The Volunteer Leadership Council & Executive Committee
Great Waters Group (GWG) is your local Sierra Club entity. Our work is conducted by a Volunteer Leadership Committee (VLC) that is composed of committee chairs. It also includes an Executive Committee (ExCom) of voting elected members. Leadership is governed by a set of bylaws that are linked here.
The people on this page can help address your interests, concerns, or questions.
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A recent arrival to the Milwaukee area, Jenny is an active member of the GWG Volunteer Leadership Council, who became Programs Chair in May. She moved to Wisconsin from Arlington, Va., where she had been a member of the Mount Vernon Group Sierra Club Executive Committee. During her tenure she served as treasurer and environmental education chair. Some of the MVG’s proudest accomplishments included shutting down the Gen On coal-fired power plant in Alexandria and, in September 2019, realizing many years’ worth of work when the Arlington County Board agreed to a resolution to transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2035. In 2016 Jenny received the Arlington Green Patriot Award, a recognition given annually to an individual for contributions to promoting environmental sustainability across the county.
Linda Frank, Vice Chair, Chapter Delegate, ExCom In my first term on the Executive Committee, it has been wonderful to work together with many talented and impassioned champions of nature and fairness. I look forward to continuing in this volunteer role. As the Great Waters Group delegate to the Wisconsin Chapter Executive Committee, I have reported on chapter news of interest to our local group. In addition, I served on last year’s Nominations Committee, recruiting candidates for the ExCom and ensuring that the election process has been carried out in accordance with our bylaws and proper procedure. With me on the committee, the ExCom has had access to the inside scoop on the Milwaukee Task Force on Climate and Economic Equity and is privy to details on the coalition now being formed to support the new Milwaukee Climate & Equity Plan. The values of the Sierra Club and GWG are also aligned with my work as president of the Milwaukee Area Land Conservancy, which ensures the preservation and restoration of precious natural landscapes acquired through fee title or conservation easement. I look forward to a mutual sharing of perspectives and enjoyment of our common respect and appreciation of nature, which is also our nurture. |
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Rose currently serves as the volunteer political chair for the Great Waters Group. Rose is the writer of the blog Wiscoland, which covers political and environmental issues in WI. Articles from Wiscoland hae been reprinted in Urban Milwaukee and shared on Twitter by the Center for Media and Democracy. Her Milwaukee Magazine article, “The Banishment of John McAdams,” was nominated for a Press Club award in the Profiles category. Her essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in Weep, Chicago Magazine, Colorado Review, Fiction Writers Review, and Rain Taxi. She earned a Ph.D. from UW-M in 2016 and teaches in the English program at Marquette University.
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Victoria Gillet, Conservation Chair Victoria joined GWG ExCom nearly immediately after moving to Milwaukee in 2021 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. 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. |
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Kerstin Larson, Party/Fundraising Chair, ExCom As a Midwest native, it is obvious to me that this land must be protected and we must invest in the resources to do so. After moving to Milwaukee in 2016, I immediately loved the community here and have been so glad that my work with the Milwaukee Film Festival is able to grow that community. I would be honored to use my skills in event planning and community engagement to support the Great Waters Group's mission. I have spent my adult life focused on individual efforts to increase sustainability, be it frequenting local businesses/farmers markets, growing native landscaping, or pursuing a waste-free lifestyle. But it is apparent that individual changes can only go so far, and I am excited to find ways to have a greater impact combating climate change, protecting our environment and shaping a better future for people in southeastern Wisconsin.
Emily O’Neil , Equity Chair, Communications Team, ExCom I am a Milwaukee local and lover of our great state of Wisconsin. I have been volunteering with the Wisconsin Sierra Club for over a year and half now and I can’t imagine not spending my free time working on climate initiatives. I have worked on the Transportation Equity committee and served on the Executive Committee for the Wisconsin chapter. This Earth means the world to me, and I am endlessly thankful for Mother Nature. I know how much of an impact we can make when we work together and provide education and outreach to our local communities. There is so much that can be done right here in Milwaukee and I am proud to work alongside the community here to fight climate change. |
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Karen Samelson, Publicity Chair, Communications Team Karen Samelson’s love of nature came early and she went on her first national Sierra Club outing when she was 6. She joined the Sierra Club in the 1990s and has participated in service outings in various national parks. After working for many years as a newspaper copy editor, she now does grant writing for local nonprofits. She is working with the GWG Nearby Nature Program and enjoys exploring special places by hiking, bicycling, kayaking, camping, and cross-country skiing.
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Jane has been a member since 2000 and served previously as the GWG and JMC State Treasurer. She has decided to serve again after her retirement as an Accountant. Jane grew up in New Berlin when it was still “out in the country” and camped each summer with her family. She is happiest when she is outdoors and enjoys camping, hiking, biking, kayaking, snow sports, and exploring new places in the outdoors.
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David Thomas is a retired visual communications professional and outdoorsperson. He has led Sierra Club outings to Quetico and around Wisconsin, including the Apostle Islands. On the board of Friends of Lincoln Park, David became engaged as an advocate for Lincoln Creek. This led him to taking on the role of project coordinator for Nearby Nature Milwaukee. For his work on this justice, equity and inclusion initiative, he was honored with the "Environmental Hero" award for 2019.
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Jasmine Viges, Program Chair, Excom I am committed to clean water and climate justice, and I contribute to these movements through my work with various environmental I went with the Engineers Without Borders at UWM to Guatemala to help with community engagement and building water cisterns. I attended the three-part workshop series with Nearby Nature and GWG, Building an Anti-Racist Environmental Movement. I was trained to be a Climate Reality Leader under former US Vice President Al Gore. I believe everyone should have access to nature and safe drinking water, and we all need to work together to ensure that. 
Tim Karaskiewicz, Membership Chair, ExCom I have been a Sierra Club member for more than 25 years. I’ve worked, hiked and paddled with people who share common values: a fundamental respect for the environment, a desire to preserve native habitat, environmental justice, access to clean water, and the conservation of natural resources. Most of all I have found a shared sense of respect for the environment in the Sierra activities that I have participated in or led. I have practiced law for more than 35 years -- at a large law firm, as a civil rights attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, and as general counsel at Mitchell Airport where, among other things, I became familiar with and addressed environmental issues. I have chaired two national airport lawyer organizations and served on several boards of public organizations and nonprofits.
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Jennifer Abel, Chair, ExCom
Rose Both, Political Chair
Jane Schneider, Treasurer 
David Thomas, Communications team