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2008 Election Candidate Forum:
The Candidates
Jeremy Doochin's responses to the 16 questions of the candidate forum:
Candidate responses were limited to 150 words per question.
1: What leadership positions have you held in the Sierra Club and what have you accomplished in those positions?
•Tennessee Chapter SSC Liaison to Students of Tennessee (2007- ): I work with students across Tennessee to develop environmental initiatives, and plug students into TN Sierra Club campaigns. Currently I am directing a student-led initiative with students across Nashville & Tennessee in support of 5 cent refundable deposit container legislation in TN.
•Vice Chairman, MTG Executive Committee (2004-2006):
•Environmental Education Chair (2004-2006):
•Conservation Committee (2005):
•TN Bottle Bill Committee (2004,2007):
As the youngest person elected to MTG Executive Committee, at age 16, I oversaw environmental outreach and education, served as a bridge to Nashville’s youth, organized Club activities, and helped build an organizational structure. I have represented the Sierra Club on numerous boards including the Nashville Earth Day Festival, Nashville Metro Public Works (appointed by mayor), and Student Environmental Outreach Coalition, a student group which I founded.
*** Please visit www.jeremy2008.com for much more info***
Questions? Comments? Contact Jeremy: jeremy@jeremy2008.com.
2: What, if any, endorsements have you received from Club chapters or leaders?
President Robbie Cox
Director David Karpf
Director Rafael Reyes
Director Ellen Pillard
Former EPA Chief of Staff, Michael Vandenbergh
San Diego Chapter
Santa Lucia Chapter
Tennessee Chapter
Student Sierra Coalition
3: The Board of Directors has appointed the Organizational Change Steering Committee to come up with recommendations for making changes to the organizational structure of the Club. The OCSC has come up with a draft proposal called Project Renewal which will be acted on at the February Board meeting. Please present your thoughts on Project Renewal and, in particular, whether you, given the opportunity, would vote in favor of the OCSC's current recommendations.
Change is essential to an organization’s evolution. I support the concept of Project Renewal to improve efficiency and increase communication within the Club between national and chapters. But to move forward with the creation and implementation of the program requires the support of our chapters. While there are many benefits to Project Renewal’s structure, many components must be examined more critically. A budget, timeline, and plan of implementation are crucial. After talking with hundreds of chapter activists, it is evident that many chapters feel they have largely been left out of the decision making process. To create an effective communication structure (Project Renewal), we must start with better communication. Since the Board recently passed the Project Renewal proposal, I will focus my efforts as a Director on effective implementation and leadership. I will work to involve all activists in this implementation phase, and ensure that your voices are heard.
4: What special abilities would you bring to Sierra Club leadership?
As a 20 year old college student, I bring an extensive background and involvement working with youth, including the ability to effectively recruit and train young leaders to become active within the Club.
The experience of having conceived and built multiple large environmental and social action organizations. I understand organizational models, leadership, and how to best work with individuals from all walks of life.
A wide knowledge of environmental issues, combined with experience from working with a wide array of non-profits both science & policy based.
The keen ability to work with and listen to people, problem solve, and organize large grassroots efforts.
A knowledge of budgets, fundraising, and organizational management.
The ability to perceive a societal need and to create an organization or program to meet that need.
A passion for working with individuals to empower communities to seek better solutions.
5: What do you view as the most important responsibilities of a Sierra Club Director?
Most importantly- Representing the interests of the 750,000 Sierra Club members and listening to the concerns of our activists.
A vision for the Club and a strong capacity to empower others to take action.
Fiduciary responsibilities; managing the $70 million budget.
Building coalitions and extending a hand out to people from all walks of life: businesses, unions, students, and faith based organizations.
Providing effective leadership skills and the capacity to listen and work well with others, while representing the Club nationally.
The ability to efficiently create policy and involve all Club activists in the decision making process.
To guide successful political and conservation campaigns.
To ensure the longevity and sustainability of the Club.
My background as an organizational developer has prepared me in the highest manner to fulfill these responsibilities and more.
6: Having prioritized energy and climate work with the Smart Energy Solutions conservation initiative, what do you see as the most important things that the Sierra Club must do to respond to the urgent threat of climate change and win victories on this issue in the coming years?
Having worked with Conservation International (a large nonprofit that works in over forty countries on biodiversity and conservation measures) to research and evaluate climate change legislation, I have an in-depth knowledge of the science behind climate change and the development of policy.
The Sierra Club must work with environmentally science based non-profits to disseminate climate change research. We must create new coalitions ranging from businesses to faith based groups. By employing new communication tools, such as Facebook, Myspace, and Google, we can advertise and organize young people in addition to cultivating our traditional base. We will not pull in new activists by inviting them to bureaucratic meetings, but rather by inviting them to strategize and rally behind cap-and-trade legislation. By creating effective grassroots action campaigns, we can appeal to the populous with a message that everyone can be part of the solution, rather than the problem.
7: Many people feel that the environment is not an important factor in deciding federal elections. Why do you think this is, and what strategies should the Club pursue for electing pro-environment candidates to office?
In past presidential elections, the environment has not been a large factor; however, it is quickly rising in the political scene. The vast majority of people now rank climate change as one of their top concerns, and more people are asking candidates about their environmental plans than ever before. Traditionally, however, the money that it is in people’s pockets (the economy) is the cause of the greatest concern. We must work to establish a greater personal connection between people and their environment. We can achieve this by showing people the money they can save by being environmental or by inspiring them with our outings programs. We can bring the environment into the political scene through effective coalition building and by organizing national coordinated political strategies. We can also help to elect pro-environmental candidates by striving to build an enduring and trusted relationship with candidates before they are elected.
8: The environment is sometimes an important factor in deciding local and state elections. What strategies should the club pursue for electing pro-environment candidates to local and state offices?
Citizens have a far greater capacity to affect state and local elections. A state legislator may be swayed on his vote by just ten constituents that write in letters or call. This is why substantial national c (4) funding is crucial for our statewide political efforts. The greatest way to impact elections at the local level is to disseminate environmental voting information, similar to the League of Conservation Voters. We can organize effective environmental campaigns with the implementation of pilot projects, and organizational materials. Creating environmental coalitions that will challenge candidates on their environmental positions is greatly effective. Another method is to host environmental political debates and forums.
9: What do you feel is the image of environmentalists in general and of the Sierra Club in particular, and how would you change or reinforce that image?
Environmentalists have been stereotyped as everything from hippies to tree huggers. Yet with An Inconvenient Truth and the “popularization” of climate change, the environment is gradually becoming a central issue. Often people see environmentalists as impassioned, but without an effective way to channel that passion for the planet. That is why our training programs and leadership development are so crucial in the Sierra Club. We must invest more resources into recruiting and training new activists, and providing environmentalists with a new conventional and professional appeal.
One common concern is that many people perceive the Sierra Club as a “liberal” organization. While there is a significant blend of republicans, independents, and democrats, our message must reach across party lines and empower people to join our cause. We should remain very much politically active, but maintain a professional appeal that moderates our political rhetoric.
*** Please visit www.jeremy2008.com for much more info***
10: What do you see as the role of outings in the Club, both National outings (including international) and those organized by chapters and groups? What changes would you like to see in these programs?
A large portion of our Club’s membership joins or becomes active for our quality Sierra Club Outings. In fact, my initial involvement with the Sierra Club was at the age of 6 taking Sierra Club hikes with my parents, and it inspired me so much that I later returned to my local group at age 15 to become active. Outings not only bring communities together, but help to cultivate new activists.
In line with the Club’s mission to cultivate diversity, I would particularly like to see more outings focused to different groups –including different neighborhoods, minority groups, faith based groups, and students. It is also crucial that we create new ways of plugging some of outings activists into other areas of the Club. Sometimes people only are looking for an outing, but many other times a potential activist waits to be cultivated
11: The Club is structured with a Board of Directors, governance committees, Council of Club Leaders, chapters, groups, and sections as the prominent entities. If you could change this structure or how it functions, how would you change it?
Dwight Eisenhower once said that “you do not lead by hitting people over the head—that’s assault, not leadership.”
Leadership is not about making all of the calls or even all of the policy decisions, but rather empowering others to step up. Change should come not from the top down, but rather from the bottom up. Our activists must be the voice of the Club. Currently the Sierra Club structure is very top-heavy. However, I am optimistic that with the right implementation, Project Renewal could help not only to improve our communication but also increase the efficiency of our governance structure. I would implement more effective communication tools and advocate for an online organizational Club network, with individual accounts and profiles. This would also help at the local level. More than anything, we must succeed in creating a fluid and effective Club that has low entrance barriers to potential activists.
12: What, if any, are the key differences between 21st century grassroots organizing and 20th century grassroots organizing, and how might the Sierra Club change in response?
The greatest difference between grassroots organizing is that while people used to have to leave their room to organize, they can now do it at the press of a button. This presents new challenges, but remarkable opportunities. Because there is so much information that is distributed online, organizing is not easy. However, the internet has afforded us the opportunities to reach millions of people like never before. This is particularly advantageous in our political action, conservation, and climate change campaigns. The Sierra Club must take advantage of online resources if it is going to compete in the 21st century. As the age of the average Club member continues to rise, it is crucial for the sustainability of the Club that we market much of our online communications to the younger generation.
*** Please visit www.jeremy2008.com for much more info***
Questions? Comments? Contact Jeremy: jeremy@jeremy2008.com.
13: What new technologies, and what new organizational processes should the Club adopt to improve the connection between National operations and grassroots leadership?
Effective online communication tools are essential. We can create new electronic Facebook applications that will target younger leaders to take action by simply clicking on the application and sending an email to their legislators. All effective movements start with dialogue, and Facebook, Google, and other electronic applications are an excellent way to generate that dialogue and provide low-cost advertising. We now have the capability to do online marketing to specific age groups in almost any city. Should we choose to use this, it will play greatly to our advantage. We can improve our grassroots leadership by switching to an online networking group with which all Sierra Club activists can better communicate, send messages, post events, provide feedback, and more!
14: What are some measures the Club should take to improve leadership development? What other grassroots capacity-building actions, if any, would you recommend?
More accessible leadership training programs are needed within the Club. The Leadership Development Program (LDP) has been effective, but has high entry barriers and requires a very significant time investment. We can start with leadership training by providing online training modules and online leadership training courses. This means that people who ordinarily would not be able to attend several weekend retreats would be able to go online and follow the training module. As aforementioned, we can and should be using internet communication tools to more effectively coordinate grassroots efforts. These are relatively easy and very cost-effective. It is also an advantageous way to pull in community activists that might not ordinarily be targeted.
15: The Sierra Club has limited resources. Where is it most important for the Club to focus its volunteer and financial resources over the next four years?
Recruiting and Training new activists should be of utmost priority. We must work not only to find new activists, but also to create effective organizational structures in which to plug interested members. Devising a strong leadership training program, and easy communication techniques is of paramount importance. We should strengthen our grassroots base to maximize the use of our resources. We have thousands of potential activists in our membership base that have never been tapped into. We must access these reserves in our climate change campaigns, work to build new coalitions, and extend a hand to non-traditional allies. Our extensive grassroots initiatives should be accompanied by new online marketing campaigns and the use of groups like Facebook to recruit new activists and young leaders. Financial resources should first be invested into developing our activists so that we will be more effective and prepared in our climate change and conservation campaigns.
16: The club is undertaking work to bring more youth and diverse cultures into our membership and leadership. What specific strategies would you suggest?
It is not enough to simply suggest that more youth should be integrated into the Club, but rather we must lead by example. The best way to lead by example is to elect a young leader to the National Board of Directors. As a college student, I have spent my life working with youth to create organizations that blend the efforts of people of all ages. I have the leadership and experience to bring a greater youth presence into our Club. Our chapters should be working more closely with the Student Sierra Coalition to organize environmental campaigns. We can target many youth through online web applications and common networking sites. In order to attract minorities or unique socioeconomic groups, we have to show them why the environment is important and how the Sierra Club can make a difference in their lives.
*** Please visit www.jeremy2008.com for much more info***
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