The Sierra Club’s California members are torn over its mission. Can a new leader forge consensus?

When Bobbi Jo Chavarria was invited to join her local Sierra Club chapter’s political committee, she saw it as an effort by its members to include “someone like me.” A woman. He said Sierra Club leaders weren’t adequately pursuing the environmental justice objectives the organization set for itself in its 2030 Strategic Framework, which identifies “goals to address systemic challenges that are accelerating the climate and extinction crises and deepening oppression.” “It’s a nice document, and it has all those things in it, but at the chapter level, nobody was paying attention to that,” d’Souza said. “I’d say that it’s not a good reputation for Sierra Club California to have, and I think ought to address that.” If shifting the club’s priorities alienates some older members who happen to be among the club’s important donors, it would be justified, Pilch said. Mary Ann Ruiz, secretary for the Sierra Club California executive committee, says environmental justice, often defined as fighting for and working alongside communities of color so they don’t suffer the brunt of pollution and other ills, “should be at the core of the work that we do, and we should be considering that in everything that we do.” But some believe the club’s money and expertise is being misdirected.