Annę Woiwode

Anne Woiwode
Residence
Meridian Township, Michiga
Nominating committee candidate
Member Since
1980
Occupation
Retired Michigan Chapter Sierra Club director
Sierra Club Leadership Positions

Sierra Club Leadership positions:

Chapter Chairs Representatives chair, (2019 - 2020, 2024 - 2026)

Conservation Policy Committee (2016 - 2020, chair  2018 - 2020)

Finance and Risk Committee member (2024 - 2026)

Michigan Chapter Executive Committee (1982 - 1984, 2017 - 2026)

Michigan Chapter Director/staff member (1985 - 2015)

Council Delegate and Alternate (1984, 2023)

William E. Colby Volunteer Leadership Award (2023)

Virginia Ferguson Employee Spirit Award (2014)

Other Leadership Positions

Helen & William Milliken Distinguished Leadership Award (MI), (2022)

Meridian Township (MI) Trustee, (2000-2008)

Statement

I am deeply committed to the mission of Sierra Club and the unique way that the Sierra Club does our work across the country. Sierra Club is complicated, but in many ways that is our super power. Skilled and engaged volunteers and staff work tirelessly at all levels of society to “explore, enjoy and protect” the planet. With the encouragement of other leaders and based on my diverse, decades-long background within the organization, I believe I can bring skills, knowledge and insights to the board that will be an asset to the whole of Sierra Club. The Sierra Club is at a critical time right now because of external political forces that threaten people, wild places, the planet and our future, as well as internal challenges that have distracted us from the work we have to do. The Sierra Club Board of Directors must be accountable to our members while setting a bold agenda in these challenging times. The Board must also be accountable to our staff and volunteers to ensure that Sierra Club functions well and that voices of the people across this extraordinary organization are heard and listened to. There are encouraging signs that our volunteer and staff leadership are rising to take on the fights ahead, but there is a lot yet to be done. I am eager and willing to be part of developing and implementing the solutions we need.

 

Endorsements (in alphabetical order by first name)

Bob Bingaman, Former Senior Field Director

Bruce Hamilton, Former National Policy Director

Clayton Daughenbaugh, Board Member

David Holtz, Board Member

Diane Stark, Illinois Chapter Chair

Kate Bartholomew, Atlantic Chapter Chair

Joe Testa, Council of Club Leaders Chair

Mary Ann Ruiz, Sierra Club California Chair

Rhonda Anderson, Retired Environmental Justice Organizer

Lone Star Chapter

Michigan 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

Why are you seeking a position on the Board of Directors?

I am deeply committed to the mission of Sierra Club and the unique way that the Sierra Club does our work across the country. With the encouragement of other leaders and based on my diverse, decades-long background with the organization, I believe I can bring skills, knowledge and insights to the board that will be an asset to the whole of Sierra Club. The Sierra Club is at a critical time right now because of external political forces that threaten the planet and our future, and internal challenges that have distracted us from the work we have to do. The Sierra Club Board of Directors must be accountable to our members while setting a bold agenda in these challenging times. The Board must also be accountable to our staff and volunteers to ensure that Sierra Club functions well and that voices of the people across this extraordinary organization are heard and listened to. There are encouraging signs that our volunteer and staff leadership are rising to take on the fights ahead, but there is a lot yet to be done. I am eager and willing to be part of developing and implementing the solutions we need. 

Question 2

Question 2

What experience do you have that prepares you for the responsibility of helping the Club stay fiscally sound for years to come, including but not limited to experience with internal information sharing and transparency?

Every Sierra Club leader has a responsibility to ensure that our limited resources are properly and effectively used to further our mission, and they have a right to have input into how those resources are allocated. As a chapter director I navigated the unique complexity of Sierra Club’s finances and learned how to maximize our chapter’s effectiveness with limited funds. The Chapter Chairs Representatives (CCR), which I currently chair, has a mandate that includes advocating for the financial interests of chapters to the national staff and the board. As CCR chair I serve as a liaison to the Board, and participate in many of their meetings to bring the perspective of chapter volunteer leaders to their deliberations. I serve on the Board’s Finance and Risk Committee out of a deep concern that our financial health was insufficiently stewarded under past Executive Directors. I have strongly advocated for critical information about our financial health be shared with volunteers and staff who will be affected by decisions the board makes, and that meaningful and timely opportunities for input into policies under consideration must always be provided. As I write this, I am also part of a small team of chapter directors and Field Department leadership staff asking chapter chairs and directors about their funding priorities to ensure that their voices are included in developing the FY27 budget. This effort is long overdue, and I’ll advocate for this to be institutionalized going forward. 

Question 3

Question 3

Chapters are forced to wait for national financial data to plan. As a board member, what steps will you take to ensure timely delivery of financial data to chapters and protect their solvency, without burdening them to compensate for national financial shortcomings?

The Board should ensure that chapters are updated on a quarterly basis, at least, about the current overall financial well-being of the Club, provide chapter leaders meaningful opportunities for input on proposed policy changes affecting chapter financials, and seek input early in the annual budgeting process on the national programs and funding that is most important to chapter level work. To their credit, for several years even as national level programs were seeing substantial cuts, the Board has required that the baseline funding for chapters be kept at the same level. They also invested in increased fundraising support for chapters. Meanwhile there is an investment underway in implementing a better system for tracking and sharing financial data with chapters. Delays as bugs are being worked out and the inevitable challenge of training and transition means these solutions are slow in coming.  

The bigger issue is that Sierra Club entities are too often siloed in this large, complex organization, creating a sense of competition for limited resources among chapters, campaigns, national programs and more. This has to end. It will require a sustained commitment to long range thinking and planning that rewards collaboration and encourages synergy to increase our effectiveness, build greater capacity and secure more resources. A critical part of going forward is to create room for good ideas to increase our effectiveness and efficiency to rise up and be quickly implemented, while eliminating legacy processes and requirements that are no longer needed. 

Question 4

Question 4

How do you think that Sierra Club can better recruit and retain staff and volunteers, particularly from underrepresented groups, while prioritizing equity?

For 134 years, Sierra Club’s success has been about engaging people in ‘exploring, enjoying and protecting’ wild places and the planet. Cesar Chavez’s simple organizing guidance, “first you talk to one person, then you talk to another person, then you talk to another person” has always been at the heart of successful recruitment. But we have to ask: are we relevant to people’s lives; are we creating meaningful opportunities for them to engage; are we living our principles, including the Jemez Principles for environmental justice? 

There are lessons to be learned. The dismantling of the national environmental justice program set us back after more than twenty years of work, and raised questions about our commitment to underrepresented communities. Multiple reorganizations and layoffs have left staff and volunteers concerned. Changing rules for outings and chapter funding and staff relationships have been unsettling. We can’t be stagnant, but continual churning drives away talented staff and volunteers. 

There are good lessons as well. In Michigan, well designed internships lead to outstanding volunteer leaders and excellent staff. The Detroit Outdoors program exposes youth to experiences in wild places and builds leadership skills. The Crossroads Group grows their membership and leadership team significantly through a consistent set of practices that invite people in. Creating a welcoming space for those who are underrepresented, including BIPOC and young people, is essential to fighting climate change, protecting wild places and ensuring that we leave behind a world that everyone’s grandchildren deserve. We know how to do it. 

Question 5

Question 5

The Sierra Club has had 4 years in a row, budget deficits requiring layoffs. What can be done to prevent this from happening in the future?

Long range thinking and planning can help to mitigate the challenges of unpredictable donor interests, as well as for breaking down internal silos to increase synergy and collaboration. Equally important is to recognize that everyone who volunteers or works for Sierra Club has a role to play in ensuring we have the resources we need by telling their own stories. Every week there are dozens of amazing stories in Sierra Club entities all across the country, many of which don’t get shared beyond those directly involved. Every story provides concrete examples of how donations make a difference, whether there is an ask to a foundation for millions of dollars, or a request for a friend to join the Sierra Club at the $15 introductory rate. The Board and fundraising staff have a particular responsibility, but they can’t be the only ones to make the case for funding our work. An outings leader explains how Sierra Club protected the place they are hiking; political committee volunteers tell how electing environmental advocates to the legislature helps us lobby effectively for clean water; a conservation volunteer tells why they joined the Sierra Club and shares a link to sign up and build our membership; and a donor to the Sierra Club Foundation tells their family members why they support the environmental law program and urges them to donate as well. We need to look beyond leaving it to the professionals if we are serious about ensuring Sierra Club thrives. 

Question 6

Question 6

How should the Sierra Club prioritize efforts in the food and agricultural sectors, given that they contribute significant global greenhouse gas emissions and are the significant source of water pollution?

One of the greatest strengths of Sierra Club is that issues rise organically from the grassroots as our group and chapter leaders confront environmental threats, pursue opportunities and bring them to nationwide attention. As someone who has fought factory farms in Michigan for more than twenty years, I know that food and agriculture issues are particularly challenging because of powerful agribusiness interests, weak environmental regulations, out of whack government funding that supports industrial agriculture through both direct subsidies and university programs, and a positive public perception of farmers that doesn’t differentiate sustainable operations from the severely polluting ones. Over more than two decades Sierra Club entities have tackled water quality, air quality, subsidies, public health, food contamination and other aspects of these concerns. There have been some significant successes, but foundational changes have eluded us.

Issues that get elevated within Sierra Club tend to follow the same path. The issue is well-defined with a discreet set of tools to address it ( legislation, litigation, etc.); there is strong volunteer and staff interest and capacity to take it on; a campaign can be put together around the issue including clear targets, advocacy, research, lobbying, communications, organizing, litigation and fundraising. The food and agriculture issues are extremely broad, which argues for breaking the components down to provide focus and the opportunity for finding needed funding, for example tackling the climate issues through state climate plans, or tackling subsidies through legislation at state or federal levels. There aren’t silver bullets for these issues, unfortunately. 

Question 7

Question 7

How can we build a culture and set of processes by which the allocation of resources to campaigns and issues be more inclusive of all volunteer leadership perspectives?

We must embrace an atmosphere of respect and trust among staff and volunteer leaders through transparency, robust discussions, serious consideration of innovative ideas, and understanding that hard decisions will be required on occasion. This isn’t easy, especially at a time where large funders are changing their priorities in reaction to the Trump administration’s destruction of social safety nets, membership numbers have declined, and funds available to carry out the huge amount of work we need to do are limited. 

But we are at our best when room is created for the ideas of those most engaged in particular fights to be shared and listened to. A good example recently has been the clamor from our grassroots for Sierra Club to join in the No Kings events. There are legitimate concerns: overstretched staff didn’t have the capacity; how to let staff and volunteers participate safely; and the lack of designated funding to support a massive outreach effort. But our Executive Team under Executive Director Loren Blackford figured out a way to free our chapters and groups to show up and participate. 

For 134 years we have been a remarkably innovative organization, adapting to changes in society and within our own ranks. Today’s challenges are daunting, but not insurmountable if we are willing to learn, take some well considered risks, and recognize that our greatest strength has always centered on the remarkable, talented people who are dedicated to the mission and the work we do. 

Question 8

Question 8

What role do you feel Sierra Club should play as threats to democracy and vulnerable communities escalate?

Defending democracy is critical to everything the Sierra Club does today. Understanding the context and implications of what is happening in governments and adapting to address those changes has always been essential to advance our work. In the 1980s we decided to engage in electoral activities by endorsing candidates when it became clear this was critical to elect environmentally committed candidates. In the 1990s we began to invest in organizing capacity, making us much more effective. We also listened to BIPOC leaders who were painfully accurate in calling out big environmental groups for failing to address environmental injustices, and we shifted our work and values to begin to try to rectify that glaring deficiency.

Virtually every environmental success we’ve had comes from engaging our members in lobbying, administrative advocacy, litigation and elections. Every one of those tools is threatened as an authoritarian regime has arisen at the federal level. Sierra Club continues to be relevant and effective because our system of government provides for citizens, instead of an oligarchy, to drive decisions that affect us all. Our environmental and conservation work must continue. However, we must defend democracy, elect leaders who will fight for our rights, and block the worst excesses of the Trump regime. Sierra Club has outlasted mediocre and dangerous presidents before. This one is the worst we’ve seen, but we have shown how resilient we are, and how to be effective even in difficult times. 

Question 9

Question 9

The planet is facing climate change and a mass extinction crisis while the Trump administration is attacking clean energy initiatives and land/habitat protections. How can the Sierra Club effectively support clean energy sources and land/habitat protections?

Sierra Club’s unique, grassroots structure gives us more tools to engage in these critical fights than other organizations. Many of the decisions on our energy future and public lands happen at state and local levels. Advocating for strong policies, defending existing laws, seeking enforcement through the courts and electing leaders who will do the hard work of adopting and implementing the policies at state and local levels are all components of our efforts. 

But there is more to it than that. We live in an era of disinformation and misinformation designed to undermine public understanding of the challenges we face and the potential solutions we can implement. Sierra Club uses mainstream media on our key issues and is growing our presence on social media, but in an era of constantly changing communication and engagement forums and tools we need to continually assess our capacity to reach those who need to hear our message. One challenge in an organization as diverse as ours, to steal John Muir’s phrase, is how to hitch everything together. Above I urged that every person who is a Sierra Club leader or staff member play a role in telling the story of what Sierra Club does, and organize by talking with one person then another. Our ability to empower every Sierra Club volunteer and staff member to share accurate information about these issues and how we are working to address them is a big step in the right direction.

Question 10

Question 10

What does a strong and productive relationship between the Board of Directors and the Executive Director look like to you, particularly in terms of fostering trust and accountability?

The Board of Directors and the Executive Director have distinct and interdependent roles, but our organization is at its best when there is a sense of partnership and respect between them, as well as between staff and volunteers at all levels. The Board is the top of the Sierra Club organization, elected to represent the interests of our members by setting policies and carrying out their fiduciary oversight of the whole organization. The Executive Director reports to the Board and is tasked with carrying out the work of the organization by directing and overseeing the work of the staff. A collegial relationship is most desirable, where communication is open and honest. Except for the president, the board members understand that they do not manage the Executive Director, and the board members do not attempt to direct the work of the staff. 

The Board needs to adopt the annual budget, develop strategic plans, and monitor the financial status and the scope of work regularly through the year. Drafting and adjusting the budget is ideally a collaborative process among the Board, advisory entities, the Executive Director and key staff, with input from chapters, the unions and others including the Sierra Club Foundation. Evaluating the success or challenges of the Executive Director at least annually ensures accountability. The board of directors has not always carried out these responsibilities well. We must learn from those mistakes and correct them going forward if Sierra Club is to be as effective as we need to be.