4 candidates seeking re-election to Great Waters Group Executive Committee

It’s time to vote for the next group of people who will be joining the Great Waters Group Executive Committee. They will help shape the work of the Group over the next two years. We have four candidates for the five open slots, so you may vote for up to four candidates.

This year, once again, you have the option to vote electronically using the link sent to you by email in  early November  or by filling out and mailing back the paper ballot included with the Winter newsletter. You’ll need to have your member number handy. You can find that by going to https://myaccount.sierraclub.org.

Before voting, please read these statements from our candidates. The deadline to return your ballot is Dec. 16.

Jennifer Abel

I am happy for the chance to run again for a seat on the Great Waters Group Executive Committee. Between Virginia and Wisconsin, I have served on a Sierra Club group executive committee since 2006 and have been chair for the past three years.  This is an exciting time for environmental activism in our four-county area, and GWG has contributed to some important victories this year. We were among several local groups who supported the passage of the City of Milwaukee’s Climate and Equity Plan and continue to work with Our Future Milwaukee to monitor its implementation. We are an active participant in the energy burden workgroup that seeks to reduce the utility costs that low-income households pay, chiefly by finding ways to make the properties they live in more energy efficient.  I look forward to the chance to contribute to these and other efforts as a member of the GWG ExCom.

Scott Coulthurst

As a current member of the executive committee and secretary for Sierra Club Great Waters Group, I have seen the impact a dedicated group can have to affect the social and environmental health of a community. My primary efforts with the GWG have been organizing membership events in Washington County. I believe reaching out to communities where the demographics are not normally associated with groups like the Sierra Club is the key to getting more citizens involved in making positive change. I also aim to get more involved at the state level in protecting Wisconsin’s wildlife and waters. I believe my background as a lifelong outdoorsman and passion for nature will bring in important constituents like fishermen and hunters to work toward a common goal of protecting the natural beauty of this great state.

Victoria Gillet

I joined GWG ExCom nearly immediately after moving to Milwaukee two years ago and it gave me exactly what I hoped for ¬— a community that loves, protects and improves our local environment. I have had the privilege of being your conservation chair during my last term and would be very grateful to continue that role.  My priorities remain the same: clean air, clean water and access to green spaces for every inhabitant of the GWG counties, aggressive implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation policies, improving the built environment in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty.  I am a physician and want to protect Wisconsinites’ health for decades to come and I see these as key.

Jasmine Viges

I have been with the Great Waters Group for the past two years, most of the time as the Programs Chair. I have enjoyed connecting with like-minded individuals to present their expertise to the group and the community, and I hope to have the opportunity to continue to do this. I am committed to clean water and climate justice and contribute to these movements through my work with various environmental organizations.