Bryan Shiles, Executive Committee Member

Bryan Shiles is a founding partner of WRNS Studio, an architecture firm established in 2005. With offices in San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu, and New York, WRNS Studio is known for its commitment to healthy, regenerative, and resilient architecture that sets new industry standards for environmental sustainability. Bryan’s portfolio includes new campuses for Adobe and Intuit, student life facilities at Princeton University and Cal Maritime Academy, and various mixed-use life science developments throughout the Bay Area. Under Bryan’s leadership, WRNS Studio has been recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies (2020, 2024) and has twice been named the top architecture firm in the U.S. by Architect magazine. A dedicated educator, Bryan has taught at The Ohio State Univerity, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, California College of the Arts, and Northeastern University.

Bryan attended art school at the University of a Georgia and architecture school at the University of Tennessee and Harvard University. Bryan lives in San Anselmo with his Wife Sarah Willmer and their son Nick cooks in New York City.

Holli Thier, Executive Committee Member, Group Chair

Jennifer Silva, Executive Committee Member, SF Bay Representative

Jennifer is a retired entrepreneur and CEO. She ran Sheet Music Plus, a sheet music ecommerce site, for 10 years. She now spends her energy advocating for sustainability, transit, affordable housing and funding for education. She is the Board Chair for the Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative, a non-profit that advocates for affordable, enviornmentally sustainable housing in Marin. She serves on the Sausalito Pedestrian and Bike Committee. She is also on the boards for Kids Cooking for Life and Teaching Lab. She enjoys hiking, biking, and skiing, and serves as an Outings Leader for the Sierra Club. 

Nate McKitterick, Executive Committee Member, Group Vice Chair

Nate McKitterick has lived in the Bay Area for over 35 years, after graduating from UW-Madison (the mountains were calling).  He has served his communities as a Planning Commissioner for 12 years, church Elder, youth cycling coach, and pro bono attorney for working-class homeowners threatened with loss of their homes.  He is a hiker, cyclist, canyoneer, and rock climber, with occasional backpacking, packrafting, skiing,and mountaineering when time permits.  Nate is also a member of the Access Fund and the Marin Conservation League.  He lives in San Anselmo with his Vermonter wife (who taught him the wonders of the sheer vertical wilderness); they have a son in college and a daughter at Archie Williams.  Nate tries to inspire others to explore, enjoy, and protect our natural environment, and has actively advocated for public policies consistent with that mission.

Jack Noble, Executive Committee Member

Matt Rossiter, Executive Committee Member

Sam Ruben, Executive Committee PolCom Representative

Originally from Ann Arbor, MI, but having been in the Bay Area almost 2 decades (including almost 10 years in Marin County), Sam Ruben is multi-time startup founder who brings a deep passion for sustainability (i.e. resilience & regeneration) and an innovation focus to everything he does. This passion is paired with a deep understanding of the public, civil society, and private sectors honed through professional experience and his learning as a graduate of the Presidio Graduate School with a Dual MBA/MPA in Sustainable Management to complement his BA in Political Science/Economics from Vassar College. Along with being a leader in the ClimateTech space as a Co-Founder of Mighty Buildings, HyWatts, and BuildTech.VC Sam is also a leader in development of Embodied Carbon Policy. This includes AB 2446 & AB 43 here in California (which passed in 2022 & 2023 respectively), as well as ongoing work with the World Economic Forum to develop model embodied carbon policies for cities around the globe. Other roles that he holds are as Board Chair of MarinCAN, a member of Build It Green's Housing System Innovators Network Steering Committee & Innovation Fund Selection Committee, and a former member of the Sausalito Sustainability Commission.

Thomas Tunny, Executive Committee Member

As a land use attorney, Tom has devoted his professional career to urban planning, with the belief that well-planned communities are the key to our planet’s long-term global and local health.  One of the foundations of the Sierra Club’s mission is “[t]o educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.”  Tom’s other community involvement and work includes being a member and past Chair of the San Anselmo Planning Commission; Board Member, San Rafael Canal Alliance; member, Urban Land Institute; member San Francisco Planning and Urban Research; former aide to U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo for environmental issues; and former canvasser and political organizer, California League of Conservation Voters.  Tom loves spending time outdoors in the mountains, at the sea, and everywhere in between.