Erica Hall

Erica Hall
Residence
St. Petersburg, Florida
Nominating committee candidate
Member Since
2008
Occupation
Executive Director, Florida Food Policy Council
Sierra Club Leadership Positions

Council of Club Leaders (CCL) ExCom Vice Chair (2023-current); CCL ExCom (2023) CCL FL Delegate (current); Florida ExCom (2021); Florida ExCom Vice Chair (current); Florida Equity Inclusion and Justice Committee Co-Chair (2020-2022); Suncoast Group ExCom (2020-present); Suncoast Group ExCom Vice Chair

Other Leadership Positions

Member, Pinellas County Sustainability & Resiliency Advisory Committee (2021-2023); Pinellas County Natural Resources Advisory Committee (current); Executive Committee, The Inter-institutional Network for Food, Agriculture and Sustainability (INFAS) (current)

Email
erica.h@suncoastsierra.org
Website
https://www.sierraclub.org/florida/inside-florida-chapter
Statement

Outings and protecting our natural resources equitably and inclusively are very important to me. Also, transitioning communities to clean energy, combating climate change, and building relationships and partnerships with frontline vulnerable communities remains a top priority.  

Volunteers are the heart and soul of the Sierra Club, and the role of volunteer leadership is critical and vital to the future success of the organization. It is important to demonstrate that by appreciating, celebrating, and elevating groups, chapters, volunteers, and staff (ACE) in a way that truly reflects equity within the organization.  I will uphold our shared values, investigate our strategies to win, and use my leadership to ensure that we are implementing the most effective strategies to achieve our goals. 

My role as a Board Member will be to ensure that the Sierra Club is rising to the challenge of the 2030 framework and practicing the spirit of its principles. As a proud leader of Sierra Club Florida, made up of volunteer leaders and civic activists representing over 32,000 members, I have forged strong partnerships in Florida with National and FL Chapter staff supporting Sierra's national campaigns.  As of January 2023, 14 Florida cities have committed to moving to 100 % clean and renewable energy.  Florida is ground zero for increasingly violent storms and hurricanes due to increasing ocean temperatures. What utilities do, or don't do, between now and 2030 will either seal our fate or deliver us from future climate catastrophe. 

I will have a listening ear and a logical heart when it comes to facing challenges around restructuring, staffing, and finances. I am an experienced leader with skills in collaboration, visioning, and strategy. I have built, managed, and maintained budgets for organizations of all sizes, raised funds from a variety of methods, and served as a spokesperson for issues ranging from democracy and justice to outdoor access, conservation and preservation issues to food policy. My expertise spans nonprofit management, legal administration, and legislative affairs, which positions me as an invaluable candidate for the Sierra Club's board of directors. 

It would be my honor and privilege to share those skills and serve as a member of the Board of Directors. I am asking for your vote and support. Thank you.

Endorsements 

Former Sierra Club President Ramón Cruz 

Sierra Club members: Bryan Beckman; Megan Colby; Lisa Hinton; Gerie Crawford, Rocky Milburn, Florida Chapter, Utah Chapter

Election Forum Responses

Candidates were asked ten questions to give voters more information about relevant issues. You can view the responses of all candidates to a question by clicking on the individual questions below.

Question 1

Question 1

What is the role of volunteers in the Sierra Club? What can Sierra Club do to  better ensure volunteer leaders are equitably prepared and supported sufficiently  for their roles?

The role of volunteers in the Sierra Club is integral and critical to the success of the organization. Volunteers are the heartbeat and lifeline of the Sierra Club. As someone who started as a volunteer from a local group, what I learned was invaluable. The passion, energy, and genius of the volunteers are unmatched.  

The Sierra Club can provide wellness and mental health support to volunteers, similar to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for volunteers to help prevent burnout. Increase support for frontline vulnerable communities of color in their fight for environmental justice and equity while protecting our natural resources. Provide better onboarding materials for new volunteers. Assist volunteers with capacity building; community and civic engagement and have staff support community-based events and efforts. Create more inclusive spaces and environments for at-risk communities.

Question 2

Question 2

Sierra Club leaders and members can often be on different sides of issues–how  would you address dissenting views like this and create a more unified Sierra  Club? 

I address dissenting views by highlighting the common connections we share air, water, and climate, and the effects it has on us all regardless of where we live, who we are, our lifestyles, our skin color, or what we look like. 

Messaging may need to be different depending on geographic location, regional, and environmental and conservation needs, political climate, and demographics. We need to pay attention to the local communities where our groups are located. Chapters must support their local groups and volunteers. Different parts of the country have diverse needs which should reflect our country and our environmental and conservation needs.  

What is best for the environment where we live? That should be the most important priority, not political views or party. What is best for our earth? What is best for our environment and future generations? Are we doing all we can to be better stewards of our water, air, and land? When you highlight the common issues we share, it makes the message easier to understand.

Question 3

Question 3

What fundraising and budgeting ideas would you have as a Sierra Club Board  Director to make Sierra Club fiscally stronger?  

Strengthen the Sierra Club Foundation, become better financial stewards; rethink the model of how fundraising, organizing, and grant writing are being utilized. 

Create additional revenue streams and diversify donor and sponsorship opportunities. Help Chapters fundraise better by hiring advancement directors; research funding opportunities with other similar organizations; look at other funding sources; stacked funding.

Question 4

Question 4

Environmental justice is core to Sierra Club’s mission. Please share one or more  examples of when you were able to cultivate relationships with EJ/frontline  communities?  

My role in Florida has been to cultivate relationships with EJ/frontline communities. I do that by showing up as a supporter of BIPOC communities and assisting with their organizing campaigns and strategies. Sierra Club Florida has become a trusted partner and stakeholder in frontline communities throughout the State of Florida. 

One example is how the Sierra Club Florida and the local Suncoast Group were integral in passing the first Community Benefits Agreement in St. Petersburg, FL. The advocacy, outreach, marketing done by Sierra Club to our local members resulted in thousands of letters and support received by the City Council which helped passed the legislation unanimously. The Community Benefit Agreement program, created to ensure projects in St. Petersburg have a positive impact, has been untwined and reworked multiple times, and will continue to visit the drawing board until the language satisfies stakeholders. 

The CBA applies to projects with a minimum city participation value of at least $500,000. In exchange for the city’s contribution in a project, the developer must meet requirements that can mitigate certain impacts and create positive benefits for the surrounding neighborhoods. This has come in handy since the Tampa Bay Rays project is in development. The Tampa Bay Rays are planning to build a new $1.3 billion stadium on the site of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The new stadium will be part of a $6.5 billion redevelopment of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District.  

The Rays will pay for half of the cost, with the city and Pinellas County contributing the other half. The first phase of development and the new stadium are expected to be ready by Opening Day 2028. The redevelopment will include:

  • 5,700 multifamily units
  • 600 senior living residences
  • More than 850 affordable and workforce housing units
  • About 600 residences off-site
  • Office, retail, and hotel space
  • 14,000 parking spaces

Question 5

Question 5

How do you view the role of a nonprofit Board of Directors? What do you bring  that helps you fulfill the role of Sierra Club Board Director? 

As someone who has been in the role of a nonprofit Board of Directors for over 20 years, I view the role with the utmost respect and as a role of accountability, transparency, honesty, and fiduciary responsibility.

I bring over 20 years experience of non profit experience as a Board Chair, President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. I have also held roles as Audit Committee member.

Question 6

Question 6

What do you think is the role of national staff and representatives in the affairs of  Chapter decision making?

The role of national staff and representatives in the affairs of Chapter decision-making is in consultation with volunteer leadership and local Chapter staff. All national staff and representatives should be working alongside volunteer leadership and local Chapter staff in the affairs of Chapter decision-making. Local leadership has the best knowledge of local issues and needs of the local communities they serve.

Question 7

Question 7

 Sierra Club has faced challenges around restructuring, staffing, and finances. As  a Board Director, what actions would you take to address these challenges? 

It will take a collective effort by all Board members to address those challenges around restructuring, staffing, and finances. Individually, as a Board Member, I will work to make sure that all voices are heard.   As a CCL Delegate, listening to my constituents will help address these challenges. 

Having a collective group of colleagues where we can analyze and address these issues together will help us with these challenges. I have already begun having discussions and listening sessions in local communities to hear concerns, issues and fears on the restructuring, staffing, and finance issues facing the Sierra Club. All organizations go through restructuring, reorganization and leadership changes at some point. It is how the messaging is being disseminated and received that can often soften the hardest parts of changes.

Question 8

Question 8

Given that Sierra Club has limited resources, what would be the specific  environmental issues and priority areas that you would focus on as a Board  Director and why? 

Focusing on natural resources, especially when looking at priority areas regionally. Fossil fuels, sea level rise, clean energy, equity, and looking at the environmental landscape of our members and communities. Having an asset mapping audit completed will help determine geographically and regionally where the specific environmental issues and priority areas that we should focus on. That will also help us determine the costs and risks of where our priorities should be.

Question 9

Question 9

What do you see as the role and use of data in the Sierra Club's mission and  health, and how would you advance the goal of furthering data-informed, values driven campaigns? 

I see the role and use of data as very important in the Sierra Club's mission and health. With the rise in Artificial intelligence (AI), gathering data is very important to inform values-driven campaigns. With science and facts being debated and disputed, having data-informed, values-driven campaigns help to create the right messaging and craft the correct talking points for all of us to be on the same page when discussing important information.

Question 10

Question 10

How do you view the role of outings fitting into the goals and objectives for Sierra  Club?

The role of outings is important to fitting into the goals and objectives for Sierra Club. We are known for outings and that is the first introduction to our organization. I have met volunteers who became leaders because of outings. Sierra Club Florida offers a variety of outdoor experiences to both members and non-members of Sierra Club. Trips include paddling, hiking, biking, bird watching, and many other activities. All trips have experienced, trained, certified leaders. 

Each of Sierra Club Florida's groups, from the Everglades to the Panhandle, conducts its own outings program. We have been able to recruit more diverse members and leaders because of their interaction with our Outings program. I work very closely with our Group and Chapter outings leaders to support their efforts and recruitment.