The Sierra Club and the San Francisco Bay Chapter lost a true champion of democracy with the passing of Peggy da Silva.
Peggy, a San Francisco resident and avid biker, was a longtime advocate for environmentalism and social justice. She served on the SF Bay Chapter Nominating and Elections Committee (NomCom) from 2019-2022, serving as the Chair for three years. More recently, Peggy guided the NomCom task force and was appointed to the national BSRE (Bylaws, Standing Rules, and Elections) committee in 2024. To every meeting and challenge, Peggy brought focus, courage, and a commitment to transparency and engagement.
Peggy was a fantastic advocate for the Sierra Club, a leader of incredible integrity and optimism, and she will be greatly missed.
Below are some memorial statements from those who knew Peggy, worked with her, and loved her. And, to hear from Peggy in her own words, see her article from 2022: Celebrate Participation
You can read her full obituary here.
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I will remember all the good things and happier moments that I shared with Peggy.
May she rest in environmental power.
- Kim-Shree Maufas
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Although I haven’t worked with her for a while, I always envisioned Peggy continuing to passionately fight the good fight. Her energy was the driving force of NomCom, and I remember the weekends meeting, planning, and counting ballots with Peggy and you all fondly.
Rest in power, Peggy, you will be missed.
- Tiffany Ngo
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Peggy was (and continues to be) a source of great inspiration for me about what a life-long commitment to environmental activism looks like. Her energy, discerning attention, and passion were so vital and motivating to me and to so many others she worked with.
- Lucy Clare Curran
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Peggy was such a crusader for nature, protecting our environment, and she walked the walked. She stood up for transparency and equity in that fight for putting our planet as #1. She was also just a warm, solid human being. She genuinely cared about me and my life with my son and I felt supported by her even over a zoom screen before we met in person.
- Pamela Green
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I know Peggy from her work leading the Nominations and Elections Committees for a number of years. We sometimes do the minimum work to set up Chapter elections, but Peggy went above and beyond in proactive promotion of elections, including something that I hadn't seen before or since - candidate forums. She really elevated Chapter and Group elections and worked to identify and bring forward potential leaders so that we could have a good number of candidates to choose from. She set a high bar for those who followed.
- Nick Pilch
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Peggy was a clear and persuasive voice on SF chapter transport committee matters and, although we did not always agree, I was never in doubt as to where she stood or the depth of her concern for city improvement.
- Eugene Gregor
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Peggy was a kind leader who listened graciously to all who participated in the Sierra Club, regardless of ideology, and was a true believer that we all share common goals of improving our cities and planet despite our differences. She “walked the walk” by doing errands by bike even when they involved large boxes of Sierra Club material, and she was a friendly face to all. I won’t forget Peggy inviting me to several personal events after meeting at a tabling opportunity and personally inviting my family over to tour her neighborhood and chat house hunting when my parents first moved to San Francisco. Peggy, and her decades of Sierra Club dedication and know-how, are greatly missed!
- Sarah Boudreau
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