Cynthia Satterfield, a longtime conservation and environmental advocate, has been named the state director of the North Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club. Chapter Chair Nicole Gaines of Greensboro announced the hiring on Tuesday, July 6.
Satterfield joined the Chapter staff in 2018 as deputy director under Molly Diggins, the Chapter's longtime director, who retired in the summer of 2019. Satterfield has been acting director since spring of 2020.
"Our hiring committee of national and Chapter staff and volunteers held a highly engaged and exhaustive search for someone who has not only the critical managerial skills for this role, but one who shares the Club's goal of centering equity in everything that we do," Gaines said. "The candidates we interviewed were an impressive group, each with passion and insights that would have informed solid leadership. However, we believe Cynthia’s breadth of experience in building community within Sierra Club conservation work, and her commitment to champion inclusivity and equity values in the Club's environmental work will be critical to leading the Chapter during this transformational time. Her experience means that our work to acknowledge intersections of environmental justice, conservation and the plight of climate change can be addressed. I look forward to sharing these responsibilities with her."
Satterfield brings an extensive background in nonprofit management and natural and cultural resources to the role, having worked for land trusts in North Carolina’s Eno and Tar River basins and to conserve, protect and interpret significant grave and historic sites across the state.
“We all have a stake in protecting our shared environment but for too long we’ve been leaving out the voices of those most impacted by pollution and a changing climate. It’s my goal to lift up those voices so that everyone benefits from clean air, water and energy,” Satterfield said.
“Environmental protection is not an abstract, academic pursuit. It’s an expression of how much we value people, each other. I call on every North Carolinian to consider not just themselves, but their neighbors - those who bear the brunt of industrial pollution, those less equipped to withstand the impacts of climate change. Put yourself in their shoes and take action to do something about it.”