By Richard Isaac • Richard.Isaac@sierraclub.org
Unfortunately, former Chapter Chair Ken Johanson recently passed.
Ken was an integral part of the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club since 1996. He not only chaired our Chapter for 11 years, but he also held at various times the chair position for the Personnel Committee, Legislative Committee, and Fundraising Committee. He also served on the Litigation Oversight Committee and Finance Committee.
To Ken, serving in our Chapter was a full-time commitment.
Ken’s initial forays into the environmental movement were with other environmental organizations, where he stuffed envelopes, performed trail maintenance, and even did some pro bono legal work. However, he found that because those other organizations were largely staff driven, his role was too limited. When Ken discovered the Sierra Club via a group executive meeting, he was pleased to find that the meeting was run by volunteers and that within the Club he could satisfy the need to be actively involved in the decision-making process.
When he took over from the able leadership of the previous Chapter chair, his number one goal was not to “break” anything, with another goal being to find ways of strengthening our Chapter’s financial base.
He clearly accomplished both objectives.
A Harvard- trained attorney, with a very strong economics background, he brought a lot to the table. Not only did he have a strong background in law and policy, he also excelled at economics and fundraising. In addition to devoting an incredible amount of time to proposed state legislation, his yearly parties for volunteers and donors were always highly anticipated.
For 11 years Ken did an extraordinary job as our Chapter chair with thoughtfulness, skill, and grace. In that role, he kept our Chapter in solid financial health and, even more important, was a strong, effective advocate for the environment.
Ken was my mentor, and I learned a lot from him. Ken was pivotal in many ways as a chapter chair, legislative chair, and finance committee member. When he stepped down after over a decade as chair, the Chapter was a strong, effective organization in excellent shape.
My deepest thanks go to Ken Johanson for his tireless dedication and long hours of work, providing almost three decades of incredible service.
From deep within my heart, I can say that Ken will be sorely missed.