By Connie Schmidt
How are you doing? Well, I am very grateful that I love my job. I currently work for Sierra Club National in the Office of Chapter Support. It is a great opportunity to influence change, to support Chapter capacities, and to advocate for equitable resources for local entities. Since COVID and the changes in the way we work, I genuinely miss all my colleagues and Sierra Club friends, but like the rest of the world, we are learning to utilize technology and continue to be very engaged. The most rewarding part of my job is being able to amplify local voices and success stories. It feels rewarding to tell the stories of Chapter strengths and grassroots power. Helping to shift to more authentically centered local power building through resource allocation and decision making is definitely rewarding.
How did you first engage with SC? I have always cared about nature and the environment, and wanted to make a difference. As a grammar school student, I remember organizing friends to talk to the principal about the frog pond at our school. Fast forward to 2008, I was in Springfield for Lobby Day with another organization. I was partnered with Linda Sullivan from the RPG and I was super impressed with how organized the Sierra Club folks were and their process. It was powerful to see that the elected officials actually wanted to talk with SC volunteers, and I could see the political muscle that SC was garnering. I knew that this was a way to make a difference and to have my voice heard.
Tell me about your journey as you became more involved. Following Lobby Day, I went to a new members meeting. Linda was there, and she had me stand up to thank me for getting involved. Everyone was very welcoming. Lonnie Morris talked about the Cool Cities program where sustainable practices and greenhouse gas reduction was advocated for in communities. I was excited to talk about how we could address climate change in my own village. I eventually ended up on the Environmental Concerned Commission trying to make a difference from within the city of Downers Grove. In addition, Linda invited me to lobby in-district, and she quickly recruited me to work as a leader with the RPG political program. I began to realize that I was becoming an organizer, without ever planning to enter that role.
I was doing a lot of volunteer work, and I remembered advice I had been given that the key to happiness is to do what you love for work. I decided to take my passion for environmental advocacy into a profession and knew I needed some credentials to be hired in this field. So, with the encouragement of dear friends and a lot of hard work, I got my master’s degree in public policy at Northwestern. I’m grateful and so very happy to be now living my dream, working in the spaces I feel are so important for creating the future we all want.
What are you doing now? I’m a Senior Coordinator with the Office of Chapter Support, and that feels like a perfect fit for me. Because I came up as a group volunteer and a chapter employee, I know how very important the work is at the chapter level. I love raising concerns for chapters and speaking on their behalf at the national level.
I am also a Sierra Club National Unit representative for the Progressive Workers Union. This role also gives me an opportunity to support the working conditions and benefits for our staff and colleagues in grassroots environmental advocacy. It feels as though we are in a moment of transformation within the organization, our country, and the world. There is uncertainty, it is uncomfortable, but it is great to be part of the solution.
We will miss Stacey at out Ex-Com meetings but we are oh so glad she is a champion voice for Groups and Chapters with National. Thank you, Stacey!
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