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 believe deeply that Sierra Club’s greatest strength—and its path to winning in this moment—lies in empowered, respected, and inclusive grassroots leadership. That belief was shaped over more than two decades as a Sierra Club volunteer leader and reinforced during my first term on the Board and while helping lead the campaign to protect the Great Lakes from the Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, one of the largest environmental campaigns in modern Michigan history

During my term, I focused on strengthening volunteer governance and rebuilding trust between the board, staff, and grassroots leaders. As chair of the Volunteer Leadership & Activism Committee, I worked with fellow directors and other volunteers to embed the authority of chapters and grassroots leaders in Sierra Club’s bylaws because I believe Sierra Club’s power flows upward from the base of our movement. 

This term also coincided with a management crisis that tested the organization. The board emerged more unified, more disciplined, and energized to govern. That experience underscored the importance of steady, experienced leadership, especially as environmental protections face renewed political threats from the Trump administration. 

I am seeking to continue serving because Sierra Club needs consistent leadership that understands movement-building and governance, and because I remain committed to strengthening the volunteer-powered democracy that makes our victories possible.

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?

I bring a strong combination of nonprofit financial oversight, governance experience, independence and a deep commitment to transparency that prepares me to help the Sierra Club remain fiscally sound for the long term.

Professionally, I have worked in nonprofit management as an executive director with two organizations where financial stability depended on disciplined budgeting, clear reporting, and trust between boards, staff, and stakeholders. As a Sierra Club board member, I have engaged directly with budgets, audits, and financial planning. I understand that fiscal health is not simply about balancing numbers, but about aligning resources with mission, strategy, and values.

During my first term, Sierra Club experienced a management crisis that required the board to strengthen oversight. That period demanded improved transparency and a willingness to ask hard questions. I helped lead efforts to ensure directors received timely, accurate, and complete information and advice necessary to fulfill our fiduciary responsibilities while maintaining a collaborative relationship with staff. I also believe strongly that transparency builds trust. Clear, honest, communication about financial realities helps volunteers understand constraints, make informed choices, and remain engaged rather than alienated. I am committed to careful stewardship of Sierra Club’s resources, rigorous oversight, and a culture of openness that supports sound financial decision-making for years to come.

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?

Chapters cannot plan responsibly with delayed or incomplete financial information. As a board member, I see timely, reliable financial data as a core governance obligation, not a courtesy.  We are a large organization with 63 chapters, hundreds of groups, robust national campaigns and department profiles—all with budgets. Our financial team—staff and board treasurer–work to ensure timeliness and transparency. As a board member I would focus on four priority areas:

First, I support clear standards and timelines for delivering national financial data to chapters, including regular reporting schedules that chapters can rely on for budgeting, hiring, and program planning. The board should expect—and monitor—on-time delivery of chapter-relevant financial information in the same way it monitors national fiscal performance.

Second, I will continue advocating for transparency and usability of financial data. Chapters need information that is timely, accurate, and presented in a form that supports real decisions. That includes early warnings about potential national shortfalls rather than last-minute directives. 

Third, I would prioritize ensuring that risk is not pushed downward. Protecting chapter solvency means resisting policies that require chapters to backstop national budgets. When national financial adjustments are necessary, they should be planned, communicated early, and shared equitably.

Finally, we should strengthen ongoing structures that include chapter leaders in financial conversations before decisions are finalized. Chapters are not just implementers; they are stewards of Sierra Club’s mission in their states. Giving them timely data, real voice, and predictable processes is essential to maintaining trust, stability, and long-term financial health across the organization.

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?

More diverse staff and volunteers is possible when equity is embedded in how Sierra Club operates day to day, not treated as a separate initiative. People stay when they feel respected, supported, and able to exercise real agency.  

Recruiting volunteers from underrepresented groups also means using practical tools to make room for new leaders.  With board authorization, the Washington State chapter appointed–rather than elected–some executive committee members, using criteria to increase diversity.  As chair of the Volunteer Leadership & Activism Committee, I am leading a process to examine whether Washington State’s model should be expanded as an option for other chapters.  As Michigan chapter chair, I proposed a new rule that allows longtime ExCom volunteer leaders to be eligible as emeritus members with real agency. This created openings for new leaders while retaining high-value, experienced volunteers.  

Equity requires real power-sharing. Volunteers and staff from underrepresented groups are more likely to stay when they can shape priorities rather than simply implement decisions made elsewhere.  Culture also matters. Retention depends on an internal culture that values transparency, constructive disagreement, and learning from mistakes. People from underrepresented groups should not bear the burden of “fixing” the organization. Equity work must be shared, resourced, and supported by leadership at every level.

By aligning recruitment, governance, and culture with our equity values, Sierra Club can build a stronger, more inclusive movement capable of sustained impact.

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?

First, stable and effective management is foundational to attracting funding and managing expenses. That was a priority when the board appointed Loren Blackford as executive director in 2025. Loren brings deep Sierra Club background and leadership experience to her role as executive director. Consistent leadership that is held accountable improves forecasting, internal controls, and follow-through, all of which are essential to financial discipline. The board must support management with guidance and clear expectations–all essential to the board’s fiduciary responsibilities. Three other points guide my approach to the board’s fiduciary responsibility:

  • The board should insist on realistic multi-year financial planning that matches program ambitions with sustainable revenue. Annual budgets alone are insufficient. Regular review of multi-year projections, staffing scenarios, and risk assessments allows emerging gaps to be addressed early.  
  • Financial information must surface timely and clearly.  One important step is ensuring that the board’s financial and risk management committee is empowered with financial information and provides solid recommendations for solutions as financial problems emerge.
  • Finally, the board must treat fiscal discipline as a core governance responsibility, not solely a management function. With stable management, creative and effective revenue-generating activities, disciplined oversight, and transparent decision-making, Sierra Club can have lasting financial stability.

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?

This is extremely challenging work given the powerful big agriculture forces that support the current system and the deregulatory agenda of the Trump administration. The opportunity is positioning food and agriculture as central to climate and water protection work. This sector drives methane and nitrous oxide emissions while poisoning waterways with nutrient pollution, yet remains dangerously under-regulated.

The current system is broken. Federal subsidies prop up industrial monocrops and factory farms that devastate rural communities and sicken farmworkers. Meanwhile, we export millions of tons of grain to China's industrial animal operations, outsourcing emissions without accountability. This isn't just environmental destruction. It’s an environmental justice crisis. Manure pollution, toxic air, and contaminated wells disproportionately harm rural, low-income communities and communities of color.

There are three interconnected strategies. First, enforce existing law: demand Clean Water Act permitting for large CAFOs, oppose reckless expansion, and support moratoria where watersheds are already impaired. Second, redirect subsidies from industrial operations toward local food systems that integrate animals properly. This is essential for soil restoration and sustainable production. Third, drive systems change through institutional procurement campaigns and public education that shifts markets at scale, not individual guilt.

Climate, water, environmental justice, and democracy work must integrate, with chapters and grassroots leaders—those closest to affected communities—empowered to lead.

The payoff is measurable emissions reductions, protected waterways, advanced equity, and accountability for one of America's most destructive and politically protected industries.

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?

Sierra Club is making progress on a fundamental challenge of how to ensure volunteer voices shape resource decisions before budgets are set and priorities locked in. This requires solutions that draw on our history of volunteer-led governance. 

A priority for me in 2026 is ensuring that, as national policies continue to shape the governance and finances of local chapters, we strengthen those policies in ways that empower chapters to directly influence the national decisions that affect them. In 2025, both the board and senior management recognized the urgency of correcting this course. Leadership on the staff side acknowledged that durable, effective strategies depend on engaging volunteers earlier and more systematically, and committed to rebuilding those pathways in partnership with volunteers. Through the Volunteer Leadership & Activism Committee, which I chair, we secured a critical commitment and the Executive Director and Board of Directors established a joint staff-volunteer Working Group to develop a National Volunteer Leadership Plan.

This effort reflects a shared understanding between management and volunteer leaders that restoring volunteers’ rightful role in shaping campaigns, programs, and departments strengthens the organization as a whole—because these decisions inevitably drive budgets, staffing, and priorities. We know that volunteers with ground-level and high-level expertise can meaningfully inform management decisions and influence funding allocations without intruding into inappropriate operational roles.

Question 8

Question 8

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

Sierra Club understands that environmental protection fails when democracy fails. Communities stripped of voting rights cannot stop toxic dumps or protect public lands. Scientists silenced cannot document climate impacts. Courts captured by extremists and corporations will not enforce clean water laws.

This understanding drives Sierra Club’s work. The 2026 midterms represent another critical opportunity to strengthen democratic institutions while advancing environmental protection.

Sierra Club has consistently turned environmental campaigns into durable community power. Our work builds engaged citizens. Our coalitions strengthen civic networks. Our chapter actions create informed advocates who understand how democracy and environment intersect. The communities we’ve helped defend their water have become organized forces demanding accountability.

A joint staff-volunteer national leadership team focused on democracy and movement building reflects this proven approach. Chapters have always been our strength—knowing their communities’ needs, identifying civic leaders who share our values, and understanding which issues mobilize neighbors. National can provide coordination, financial resources, expertise, training, and legal guidance to support local leaders in building grassroots power.

Coalition work is our civic infrastructure. Sierra Club’s partnerships with good-government groups, community organizations, and environmental justice advocates have built networks that expand democratic participation. We have paired public education with community organizing, legal advocacy with civic engagement.

This is Sierra Club’s legacy and continuing mission. By treating democratic participation and environmental protection as inseparable, by empowering our grassroots base, and by building coalitions that convert concern into civic action, we help communities reclaim their power while protecting democratic institutions and the planet.

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?

The Trump administration's assault on climate, clean energy, public lands, wilderness areas and environmental law isn't just policy—it's an attack on communities' ability to protect themselves and the planet. Sierra Club must meet this threat with strategic precision. 

Clean energy's momentum defies partisan narratives. Texas generates more wind power than the next three states combined. California dominates solar production. Hostile federal policies can't stop states but it can slow these efforts. Against that backdrop, we're fighting on every available front. Our legal teams are flooding courts with challenges to rollbacks. Our policy experts are pursuing every regulatory opening. But litigation alone won't save us. Real power lies in states and communities.

Sierra Club chapters are channeling state momentum, advancing renewable standards and utility accountability while exposing "false solutions" that perpetuate fossil dependency. Land and water protection demands different tactics. Indigenous sovereignty isn't a talking point—it's the foundation. In Michigan, a coalition I help coordinate fights to decommission a 72-year-old oil pipeline threatening the Great Lakes, understanding that frontline communities must lead, not follow.

These aren't separate fights. The administration dismantling clean energy incentives is the same one opening protected lands to drilling and silencing climate scientists. Our climate campaigns and public lands work reinforce each other, protecting forests that sequester carbon while fighting the fossil fuel extraction that would destroy them. We build state-level power not just to advance renewable energy, but to defend parks and waterways. This integrated approach is Sierra Club's strength.

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?

At a fundamental level, the relationship between the Board and the Executive Director is straightforward: mutual trust and clear roles. When that alignment holds, Sierra Club functions effectively. When it breaks down, energy is diverted into internal conflict instead of protecting the planet.

Loren Blackford’s unanimous selection as Executive Director demonstrated how this relationship should work. The Board identified what the organization needed, selected the most qualified leader, and moved forward together. No maneuvering, no factions. Just a decisive, collective choice.

The framework is simple. The Board sets strategic direction, establishes policy, oversees finances, and—critically—maintains an authentic connection to Sierra Club’s volunteer-led, distributed governance system. The Executive Director leads the organization, manages operations, and directs staff. At Sierra Club, this division is more complex than in most nonprofits because our grassroots democratic structure includes authority delegated by the Board to chapters.

That structure gives the Board a distinct responsibility to chapters that the Executive Director cannot carry alone. When chapters feel disconnected from national decisions, the Board sometimes must step forward. Not to undercut the Executive Director, but to ensure the organization’s democratic design actually works.

Trust grows from candor and role clarity. The Executive Director shares real information about finances and challenges. The Board asks hard questions, offers guidance, and remains accountable for decisions.

A strong Board–Executive Director relationship requires steady effort, honest communication, and leaders who remember that the relationship exists to serve the mission—not individual power or position.

David Holtz

David Holtz
Residence
Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan
Nominating committee candidate
Member Since
2000
Occupation
Retired U.S. Congress Staff
Sierra Club Leadership Positions

Sierra Club Board of Directors (current)

Chair Board Volunteer Leadership and Activism Committee (current), Chair Council of Club Leaders (2018-2020), Chair Michigan Chapter Executive Committee (2014-2018), Executive Director Progress Michigan (2010-2013), Michigan Director Clean Water Action (2003-2009)

Email
david@davidholtz.org
Statement

Twenty years ago in Detroit, I learned what makes Sierra Club unstoppable: ordinary people confronting extraordinary power. That lesson shaped my candidacy for the Board of Directors and guides me today, including my work helping coordinate a broad coalition to protect the Great Lakes from a 72-year-old oil pipeline. 

Since being elected, I have focused on strengthening volunteer leadership and grassroots democracy because that is how Sierra Club wins. I chair the board’s Volunteer Leadership & Activism Committee, have never missed a board meeting, and helped reinvigorate national volunteer leadership when engagement and trust were badly needed. I worked with fellow directors, management and volunteers to put chapter authority into Sierra Club’s bylaws, reinforcing the principle that power should flow upward from the Grassroots. 

These efforts matter because a strong, inclusive, and respected volunteer corps is essential to advancing climate justice, democracy, protectingcommunities, and winning lasting change. This board term was challenging. Sierra Club faced a management crisis that tested our governance, values, and unity. It is gratifying that weemerged stronger, more cohesive, and better positioned to lead. That experience underscores how critical steady, experienced, collaborative leadership becomes when environmental protection and democracy face unprecedented threats.

As climate impacts accelerate and political headwinds intensify, Sierra Club needs proven leadership that understands movement-building and governance. I bring a collaboration record and unwavering belief in grassroots people power. It would be an honor to continue serving and strengthening Sierra Club together. I respectfully ask for your vote.

 

Endorsements

Lone Star Chapter; Michigan Chapter; President Patrick Murphy; Former Sierra Club President Allison Chin; Vice President Erica Hall; Treasurer Cheyenne Skye Branscum; Current Directors Nathan Chan, Clayton Daughenbaugh, Scott Elkins, Rita Harris, Cynthia Hoyle, Dave Karpf, Karl Palmquist, Meghan Sahli-Wells, Igor Tregub; Council of Club Leaders Chair Joe Testa; Grassroots Network Coordinator Doug Fetterly; Chapter Chairs Representative Anne Woiwode; Alabama Chapter Chair Nancy Muse; Illinois Chapter Chair Diane Stark; Sierra Club California Chair Mary Ann Ruiz; Wisconsin Chapter Chair Don Ferber; Bill Arthur; Dick Fiddler, Washington State Chapter Executive Committee; Cecilia Garcia-Linz, Michigan Chapter Volunteer Outings Co-Chair; former President Progressive Workers Union; Sarah Reeves, Kentucky Chapter Grassroots Program Coordinator; Bob Bingaman, Former National Organizing Director.