Northwest River Valleys ExCom Elections 2025

Steve Vaughan has been a Sierra Club member since 2003, and for most of that time he has been the treasurer for the club’s Northwest River Valleys Group. Although originally from Texas, Steve has been an Illinois resident since 1985.  He worked in private industry for 25 years, and spent the last 13 years of his professional life as a high school government and economics teacher in Rockford.  Retired since 2024, Steve loves to spend his retirement free time hiking (or skiing) the trails and paddling the rivers of beautiful northern Illinois.  Steve’s motto:  “Get outside and do something!”

Candy Colby has had a lifelong love of nature and animals. She first got engaged in environmental activism when she was living in Northern California and volunteered on a campaign to ban the sport hunting of mountain lions and set aside habitat for them. The campaign won! She has lived in Freeport for the past decade, and has been engaged in environmental efforts locally. She's engaged with the Environmental Study Group that does local environmental education and advocacy. She has also been involved in the Northwest Illinois Bird and Nature Alliance. She has helped organize numerous local events and speakers, and has collaborated with statewide organizations like the Citizens Utility Board, and Illinois Sierra Club. She is active on the Illinois Sierra Club Statewide Clean Power Team, and welcomes the opportunity to join the Group Executive Committee to continue her engagement with Sierra Club.

I’m interested in continuing to serve on the Northwest River Valleys Executive Committee to help provide a strong voice for our sizable and diverse region. Based in Rockford, I aim to better understand the range of issues affecting our area and work to engage more members in meaningful ways. I believe in building partnerships with organizations that share our values to amplify our impact and foster real change.
While I’m committed to giving my time and energy, I also recognize the importance of sustainability—both personally and in our work. I enjoy hiking and biking with my spouse, tween, and teen, and have spent over 15 years transforming my yard into a pollinator paradise and edible landscape. I’m currently working to establish a food forest in my community, driven by a deep commitment to biodiversity, environmental justice, and resilience. I look forward to continuing this work with the Ex-Com team.

I am an environmentalist with a deep commitment to conservation and advocacy. After retiring eight years ago, I began volunteering with the Blackhawk Group, now known as NW River Valleys. Although we initially struggled to establish an elected Executive Committee, a dedicated group of us worked tirelessly to endorse and lobby Illinois representatives on behalf of Sierra Club Illinois. Through this work, we built strong relationships with local leaders.
For the past five years, I have regularly attended Sierra Club Illinois Executive Committee meetings as an unelected representative of the NWRV Group, and I have served as the Illinois Chapter Treasurer for the last three years. My passion for environmental advocacy is rooted in a lifelong connection to nature, which began when I became a Sierra Club life member in 1983. I am deeply committed to protecting our planet and continuing this vital work.

I have been a Sierra Club member for many years. I’ve held numerous positions including Chair of the Northwest Cook County Group and Illinois State Chair. Recently I moved to McHenry County where my partner, Mike Gallery, and I are currently working on a restoration project for the Village of Bull Valley. I love the restoration process and we believe that with the Village’s support this will be a beautiful savannah where people and animals both can live.

I have been enjoying retirement but the recent political changes have helped me decide to get back into activism. I am uncomfortable with Trump being able to break any rules he wants. Clean air, clean water and protections for endangered species are important and I want those rules enforced. Please help support Sierra Club and become active again. I am and invite you to join me.

My interest in nature and living systems began as a kid in the 1960s roaming the forest preserves in suburban Chicago. Later, I attended the University of Illinois earning a BS in Microbiology. Although my professional career took a different direction, I maintained an interest in nature and protecting our air and water. I joined the Sierra Club in 2000, believing it was important to support a group that worked to protect our natural and human environment. Now, as the current administration wages an all-out assault on our environment just being a member is not enough. Last year I had the opportunity to participate in interviewing primary candidates for the General Assembly seeking the Illinois Sierra Club’s endorsement. I hope to formalize that advocacy as a member of the Northwest River Valleys Executive Committee. My current interests are in preserving natural areas, pollinators, sustainable agriculture and animal welfare.