Jacob Klein (pronouns: they/them/their) is the Sierra Club's new Regional Coal Organizer, splitting their time between the Sierra Club’s SF Bay, Redwood, and Mother Lode Chapters. In this interview, Jacob tells us about what they'll be doing at the Club, the activist who inspires their work, and an awe-inspiring trip to Joshua Tree.
Welcome Jacob! Tell me a bit about what you’ll be doing at the Sierra Club.
As Regional Coal Organizer, I'll be working to get coal (and other dirty energy) out of the Bay Area/Delta region. My work focuses on environmental justice issues and the ways that frontline communities experience the brunt of fossil fuel industry effects and climate crisis. Some particular projects I envision focusing on are continuing to support the ordinances against coal in Oakland and Richmond, Just Transitions, getting coal out of Stockon, SR-37 Resiliency, and the San Francisco to Stockton dredging project.
What led you to bring your talents to the Sierra Club?
As a young person, I've been experiencing more and more the existential dread of what my life and my peers' lives will look like as we face continued climate change and more frequent climate crises. I also can't help but think about the disproportionate effects that marginalized communities are already facing as a result of climate change. Because of this, environmental justice called to me more and more. Sierra Club, with its history and influence, is a great way to center that work as we all fight for a better future. I'm excited to be a part of a vast group of people who care so deeply about these issues and are doing work to affect change.
What did you do before coming to the Sierra Club?
I have spent the past six years working in solidarity with people of marginalized identities. For over three years, I worked at Keshet in the Bay Area, an organization that works for LGBTQ inclusion in Jewish communities. While at Keshet, I developed community-building programs and managed the regional institutional change work. I was a leader of Glitter Kehilla at Kehilla Community Synagogue, a group that centers queer leadership and builds radically inclusive Jewish community through ritual and social jsutice. I'm an alum of Bend the Arc's Jeremiah Fellowship, former co-chair of Bend the Arc Bay Area's Criminal Justice Reform campaign team, and a graduate of UCLA with a degree in English/Creative Writing. Originally from traditional Kumeyaay land in San Diego, I now live on Chochenyo Ohlone land in Oakland.
Who's a person — real or fictional, alive or dead — who inspires you in your work?
Jane Fonda inspires me as a long-time political activist who has worked in solidarity for much of her activist experience. She is a model to me of how to leverage white privilege to support communities that are often distanced from structures of power or outright silenced.
What's the most awe-inspiring experience you've had in nature?
This New Year, I went to Joshua Tree for the first time with friends. It had snowed about a week prior, a rare occurrence in Joshua Tree. My friends and I were wandering around the park and climbing on the rocks. There was no one else around and the sun was setting with a mostly clear sky. The colors that were created (golds, indigos, purples, salmons), the light on the rocks and hills, the strange but beautiful trees, the hares that kept appearing for brief moments before scampering away, the pure white of the snow that softened all the sounds—all of it created a moment unlike any other I've experienced. It was a perfect way to start the year and a memory I cherish.
Top song on your saving-the-environment playlist?
“Wake Up” by Arcade Fire (listen here).
Thanks Jacob! We’re thrilled to have you.
If you want to connect with Jacob to get involved in their work, email jacob.klein@sierraclub.org or call (510) 848-0800 ext 329.