Jeff Shaw, 503.551.3615, jeff.shaw@sierraclub.org
OAKLAND, CA - During its first meeting since adding five newly-elected members, the Sierra Club’s Board of Directors advanced a forward-thinking agenda of climate justice, environmental protection and social transformation this weekend – and passed a new policy endorsing “comprehensive, voluntary reproductive health care for all.”
To focus on population rather than extractive resource consumption, as Sierra Club policy did in the past, is inconsistent with the organization’s values. Instead, the new policy says, “Sierra Club focuses on unsustainable, excessive, and inequitable use of resources associated with Western consumption as the primary drivers of environmental and climate degradation.” The change reflects the Sierra Club’s goals of centering equity in addressing environmental issues.
“Past population work focused energy on changing the behavior of some of the world’s poorest and most marginalized people -- instead of the corporations responsible for the overwhelming majority of environmental degradation, or the politicians who enable them,” said Ramon Cruz, who was re-elected to his third term as Sierra Club board president. “We envision a world where human beings live in harmony with nature and protect it – and reject coercive, authoritarian tactics that ignore true environmental justice.”
From day one, this board has already broken ground in a number of ways: This is the first time that Sierra Club has elected a board where the majority of directors are women; this is the largest number of people of color to serve on the board; and newly-elected Cheyenne Skye Branscum, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, is the first tribal citizen to serve as a board member.
The revised population policy has been in the works for more than a year, and puts the Sierra Club squarely in opposition to misguided, racist and authoritarian myths that immigrants, people of color and people from historically disadvantaged nations are responsible for environmental crises – notions some call eco-fascism.
"Blaming people of color, poor people and immigrants for environmental degradation is not fair and not accurate," said Board Director Rita Harris. "We need to move past these divisive attitudes in order to truly solve the pressing problems of environmental and climate justice, and work to be more inclusive as an organization."
The Sierra Club's democratically elected Board of Directors serves the membership in deciding policy, conducting governance, and keeping the Club effective in pursuing our key mission to explore, enjoy and protect the planet.
As the Club's highest governing body, the Board consists of 15 members, five of whom stand for election every year. The Board's Executive Committee consists of the President, Vice President for Conservation, Secretary, Treasurer, and Vice President for Chapters, Groups and Volunteers. The Board meets monthly.
Newly-elected board members include Cheyenne Skye Branscum, Allison Chin, Michael Dorsey, Cynthia Hoyle and Aaron Mair, who was re-elected. All 15 board members are democratically elected to represent the views of members. When the board makes a decision it does so democratically as well and speaks with one voice on behalf of Club members.
This weekend, the board also adopted a resolution extending the work of its Resolutions Team, reinforcing Sierra Club’s commitment to restorative accountability throughout its community. The Resolutions Team was created on September 11, 2021 by a unanimous decision of the Sierra Club’s Board of Directors, as a result of recommendations from an extensive Restorative Accountability Process documenting an urgent need to improve our accountability and conflict resolution processes.
The Resolutions Team works to uphold the organization’s newly adopted Equal Opportunity Policy, which was established to protect Sierra Club staff and volunteers from harm caused by disruptive personal behaviors and to provide a uniform, efficient, professional, and confidential process to resolve concerns. This weekend’s resolution advances the organization’s goals to become a more accountable and safer organization where all volunteers and staff can thrive.
After concluding the meeting, Board President Ramon Cruz released the following statement:
“We don’t just say we are powerful together. We live it every day in everything we do. The work we do as volunteer directors is vitally important, and we want to match the positive, effective work our changemakers do across this country every day. We won’t allow anyone to distract us from that."
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.