Chapter Staff:
Chapter Director: Robyn Skuya-Boss
Sierra Club’s Hoosier Chapter Director, Robyn Skuya-Boss (he/they), has been a longtime advocate for the role of nonprofit and issue-based organizations in civic life. After earning two degrees at Iowa State University in Political Science and International Studies, Robyn began building their professional career as an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, starting in Washington DC as a Federal Legislative Intern with the Human Rights Campaign and at One Iowa, a non-profit where they campaigned for marriage equality in their home state of Iowa.
Robyn relocated to Indiana in 2013 when their husband, Dr. Jacob Boss was accepted into Indiana University’s graduate program in Religious Studies. Robyn quickly fell in love with Brown County and Yellowwood. Robyn can also be found walking Bloomington trails to spot wildlife with a particular interest in encountering chipmunks which are a favorite.
Shortly after moving to Indiana, Robyn joined Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. In the decade since, they’ve led and supported campaigns that successfully called on Indiana’s investor-owned utilities to retire aging fossil fuel power plants and to invest in renewable energy resources.
Throughout their career Robyn has developed a breadth and depth of professional skills in non-profit management including fundraising, volunteer engagement, strategic planning, administration, grassroots lobbying, and communications. They are firmly committed to building collaborative communities because “we’re all in this together, and it takes a strong connected community to be good stewards of our human-built and natural worlds.”
Chapter Coordinator: Rebecca Dien-Johns
Rebecca Dien-Johns grew up in north Wales and lived in London, UK, before moving to Indianapolis in late 2016. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for over fifteen years. Growing up, her politically-active family were involved with various environmental campaigns, and she has remained passionate about the environment since childhood. She is especially interested in environmental and social justice, and making sure our outdoors is protected and accessible to all. She is a musician, and a mother of one child (and four cats- Catl Sagan, Suffragette Kitty, Cow Tux, and Floof Bader Ginsburg). Rebecca is also an active member of her community on the near eastside of Indianapolis.
Follow Rebecca on Twitter.
National staff:
Field Organizer: Megan Anderson
Megan is from Bloomington, IN where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs- Nonprofit Management from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Bloomington. Megan volunteered with the Sierra Club’s IU Beyond Coal Campus Campaign during her time in college. Megan organizes primarily in Muncie, Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Indianapolis with local leaders of the Beyond Coal Campaign. Megan also engages individuals, organizations, and community leaders in supporting state and federal initiatives regarding clean air and water policies, renewable energy, energy efficiency and the environment. You can contact her on 317-222-1146 or megan.anderson@sierraclub.org
Deputy Regional Field Director: Amanda Shepherd
Amanda took up the role of Deputy Regional Field Director for Sierra Club’s Central Region, covering the states of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin, in July 2023. Prior to this role, she was the Hoosier Chapter Director since April of 2021. She has a B.S. and M.S. in Geology. After teaching in public schools for several years, she moved into the corporate sector but then trained with the Climate Reality Project in 2012 and committed her life to addressing the growing environmental crisis. She served as an organizer for Sustainable Indiana 2016, a volunteer for Earth Charter Indiana, and then was hired by the Hoosier Environmental Council, where she served for almost 7 years. She and her husband Scott have three daughters: Adara, Hannah, and Cora. A lifelong Hoosier, Amanda is committed to bettering her home state through education, advocacy, and activism and through work that better addresses the interconnected social and environmental justice struggles faced by so many.
Hoosier Chapter Executive Committee:
Chair: Joab Schultheis, Evansville
Joab is a lifelong Hoosier and lives near Evansville. He started volunteering as a climate advocate for Sierra Club in late 2020. He’s actively involved with Ohio River Valley Beyond Coal and chairs the Hoosier Chapter’s Energy Committee.
Joab enjoys hiking, visiting national parks, and spending time outdoors.
He’s aware of the critical role renewable energy and energy storage have in the clean energy transition. He knows habitat preservation and climate resilience are crucial to mitigating the worst impacts of climate change. He understands that for all of this challenging work to be successful it must be done equitably.
Joab retired after a career in information technology. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Wabash College, and his M.P.A. from Indiana University. He attended the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training in 2021.
Treasurer (non-voting member): Mary Beth Wert, Columbus
Mary Beth is the long-time treasurer for Hoosier Chapter and Winding Waters Group (since 2006). She lives in Columbus and is retired from Cummins where she was an accountant and Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Mary Beth is active on national Sierra Club committees including CTAST (chapter treasurer assistance support team) and the NetSuite implementation. Mary Beth enjoys the outdoors, especially hiking and snowshoeing.
At-Large Members:
Michelle Carr, Columbus
Michelle is a lifelong resident of Columbus, Indiana, who has loved being outdoors and hiking since a young age. Her love of nature grew into a need to protect it. Due to some life changes in 2014, Michelle was able to begin doing just that. She worked as a social media warrior until discovering the Climate Reality Project. In 2016, she became a Climate Reality Leader. Michelle also joined and began working with her local Sierra Club. In 2017, she was invited to join the Sierra Club Winding Waters Group’s EXCOM. This year (2018), Michelle became the group’s delegate for the Hoosier Chapter’s EXCOM.
Mark Nowotarski, Jasper
After retiring Mark moved back to Jasper, Indiana in 2020 for its’ beautiful rolling landscape of forests and farms, rural small towns, outdoor adventure opportunities, and overall quality of life. He is an avid cyclist and enjoys hiking. In addition to the Sierra Club, Mark is an active supporter of the Southwest Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life, a leader with the grassroots group, the Coalition Against the Mid-States Corridor, member of the Indiana Forest Alliance, and the Hoosier Environmental Council. Mark has been a member of the Congress for New Urbanism which has a strong focus on urban planning that addresses climate issues and works with the Freeway Fighters group advocating against destructive new terrain highways that will harm the environment. Mark is currently working on plans to educate Dubois County about our current climate issues and needed mitigation efforts.
Mark lives in Jasper with his wife Carol. His son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren also reside in Jasper.
Shannon Anderson, Indianapolis
Shannon Anderson is the Assistant Director for Earth Charter Indiana and formerly Communications Director for Sustainable Indiana 2016, an Indiana Bicentennial Legacy Project. Her academic background is in cell biology. Due to the urgency of climate change, she started working on political and issue-based campaigns in NYC and developed a passion for organizing. She moved to Indiana in 2013 and immediately became active in the Indiana environmental community and Repower Indiana. She gets to wake up every day and do what matters most: working with young people and the young-at-heart to protect our world. She joined the Hoosier Chapter Executive Committee in 2018 because being a part of collaborations in Indiana that advocate for a sustainable future is an honor and responsibility.
Delegates to the Executive Committee:
Heartlands Group representative: Jesse Kirkham, Danville
Winding Waters Group representative: Michelle Carr, Columbus
Chapter Committee Chairs
Conservation Committee Chair: Julie Lowe
Energy Committee Chair: Joab Schultheis
Legislative Committee Chair: Shannon Anderson
Political Committee Chair: Neil Goswami
Outings Chair: Mary Reardon
Finance Committee Chair: Mary Beth Wert
Development Committee Chairs: Joab Schultheis and Rossi Wingler
Communications Committee Chair: Michelle Carr
Group and Network chairs
Heartlands (central Indiana): Jesse Kirkham
Southwest Indiana network: Niles Rosenquist
Winding Waters (Columbus area): Julie Lowe
Uplands network (Bloomington area): Marilyn Bauchat