Sheila Haar Siegel, the new Floodplain / Wetlands Organizer for the Eastern Missouri Group of the Missouri Ozark Chapter, was born and raised in Breese, Illinois. While growing up on her family’s farm, she observed and appreciated the natural balance of living things and began learning more about environmental issues in college. A former writer, public relations, and development professional, Sheila has worked for businesses and non-profits throughout the St. Louis area, including the University of Missouri - St. Louis, the Women’s Crisis Center of Metro East, SIDS Resources, and Family Hospice of Belleville Area. She is a member of the Kaskaskia Group of the Sierra Club.
Sheila also contributes her time to the TEC / Quest program, St. Teresa’s Parish, Belleville Diocese Youth Ministry Planning Team, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Southwestern Illinois, and the Optimist Club in Shiloh, Illinois, where she lives with her husband, Michael, in a small community on land bordered by a lake, agricultural fields, and a garden – all of which she counts among her many inspirations. “Working for the Sierra Club gives me the possibility to represent environmental issues in a way I’ve always dreamed of,” she says. “This new position allows me to educate and mobilize citizens on the loss and degradation of some of our area’s most precious, and often overlooked, natural resources – floodplains and wetlands.”