Tom Schuster, Chapter Director
Tom started with Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign 2012, after having served as the first Sustainability Officer at the City of Las Cruces, NM. He studied ecology and energy policy in college and works to limit pollution from power plants and promote clean energy policies. He enjoys hiking and biking with his two kids around Johnstown and the Laurel Highlands.
Sarah Corcoran, Deputy Director
Growing up in a tiny rural community in the Poconos made for some interesting adventures outdoors at an early age and Sarah has taken that love of nature with her throughout the years, receiving her BS in environmental science and using her knowledge to assume multiple environmental education, outreach and organizational roles. She is excited to continue working folks in NEPA and other communities across the state, to further educate Pennsylvanians on ways they can save their beautiful spaces through her position as Deputy Director of Programs | Conservation Program Manager. Sarah loves re-selling vintage toys, hiking, reading, watching anime, and spending time with her family.
Chantal Mulenga, Administrative Assistant
Chantal, an avid Mr.Rogers fan, is always looking for ways she can be a good neighbor. One of her life goals is to apply her rich experience with other cultures to raise awareness with youth on environmental issues that threaten equity and disempower low-income communities. Wife, dancer and enthusiast of all things discovery, Chantal has set out to answer one of Fred Rogers most burning questions, "What do you do with the mad that you feel?" With hungry eyes on the hard work of dedicated volunteers and staff, she thinks she has found the answer: organize, organize, organize!
Emily Abendroth, Program Manager - Philly Climate Works
Emily Abendroth grew up in a tiny town of 600 people located near the Canadian border in New York state. She spent almost twenty years teaching literature, poetry, and writing courses to undergraduate and graduate students across the Northeast and has her own committed writing/poetry practice. She has been involved in organizing against mass incarceration for decades and is a founding member of the Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration (CADBI) and LifeLines: Voices Against the Other Death Penalty. She has witnessed firsthand how our society's long-standing inequities -- such as the pervasive lack of healthcare access, structural racism, education disparities, mass incarceration, reproductive injustice, and a paucity of investment in public infrastructures -- are exacerbated and multiplied by the climate crisis within an extractive economy. For these reasons and more, she is especially excited for how her new position at Philly Climate Works allows her to collaborate with others in connecting the struggles for social and climate justice. She loves to swim, bike, grow veggies, watch esoteric cinema, peer at marine life with admiration and wonder, and constantly learn new things.
Qiyam Ansari, Western Pennsylvania Field Organizer
Qiyam Ansari is an Environmental Justice organizer who supports grassroots efforts to improve air quality issues in Pennsylvania. His work has included grant writing, community organizing, and community education with many partners. Mr. Ansari oversees the articulation and implementation of Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution and says, "The people have a right to clean air.” Mr. Ansari is working to hold industrial polluters accountable for their toxic emissions and violations and reduce potent greenhouse gases like methane, exacerbating climate change.
Rebecca Deegan, Outdoors For All Organizer
Rebecca grew up on Long Island, NY, where her childhood consisted of climbing trees, observing wildlife, and walking around town with her pet lizard on her head. She received a Wildlife Ecology & Conservation degree from the University of Delaware, and has pursued a lifetime passion of environmental education and climate justice. Philadelphia, which Rebecca calls home, is full of courageous activists and community organizers who inspire her daily. Every human has the fundamental right to safely access the outdoors, and Rebecca is honored to be part of the movement. Rebecca enjoys pointing at weird-looking bugs, cooking haphazardly, and trying to convince her cat and snake to love her.
Melissa Farr, Senior Distributed Organizer
Melissa grew up in Delaware County and holds a bachelor’s degree in history and master’s degree in social justice and community organizing. She gained organizing experience with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU-PA), serving as president of the South Central Chapter. Connecting with local communities about social justice issues deepened her understanding that one cannot struggle to improve the conditions of people’s lives in any one area of injustice without also looking at the forces that are shaping the environments in which they live. In her role as Senior Distributed Organizer, Melissa helps people develop the tools they need to advocate for the well-being of their communities. She loves her four cats, watching baseball, and visiting quirky indie bookstore, vinyl and vintage shops.
Patrick Grenter, Campaign Director — Beyond Dirty Fuels
Patrick supports Sierra Club teams working on stopping the buildout of oil and gas infrastructure and keeping gas in the ground across the United States. Patrick is a graduate of Santa Clara University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He enjoys spending time outside with his family, reading, and playing soccer.
Kelsey Krepps, Senior Field Organizer — Beyond Dirty Fuels
Born and raised in northwestern Pennsylvania, Kelsey works on abandoned and orphaned well issues and policies in her home state. Additionally, Kelsey challenges gas pipelines and liquified fracked gas infrastructure intended for export, stopping the buildout of oil and gas infrastructure and aiming to keep gas in the ground. Kelsey holds double Masters degrees from Appalachian State University in Renewable Technology and Appalachian Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Kelsey enjoys hiking, fishing, growing flowers, and spending time with her friends, family and two dogs, Kona and Ivy.
Jen Quinn, Legislative and Political Director
Jen Quinn, a resident of the anthracite coal region, has been lucky enough to live and work in various locales across the country, but she always considers Pennsylvania home. As the Legislative and Political Director, she spends a lot of time in Harrisburg, working for sensible, science-based environmental policies that protect the public health and our natural resources. Her past experience includes ecological restoration, forestry, and clean water advocacy at PennFuture. Jen has a degree in forestry and another in environmental law and policy. In her free time, she likes to be outside, preferably on two wheels.
Nate Reagle, Clean Energy Program Advocate
Nate is excited about his new role and hopes that he can have a significant positive impact regarding decarbonization and climate change. His background is in ecology with an emphasis on wildlife, fish, forestry, and insects. Due to this interest and his appreciation for biodiversity, Nate chose to enter the energy realm since climate change is a driver in biodiversity loss. Most recently before coming to the Sierra Club, he was an Energy Program Specialist with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection where he worked to improve equitable access to capital for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Nate currently reside in Mechanicsburg but is originally from Warren, PA. In his personal time, Nate advocates for insect biodiversity and conservation in Pennsylvania since no Commonwealth agency currently has jurisdiction over native terrestrial insects. He also enjoys reading and tending his garden and houseplants.
Rachel Rosenfeld, Online Organizer
Rachel developed her affinity for the environment while studying Wildlife Conservation at the University of Delaware. Prior to joining the Sierra Club, Rachel worked with local watershed communities throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania monitoring water quality, teaching students, coordinating volunteers, and raising awareness about non-point source pollution from stormwater runoff. In the Lehigh Valley, she built a grassroots team of "Water Defenders" to protect the Delaware River Watershed and is now serving as the Chapter's digital organizer, supporting staff and volunteers in communicating about our work. She is passionate about championing environmental causes, and can often be found outside photographing nature, hiking local trails, and doing yoga on a paddleboard. When indoors, she's likely in the kitchen baking cakes for friends.