Executive Committee

Interested in joining the Executive Committee? Apply now.

About our Wonderful Executive Committee members
 

Charles Schafer - Chapter Chair

Charles Schafer works as a financial executive in a corporate environment, serving as Controller and Chief Financial Officer of several companies after getting an MBA degree from Stanford University. He is also an avid photographer whose primary focus is back-country landscapes. He has been a member of the Sierra Club for roughly 30 years, and for most of that time, has been extremely active in the Peak Climbing Section (having climbed over 200 mountains). His environmental outlook is a result of his love for the back-country and its beauty, and he is more devoted to a positive message (this is what we are saving) rather than the negative.

Charles has served on the ExCom for nine years, serving as Chapter Chair for four of them.  He also currently serves as the Communications Chair and Fundraising Chair. A lot of his focus has been on building better communications within the chapter, and on promoting member engagement and development. He has also worked to help improve the Chapter’s fundraising efforts. 

Susan DesJardin - Vice-Chair

I would like to play a role in helping the Sierra Club meet its objectives to promote enjoyment of our natural resources and to develop and support sustainable practices to ensure the conservation of those resources for future generations. I have lived and worked in the south bay for 20 years and have been a Sierra Club member for 5 years. I have participated in the Sierra Club’s Environmental Stewardship Program for 2 1/2 years, worked with the San Jose Climate Action Leadership Team to assist in adoption of a Community Choice Energy program for the city of San Jose, and I enjoy different Sierra Club hiking groups. I am in my fourteenth year as a high school science teacher at Cupertino High School. I currently teach AP Environmental Science and I am the Environmental Club advisor. I am a chemical engineer with 20 years of experience primarily in the design and operation of air pollution control devices. 

 Mary Buxton - Secretary

For the past year, I have had the opportunity to work with 350 Silicon Valley on California climate legislation and with the Sierra Club in promoting community choice energy in the Bay Area. In the past, I volunteered with GreenBelt Alliance and supported many environmental organizations with donations.  I have spent much of my life out of doors which makes me want to protect and preserve what I love through environmental activism. Onward! Click here to read more about Mary!

Bruce Rienzo - Treasurer

Bruce worked for Olivetti, the Italian computer and typewriter company, for 12 years in New York City, eventually relocating to Cupertino, where he was Senior Manager of the firmware and base software department at their personal computer R&D center.  Bruce joined the Sierra Club in 2002 looking to attend local hikes and make friends, starting a very gradual move into retirement.

After becoming a hike leader and section chair, he began a 10-year stint as Chapter Outing Chair and was elected to the Chapter Executive Committee, wanting to represent the outings community at the Chapter level.  There, he was appointed as Chapter Treasurer and more recently as treasurer of Sierra Club California, both roles that he continues to hold.  He serves as a liaison between the national Finance Department and other Chapter Treasurers in Northern and Central California.  This is his fourth year as Chair of the Loma Prieta Chapter.  

Bruce has an M.A. in Mathematics from the Univ. of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and a B.A. from Rutgers University. 

 Lisa Barboza - At Large Member

Lisa (she/hers) lived in Oregon for several years and was a treeplanter with Hoedads Treeplanting Co-op, planting over 300,000 trees. She also worked as a forest firefighter, and as an organic vegetable and goat farmer, a supplier to many farmer’s markets.

Her education is in Wildlife Biology and Mechanical Engineering. Expertise in photovoltaics led to a career at several aerospace companies designing commercial communications spacecraft. Later, she worked on earth imaging spacecraft, and the GPS constellation. As Director, she ran Mission Assurance for the company with her team of 300 people. Her last assignment focused on the Meerkat radio telescope in South Africa.

She joined the Sierra Club in 1998, has a lifelong love, spiritual relationship with nature, and is a birder, California Native Plant Society member, and a docent with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space District. She has been happily married for 16 years, with 3 grown kids.

As an outings leader, she led most of the climbs to finish, in 10 years,  the Angeles Chapter SPS List of 248 many technical peaks. She served on the Mountaineering Oversight Committee for 4 years. She is an accomplished mountaineer and has climbed thousands of peaks all over the world, including 3 of the seven summits.  She is devoting her life to combatting climate change.  She is currently serving as Outing Chair for the entire Loma Prieta chapter.

Nathan Chan - Secretary

I first joined the Sierra Club in 2015 because climate change had become my number one political issue, and I was evaluating several environmental organizations. I was drawn to the Club because of its connection to John Muir and its history of advocating to protect California’s national parks.

I attended my first outing with the Club as part of the Bay Chapter’s Snowcamping Class in 2016. In 2018, I became an assistant leader for Snowcamping Group 5, and I also helped resuscitate the 20s and 30s outings section for our chapter. We ended up organizing two-weekend backpacking trips, four-day hikes, and two social happy hours.

Outside of the Sierra Club, I work as a data scientist and am interested in applying these professional skills to achieving a reduction in carbon emissions.

 Sue Chow - At Large Member

My passion for the environment is rooted in a deep-seated commitment to wildlife and nature conservation. In addition to conservation work, I am also involved in environmental education, particularly climate change education, and community building.  Recently, my colleagues in the Peninsula Regional Group and I launched a new program for our members--the Environmental Stewardship Program--which combines film screenings/discussions of key environmental issues and participation in environmental advocacy projects.  This program is the first of its kind in our chapter and we are absolutely thrilled that many of our members will be joining this inaugural program.  

My goal as an Ex-Com member will be, first and foremost, to create a vibrant community for our members—one that provides meaningful environmental educational activities, hands-on engagement in environmental projects, and fun social activities that will facilitate the forming of strong social bonds among members.  I fervently believe that in our current fast-paced, highly mobile society most of us need meaningful social networks structured around common values and civic activities that express these values.  Community-building, then, will be my primary focus.   Another one of my goals is to engage more young people in environmental activities.  Having been an educator my entire life, I have seen how important it is to expose young people to environmental issues and activities.  We must devote time to building meaningful communities for our members and to nurturing the next generation of environmental leaders. 

Gladwyn d'Souza - At Large Member

Gladwyn is an environmentalist active on issues related to energy, waste, and water. Gladwyn works with community activists to improve public health by involving stakeholders in building better communities. He is chair of the Conservation Committee of the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club. Gladwyn was a former Planning Commissioner with the City of Belmont. He was past president of Walk San Jose and a member of the boards of Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and Sustainable San Mateo County. In 2004 he built a sustainable house in Belmont, CA that was recognized for its use of recycled material, low energy, and low toxicity design elements. Gladwyn is currently on the policy committee of the San Mateo Food Systems Alliance and the Citizens Advisory Committee of Peninsula Clean Energy. Prior to community building, Gladwyn worked in Silicon Valley for 25 years as an electric engineer. Gladwyn graduated in Physics from UC Berkeley and has a professional certificate from UC Berkeley Extension in Smart Grid Technology. He is a master composter in San Mateo County and commutes by bicycle.

Michael Eldredge - At Large Member

Michael is a Senior Director at Oracle Corporation. He has worked at a number of Silicon Valley start-ups and research labs and as a partner in a management consulting firm. His work has spanned integrated circuit modeling, super computer computational fluid dynamics, pricing optimization, networking research, cloud computing, and music technology services. He has a Masters and a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and Computer Systems from Stanford University.

Michael serves on the Environmental Volunteers Board of Directors and is a member of their Finance Committee. He is a former non-profit board and finance committee member at Wildlife Rescue Palo Alto (now part of the Humane Society) and served on the regional board of Little Kids Rock. He has done fieldwork with BioBrothers and Science Sisters Nature Camp. Michael has consulted and presented on adopting appropriate business management principles in non-profits.

Shani Kleinhaus - At Large Member

Shani Kleinhaus is a passionate ecologist with a strong record of achieving  significant impact in planning and advocacy in corporate, academic, and not-for profit settings. Deep expertise in developing sustainable solutions that regenerate  ecological health in urban and natural settings. Skilled at negotiations and  collaborations and capable of succeeding in fast-changing and complex situations.  With focus on conservation and on the integration of nature into people’s  aspirations for growth, able to create positive, inspiring and innovative  environments. Shani has previously served on ExCom and the Chapter welcomes  her knowledge of species protection.

 Ed Larenas - At Large Member

Ed Larenas is currently a member of the San Mateo Harbor District Board of Commissioners. He is a biologist and coastal advocate. He is a lifelong resident of  San Mateo County and a lifelong visitor to Pillar Point Harbor. He has been the  voice for the environment, for respecting climate change and marine science on  the Harbor District Board. His priorities have been to improve the water quality of  both Harbors and continue improvements of both the Coastal and Bay Trails, to  protect the Princeton Shoreline and Surfers Beach and to ensure that Oyster Point  Development Projects take sea level rise into account and protect environmental  quality and public access.

Mike Ferreira - Peninsula Regional Group

Following a 25 year Silicon Valley career Mike has held a number of public positions the most satisfying of which was, in his estimation, the role of planning commissioner - serving two years as the chair. He was a volunteer for several years with one of the Sierra Club's national campaigns before becoming engaged with the Loma Prieta Chapter's Coastal Issues Committee, then with the LP Chapter's Conservation Committee, LP Chapter Executive Committee, the California/Nevada Regional Conservation Committee (CNRCC), the Peninsula Regional Group (PRG), and the 3-Chapter Working Group (representing the Loma Prieta, San Francisco Bay and Redwood chapters to regional governmental agencies such as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG).

Mike is fond of saying "If you're suffering from a feeling of being unfulfilled, give us a call. We have surefire cures for that."

Gary Latshaw - Guadalupe Regional Group

I first joined the Sierra Club in the ’60s, but have only become an activist since retiring in 2008. I am currently the Chair of the Guadalupe Regional Group of the Chapter and perform other duties in the Club. As a physicist, my main concern has been combating man-made climate change, but I am learning about the multiple assaults our modern society is making upon nature. I am learning the full meaning of the Club motto “Explore, Enjoy, and Protect the Planet.” While I primarily devote time to political and policy matters, I am an active jogger and hiker. My wife and I have two children and they have recently expanded our family with three grandchildren. I feel compelled to make the plant as livable for them as it has been for me. I currently serve on Cupertino’s Sustainability Commission.