks of Boston. Originally from Western MA and currently based in the greater Boston area, Celeste is thrilled to be supporting public lands in her home state and connecting folks to those spaces through outings. She supports the Forest Protection and toxics organizing efforts of the MA chapter and trains MA Chapter outings leaders. She first got involved with the chapter as a volunteer supporting political policy compliance and then later as the treasurer for the Massachusetts Sierra Club Political Action Committee. In her free time, Celeste enjoys hiking/backpacking, cooking/baking new plant-based dishes, knitting, and playing board games.
Contact celeste.venolia@sierraclub.org
Sam Lambert, Political and Municipal Coordinator
Sam joined the staff of the MA Chapter of the Sierra Club in April of 2023 as the Political and Municipal Coordinator. Sam was most recently a longtime volunteer and staff member at Everett Community Growers, a food justice organization located in her hometown. There she held various roles such as Youth Development Manager and Urban Farm Manager, supporting healthy food access, food sovereignty, and meaningful career-building experiences for youth. She is also a local politician and is passionate about introducing community to the power of constituency, regardless of voter status, and supporting entry points into our electoral process, especially at the local level. Sam was Chair of the Everett Public Library Board of Trustees, a founding member of the Everett Education Coalition and is currently Vice-Chair of the Everett Democratic City Committee and serving her second term on the Everett School Committee. She will be working to build an electoral program that will support electing climate champions throughout the Commonwealth and supporting those advocating for just climate policy and practices across Massachusetts.
Contact sam.lambert@sierraclub.org