Damon Motz-Storey (they/them/theirs)
Chapter Director
Damon Motz-Storey joined the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club in 2023 as Chapter Director. Damon brings a wide range of experience leading and supporting environmental and climate justice campaigns in the Pacific Northwest including successful efforts to block major new coal, oil, and gas expansions, the groundbreaking Portland Clean Energy Fund initiative in 2018, and Oregon's 2021 state legislation for low-income utility bill discounts, home energy retrofits, and 100% clean electricity by 2040.
Damon's work with the Coalition of Communities of Color from 2021-2023 included managing communications for Portland's successful 2022 city government reform measure and organizing multiple record-breaking fundraising events that helped the organization grow and expand its racial justice efforts. Damon lives in East Portland near Powell Butte and enjoys hiking, cycling, weightlifting, cooking, and performing in drag.
Emily Bowes (she/her/theirs)
Chapter Political Strategist
Emily brings extensive experience in natural resources management at the local, state, and federal levels, with a background in environmental policy advocacy and planning in Oregon and California. Emily has worked on significant projects such as the Klamath Dam Removal and the successful opposition to the Jordan Cove LNG Pipeline.
Emily holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Cal Poly Humboldt, where they focused on the impacts of ocean acidification on intertidal algal communities. Their skills include environmental planning and permitting, policy advocacy, and community organizing.
Having grown up in Oregon, Emily enjoys spending time floating on rivers, wandering through the forest, and connecting with the Pacific Northwest alongside their dog, Cider. She is also an enthusiast of Dungeons and Dragons, vinyl record collecting, and kayaking.
Emily is driven by a commitment to service, aiming to support the people and causes she cares about while setting an example of environmental stewardship in Oregon.
Kai McMurtry (he/him/his)
Chapter Coordinator
Kai joins us after more than a decade in marketing and communications serving Oregon's wine industry, San Francisco bicycle commuters, and grassroots political action in Portland. An introvert inspired into action by the unmatched reward of organizing, Kai is most excited by collective action towards justice and prosperity for people and the planet.
Kai's been an Oregon resident since 2014 and was raised on the coast of Northern California. In between he spent a decade in Boston and Providence, RI.
In his spare time Kai walks his dog, cooks for his wife, practices mutual aid, and is awkwardly learning to surf.
Laura Stevens (she/her/hers)
Southwest Deputy Regional Field Director
National Sierra Club
Laura’s passion lies in movement-building, democratic organizing, and supporting Sierra Club's leaders. As Deputy Regional Field Director for the Southwest, she is honored to have the role of supporting Sierra Club Chapter Directors, organizers, and work in the Four Corners states. Her home base is the Oregon Chapter office in Portland.
Laura has been organizing since she was eight years old, when Measure 5 slashed Portland Public School budgets and threatened to take away her school library. Over the years she has worked all over the western hemisphere with communities organizing for clean air and water, fair wages, healthcare, and the right to self-determination.
Laura's work with the Sierra Club began at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she led a campaign to retire their campus coal-fired power plant. When she returned to Portland in 2011, she worked with communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington to stop new fossil fuel infrastructure proposals and to pass several new pieces of clean energy and climate justice law.
In her spare time Laura likes to hang out with her family, hike, garden, learn about plants and wildlife, and read books from her local library.
Languages Spoken: English, Spanish (non-native Speaker)