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Club Members Elect New Directors New Board Members: (From top to bottom) Lisa Renstrom, Dave Karpf, Nick Aumen, Sanjay Ranchod, and Jan O'Connell. Club members turned out in record numbers this year to elect five new members to the Board of Directors. Far more members—171,616 voters, or 22.7 percent of the Club’s members—cast ballots than have ever done so before. Voters elected incumbent directors Jan O’Connell, an insurance executive and environmental organizer from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Nick Aumen, a biologist from Loxahatchee, Florida, to a second term. Top vote-getter Lisa Renstroman environmental activist from Charlotte, North Carolina, received 141,407 votes. She served on the board from 2001 to 2003. Consumer lawyer Sanjay Ranchod from San Francisco and student David Karpf from Philadelphia were elected for the first time. The election was widely reported on in the press because of controversial disagreements about the Club’s immigration policy and concerns about the involvement of outside groups. Sierra Club President Larry Fahn says the grassroots organization’s membership sent a clear message through its record voter turnout: "Nearly a quarter of our members have elected active leaders in the Sierra Club who support our core agenda to protect the environment and educate Americans about the destructive environmental practices of the Bush administration." "Twenty-two percent turnout is extraordinary," says Renstrom. "We need to find ways to keep that level of participation going." O’Connell echoes those sentiments. "I campaigned like crazy. I contacted almost 14,000 Club members—by phone, by e-mail, by postcard, and in person. My goal is to go back to those people, keep networking, keep them engaged in our work." For specific vote totals and more information, go to sierraclub.org/bod. Up to Top