SierraScape September 2015 - February 2016
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CANDIDATE STATEMENTS

Executive Committee (ExCom) members meet once per month to authorize club actions and assist activities of other Eastern Missouri Group (EMG) members.

There are seven voting members on the ExCom. Three (3) persons will be elected, each to fill a two-year term. Voting instructions are given on the ballot (see page 13).

The following are statements by candidates for the ExCom, listed in alphabetical order.

     Rob Polzin

My name is Rob Polzin, I am 25 years old, and have recently graduated from Webster University with a degree in Biology. I have served on the EMG Executive Committee for the last four years, have recently taken over as Treasurer, and would love the chance to serve another term. I have previously acted as the treasurer for the Outdoors Club while attending St. Louis Community College-Meramec, and helped to plan and manage club camping trips and fundraisers. While in high school I was a member of Envirothon, an ecology-based volunteering and competitive group. I have also participated in Missouri Stream Team cleanup projects on the Meramec and Missouri Rivers. I enjoy hiking the trails and forests in the St. Louis and Central Missouri region, as well as canoeing or kayaking on the rivers of this area. I have greatly enjoyed working on the ExCom for these past several years, and am hoping to be more involved with the organization as a whole now that I have completed my undergraduate program, and to use my connections to get more young people involved in environmental advocacy. I would love to again have the opportunity to use my passion for the environment to work for the betterment of our region.

     Ken Schechtman

I am a lifelong activist committed to the notion that change does not happen unless ordinary people join together and demand it. Environmentalists have been doing so for decades, and anyone who considers the clean air bill or the spate of new regulations implemented by the Obama administration must marvel at the successes even as we battle for all that is yet to be won.

I have been a member of the Executive Committee for more than a decade and am currently the chair of the Committee. I am also a Washington University Professor who brings to the Club a dedication to environmentalist ideals, a scientist's measured analysis of issues and, most importantly, an abiding commitment to an effective results-oriented Club that lets no one forget that we did not stand by and watch.

As a hiker with a reverence for nature, I have an obligation to Missouri's forests and to our wild and special places. As an advocate and analyst of issues, I have authored dozens of published op-ed articles over many years. As a citizen, I have been a long-time activist in support of numerous progressive causes. And as a parent, I can do nothing less than fight for the planet I will one day leave behind.

     Caitlin Zera

I am a recent graduate of Webster University, currently working as a Membership Specialist at Missouri Coalition for the Environment and as a grants manager for a local education non-profit. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Documentary Film Production and a minor in Environmental Sustainability. While at Webster, I was elected student co-chair of the Webster Sustainability Coalition, and for four years I worked as the Recycling Program Liaison through which I coordinated environmental awareness outreach for the campus community, developed waste reduction programs, and helped write sustainability grants.

I have been passionate about environmental issues my whole life, and I love working in the community. I volunteer with a variety of environmental organizations including St. Louis Earth Day, STL Truck Farm, EarthDance Farm, and the Webster Groves Farmers Market.

I have been involved with Sierra Club for several years, and the Eastern Missouri Group has been a key collaborator in my documentary film projects about local environmental issues. I love meeting other passionate activists through club events and working as a team to create lasting change in our community.

I would feel fortunate to have the opportunity to serve on the Executive Committee and I would most look forward to empowering local constituencies, working with great people to develop sustainable solutions, and improving the environmental health of our region.