Meet the Board

Allison Chin, President

Allison Chin

A veteran of the Board, Chin is currently serving in her fourth term (May 2022 - May 2025) and 11th year on the Sierra Club Board of Directors. Her prior service (2007 - 2013 and 2015 - 2018) included six years on the Executive Committee as President (2008-2010, 2012-2013), treasurer (2010-2011), and fifth officer (2007-2008, 2011-2012). Chin is a longtime volunteer and lifetime member of the Sierra Club. She became active with Sierra Club through the fight to protect public lands and as an outings leader. She has been serving on Board-appointed governance committees or the Board itself since 1999 (outdoor activities leadership, organizational effectiveness, finance and risk management, leadership development, trainer/coach/facilitator).

She is a retired biologist who led multidisciplinary domestic and international project teams focused on discovery and development of novel therapeutics. Since retiring in 2008, Allison has been immersed in non-profit governance, organizational and leadership development.  She is a founding member of the Green Leadership Trust, a network of people of color and indigenous people who serve on environmental boards.  Allison is particularly excited about working with organizers, activists and change makers to facilitate the deep individual and group work that is transformational and long-lasting.

Ross Macfarlane, Vice President for Conservation

Ross MacfarlaneRoss is a climate and clean energy advocate based in Seattle, Washington. He chairs the Conservation Policy and Business Partnerships Committees, and serves on the Bylaws & Standing Rules Evaluation and Investment Advisory Committees, and the National Advancement Council. He was Vice President for Conservation from 2020-22. Ross is Secretary for the Clean Energy Transition Institute, and a founding member of the Advisory Board for Western Washington University’s Institute for Energy Studies, where he taught a course on clean energy and climate.

Ross was Senior Advisor at Climate Solutions, where he advocated for strong climate policy and helped lead the successful campaign to stop coal export facilities. Before that, Ross was part of the management team at a transit agency, practiced environmental law as a partner at a major law firm (K&L Gates), and enforced pollution control laws at the US EPA. A passionate hiker, climber, skier, and sea-kayaker, Ross draws inspiration from wild places in his native Northwest and around the world.

Patrick Murphy, Vice President for Chapters, Groups and Volunteers

Patrick MurphySince first joining a Sierra Club Activist Outing to defend Utah wilderness in the 1990s, Patrick has been a volunteer leader for over 25 years. His work has broadened in those decades – from wilderness preservation to climate change, and from Sierra Student Coalition activism to Sierra Club’s internal coaching, conflict resolution, and transformation into an equitable and anti-racist organization. He is an Outings leader, Group and Chapter volunteer, and member of the Board’s Equity and Finance committees. Outside of Sierra Club, Patrick is a sustainability and social impact consultant with Point B, helping business and nonprofit leaders build the world we need.

Meghan Sahli-Wells, Secretary

Meghan Sahli-WellsBorn and raised in Los Angeles, Meghan Sahli-Wells spent nearly a decade in public service, championing environmental justice and building progressive power both locally and nationally. The former Mayor of Culver City (CA), Meghan led the city’s transition to 100% renewable energy and phase-out of oil drilling. Known as the "Biking Mayor,” Sahli-Wells helped craft Culver City’s first bicycle and pedestrian master plan, established a robust Safe Routes to School program, and served on the Metro E Line (light rail) Construction Authority.

In 2014, she joined President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge, and launched Culver City’s equity and youth empowerment initiatives. She also helped lead regional efforts to ensure equitable housing policies in transit and jobs-rich communities, and passed groundbreaking tenant protections in Culver City. Sahli-Wells is a founding Board Member of Local Progress, a national network of progressive elected officials, and former California State Director of Elected Officials to Protect America, where she mobilized elected officials to pass bold climate legislation and end fossil fuel extraction. Today, she is a strategic policy consultant working at the intersection of mobility, housing, and environmental justice, with a particular focus on urban oil drilling.

Sahli-Wells holds two bachelor’s degrees from UCLA where she majored in World Arts and Cultures, and in French. She lived in France for 14 years and has traveled extensively, studying visual anthropology, conducting sociological research, working as a translator, and raising her children.

Cheyenne Skye Branscum, Treasurer

Cheyenne Skye BranscumCheyenne Skye Branscum is an educator and environmental justice leader based in Oklahoma. Her work the past several years has been especially focused on improving the lives of tribal members and rural Oklahomans through better access to education and a clean environment.

Within the Sierra Club, she has served as Oklahoma Chapter Chair, Oklahoma Beyond Coal volunteer, CCL delegate, CCR chair, History and Future Task Force member, Restorative Accountability Implementation Team co-owner, and Governance Task Force member. She also runs the Oklahoma Geo Team, a nonprofit focused on improving GIS education to middle and high school students, especially those typically left out of STEM programs.

Shruti Bhatnagar, Director

Shruti BhatnagarShruti Bhatnagar has been a lifelong environmentalist and is a Wilderness Guardian at the Sierra Club. Her values are centered on conservation, equity, social and environmental justice. Elected to the National Board of the Sierra Club in 2023 for a three term, Shruti serves on the National Conservation Policy Committee, Volunteer Leadership Advisory Committee (VLAC) and the Finance and Risk Management Advisory Committees.

Her 30 years of experience serving in leadership positions at private, non-profit, community, philanthropic, political organizations and as a management professional, has given her a breadth of experience and diverse perspective.

As a community advocate in Maryland for two decades, Shruti has led and supported advocacy campaigns on several issues including Maryland’s ban on Fracking and Styrofoam. As a grassroots organizer, she has effectively led and implemented several campaigns, trained and mobilized hundreds of volunteers and voters, led several initiatives on outreach, community engagement, coalition building and expanding diversity and inclusion initiatives. She was a lead organizer for the National Women’s March and has been recognized as women making history in Montgomery County, Maryland.

As a volunteer teacher, part time educator in Montgomery County Public Schools and coach for a STEM Robotics team, Shruti has been a mentor to youth and emerging leaders, served on County board and commissions, as a mental health ambassador and is a founding member for statewide community organizations.

As a Sierra Club leader, Shruti has been advocating for bold systemic policy changes at the Federal, Maryland State and County levels, for a just and equitable transition from dirty fossil fuels to 100% clean renewable energy, forest conservation, equitable and clean transportation, and land use policies for both wildlife and humans. Shruti has served as Maryland Chapter’s Group Chair, is a founding member of the Growing for Change Equity taskforce, Conservation Committee Chair and Co-Lead for National Sierra Club’s Federal Organizing Program.

Shruti is particularly excited about building a strong environmental movement that is rooted in equity and justice and uplifts the power of our grassroots volunteers and teams.

Michael Dorsey, Director

Michael DorseyDr. M. K. Dorsey is a recognized expert on global energy, environment, finance and sustainability matters. In 1997, Rotary International bestowed him their highest honor: The Paul Harris Medal for Distinguished Service to Humanity. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Yale and the Johns Hopkins University, presently Dr. Dorsey is a limited partner in the Spanish utility-scale solar concern IberSun, s.l, a JV partner in the Indian based panel manufacturer Pahal Solar, and the inaugural board secretary of Black Owners of Solar Services.

Dr. Dorsey is a serial organization builder and leader in for-profit, non-profit, scholarly and governmental realms. In the for-profit arena, Dr. Dorsey is an active investor, as well as co-founder and principal of Around the Corner Capital—an energy advisory and impact finance platform. In non-profit realms, in 1997, Dr. Dorsey helped co-create the northern California headquartered Center for Environmental Health. In 2013, Dr. Dorsey and two former student collaborators co-created the predecessor to the Sunrise Movement.

In academia, Dr. Dorsey was a professor in the environmental studies program at Dartmouth College and has also been guest faculty at leading institutions around the world. Dorsey’s significant government engagement includes his role as a task force member of President Clinton’s Council on Sustainable Development, a member of then Senator Obama’s energy and environment Presidential campaign team, and appointment to the EPA’s National Advisory Committee.

Beyond boardrooms, Congressional hearings and multilateral summits, Dr. Dorsey has a long legacy of exploring, researching and working to protect wild places and spaces–around the U.S. and across the planet.

Tony Fuller, Director

Tony FullerSierra Club Leadership Positions: Council of Club Leaders, Vice Chair ExCom (2016–present); Sierra Club Political Team (2014-present); Climate Movement Next Steps Team (2015); Illinois Chapter Excom (2009-Present); Chicago Group Excom Co-Chair (2016–2018); John Muir Chapter Secretary (1999-2000). Other Leadership Positions: Board Member, Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade (now Clean Wisconsin) (2000).

Chad Hanson, Director

Chad HansonChad Hanson is a member of the Sierra Club’s national Board of Directors, and a forest ecologist with the John Muir Project, located in Big Bear City, California. Dr. Hanson co-authored the book, The Ecological Importance of Mixed-Severity Fires: Nature’s Phoenix (Elsevier, Inc.) and has published dozens of scientific studies and articles in peer-reviewed journals pertaining to forests, wildland fire, and climate change mitigation.

He joined the Sierra Club after hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada in 1989 with his older brother, and seeing firsthand the devastation caused by commercial logging on our National Forests. The New York Times (August 6, 2017) described Dr. Hanson as being on “the cutting edge of ecological research”.

Rita Harris, Director

Rita HarrisRita joined Sierra Club 21 years ago and has served in numerous capacities such as Environmental Justice Organizer, Beyond Coal Organizer, diversity & anti-racism trainer, and environmental conference coordinator. Her work has revolved around working with neighborhoods seeking a healthy community, clean air and water, and adequate green spaces free of toxic hazards. Current volunteer activities have included serving as co-leader of the Organizing Department’s Leadership Team and co-facilitating anti-racism training workshops. In Sierra Club’s early efforts around diversity and inclusion, she served on the original Diversity Council (2006-2009) that was the catalyst for the establishment of the Office of Equity & Inclusion. Ms. Harris has worked with several other non-profit organizations and has advocated for a variety of environmental causes.

Debbie Heaton, Director

Debbie HeatonDebbie served in numerous roles within the Delaware Chapter from newsletter editor through to chairing the chapter, as well as the conservation and political committees. Her work at the local level led her to getting involved at the national level on efforts focused on volunteer support, understanding who speaks for Sierra Club and assessing Sierra Club organizational structures. Debbie’s conservation focuses include clean water, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and coastal issues. Her career as an art director transitioned to working with nonprofits after she accepted a position as Delaware Chapter staff. She’s volunteered with Sierra Club for over 33 years and was the recipient of the 2013 William E. Colby Award. Retired from raising money for several conservation nonprofits, she serves on the Board of Sierra Club as well as treasurer of GreenWatch Institute, and chairs the Delaware Natural Areas Advisory Council.

David Holtz, Director

David HoltzDavid’s passion for environmental protection, social justice and belief in people-powered political change led him to become a Sierra Club volunteer. David has served at local, state and national levels with Sierra Club and has held staff and management positions with Michigan and Florida-based environmental and progressive groups, including Sierra Club. For more than a decade David worked as a newspaper reporter and is a former senior aide to a Member of Congress from Michigan, where he resides. He is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

Cynthia Hoyle, Director

Cynthia HoyleCynthia Hoyle is a Life Member of the Sierra Club having joined the club in 1983 working to create the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma. After moving to Illinois, she worked with the Prairie Group as Vice Chair and on the Transportation Committee. She served on the national Stopping Sprawl Campaign and the Clean Transportation for All Healthy Communities Campaign. She was a member of Urban Infill Policy Task Force which produced the Guidance for Smart Growth and Urban Infill Policy in 2021.

She has served on the American Institute of Certified Planners Commission, American Public Transit Association Climate Change Standards Working Group, and the Champaign County Blue Ribbon Environmental Panel. Cynthia is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners and is the author of Traffic Calming published by American Planning Association. She is a League Certified Instructor through the League of American Bicyclists and President of Ride Illinois.

Aaron Mair, Director

Aaron MairAaron Mair was the Sierra Club’s 57th president. Mair became a Sierra Club member in 1999, following a decade-long battle that he led to shut down a polluting solid waste incinerator in an inner-city community in Albany, New York. Mair was also a key figure in leading the fight and securing the Sierra Club’s participation in the Clean Up the Hudson campaign, which resulted in a settlement between the EPA and General Electric to dredge toxic PCB’s.

David Scott, Director

Dave ScottDave Scott is now serving his fifth 3-year term on the board. He has served as Sierra Club’s Treasurer, Vice President, and President, and led the board’s Conservation Policy Committee. Prior to his time on the board, Dave held leadership positions that included Ohio Chapter Chair, Regional Vice President for the Midwest, and leadership roles on the Conservation Governance Committee. A wilderness, wildlife and climate activist, Dave has spent months in northern Alaska, the Tongass National Forest and other places Sierra Club has played a major role in protecting.

In addition to his Sierra Club leadership roles, Dave has had a long career as an attorney. He started that career as a poverty lawyer in Appalachia and several midwestern cities, and later worked to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities. He’s been a regular contributor to the NY Times Letters and Book Review pages. Over the past 24 years, he has also provided a home for six rescue dogs. He lives in Columbus, Ohio.