Mathieu Federspiel

I became involved early in the environmental movement when books such as Silent Spring and Future Shock revealed critical problems with industrial society. As a lifetime member of Sierra Club, I continue to feed my interest and involvement with environmental issues. I am a strong advocate for working in coalition with other environmental advocacy groups. My primary focus is Eastside forest issues.

You can often find me outdoors enjoying backpacking and hiking or various other activities. I am thrilled to be part of the Juniper Group, to work with knowledgeable people who are passionate about speaking up for and defending Nature from the abuses of human society.

Nancy Gilbert

I am a wildlife biologist by education and profession, with a life-long passion for the protection and enhancement of fish and wildlife and their habitats. I retired in 2016 after 31 years working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. My work focused primarily on recovery of endangered species and habitat conservation. Although I have dedicated over 37 years to the understanding and conservation of fish and wildlife, I feel that there is so much more that needs to be done and I wish to continue to contribute to the conservation of our magnificent natural resources. 

I am a long time Sierra Club supporter. (Longer than I realized . . . I recently received a letter from the Sierra Club thanking me for 30 years of support). I believe that the Sierra Club has the right combination of National and local grassroots approach to address the challenging environmental issues that we face. I believe in the importance of protecting our public lands, wildlife, and clean air and water. I fully support the Sierra Club’s efforts to incorporate “equity, justice, and inclusion into every aspect of our work.”

I volunteered on the Juniper Group’s Political Committee in 2018 and 2020. I have served on the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council Board since 2008 and on the Deschutes River Conservancy Board since 2013. I also participate in the Deschutes Basin Water Collaborative. I am passionate about the conservation of fish and wildlife and the natural habitat on which they depend. I whole-heartedly support the Sierra Club's approach to Oregon’s Eastside Forests, High Desert, and the Keep Waldo Wild Campaign.

I am an enthusiastic outdoors woman and enjoy backpacking, birding, cross-country skiing, and hiking.

Larry Pennington

I retired to Central Oregon after a career in nuclear plant operations and maintenance in the US Navy and in commercial power plants, followed by thirteen years of environmental remediation work at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington State. I have always been interested in the environment and conservation, but my retirement has allowed me the time to be active with organizations promoting those goals. I was an avid hiker and a skier, before the advancing years curtailed those activities, which brought me to the mountains and deserts of Central Oregon. I want to see the beauty that surrounds me here preserved for both myself and future generation. My primary environmental interest is preserving the desert grasslands, forests, wildlife, and clean flowing water that surround me daily in Central Oregon.

Kelly Smith

I am a new member of the Executive Committee of our Juniper Group of the Sierra Club. I grew up in Oregon spending my childhood in the Portland area and summers at the Oregon Coast. My uncle was one of the original homeowners in Sunriver so I was introduced to Central Oregon by my cousins who would invite me on a weekend trip to be tossed into the Deschutes River or stuffed into local lava tube caves as a test of my adaptability. My long history in the state and passion for wild places across North America leads me to want to contribute to efforts to provide a sustainable environmental future.

I returned to Bend in 2015 after many years living in Alaska. My undergraduate degree is from Whitman College in biology/geology. It was also where I helped develop an outdoor program which has flourished in the decades since. My masters work is in college administration with a focus on outdoor program management and student activities - the fun stuff of college life. I was a college dean in Alaska and I came to Bend to help open the new campus of OSU Cascades.

The Sierra Club represents to me an organization with a long history of people working to conserve and preserve wild areas while addressing a host of other key environmental concerns. Its strength is in our membership where the club is uniquely poised to provide professional advice and training to allow citizen environmentalists the opportunity to directly contribute as community leaders on the environment.

My personal passions are outdoor water adventures, with sea kayaking probably being my favorite pursuit. I raft, kayak, ski, hike, and explore many wild areas as frequently as I am able. I have led groups to wild places from Alaska to the Great Lakes to Baja. Getting people outdoors is a key to inspiring people to care deeply about all that is threatened by the vast changes our economy and society are bringing to our fragile world. Let’s get out there and have some fun.

Gretchen Valido

As pressure on our Central and Eastern Oregon environment increases due to development and government policy, it's more important than ever to have a strong Sierra Club presence. As volunteers, members of the Executive Committee make decisions affecting an array of issues within the environmental realm. It’s been a privilege to work with the Juniper Group's dedicated, hard-working Ex-Comm volunteers.

Since early 2002 I've served in various capacities for the Juniper Group including Membership Coordinator, Political Committee Chair, Ex-Comm Chair, and Oregon Chapter Political Committee member. Since 2006 I've served on the Oregon Chapter Ex-Comm and have served as the Chapter’s Counsel of Club Leaders delegate to annual meetings since 2007.

As for my background, I grew up in a rural Chicago suburb, headed to the University of Washington after becoming enthralled with the West's mountains as a kid, lived in the Bay Area much of my adult life, and moved to Bend in 1997. Why do I volunteer for the Sierra Club? Because nature matters! My conscience tugs at me with hope, reverence and respect when I look to the forests, sky and waters.

I believe strongly in the good work the Sierra Club has accomplished here and the important role it will continue to play. As a member of the Juniper Group community of people, I value the opportunity to work with them and act on my environmental concerns and vision for the future.