Executive Committee

Krista DavidsonExecutive Committee Member

Krista is a second-generation San Diegan and grew up hiking and camping throughout California, which sparked a lifelong appreciation for the environment and drive to protect it for future generations. She studied Environmental Studies with a Law & Public Policy focus at the University of Southern California and interned with the Sierra Club’s Responsible Trade division in Washington D.C. While in school, she was a founding member of the school’s Campus Climate Challenge and worked with the University’s leadership to replace their fleet with hybrid vehicles and author its Baseline Sustainability Report.

She has a Master’s in Public Administration and a certificate in Public Policy, and currently works as a public finance project manager. She serves on the chapter’s Political Committee and volunteers for Inspiring Connections Outdoors. In her free time, she loves to garden, grill, and hike with her dogs and husband.

Pam HeatheringtonExecutive Committee Member, North County Group Representative

David HoganChair, Executive Committee

David Hogan is a life-long believer in the mission of the Sierra Club to improve the world for nature and people. David has been an environmentalist his entire career including his most recent position as Director of The Chaparral Lands Conservancy, a group dedicated to restoration of endangered species habitat. David worked at the Center for Biological Diversity to preserve desert and forest wild places in California, Arizona, and New Mexico, and filed legal documents to protect two dozen endangered species including the original documents to list the California gnatcatcher. David co-founded the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection and served on the boards of the San Diego League of Conservation Voters and the Executive, Conservation, and Political committees of the San Diego Sierra Club. David seeks to apply his passion for nature and experience in organization management in support of the Chapter.

Amanda MasciaSecretary, Executive Committee

Born and raised in rural Pennsylvania on the shores of Tamarack Lake, Amanda (Curry) Mascia has known from childhood that her happiest days are spent in nature. Her upbringing has cemented her belief that we as a society, need nature. Amanda knows that we can’t simply sit back and love nature- because our natural world is under unprecedented attack. It is Amanda’s belief that protecting our natural environment is our greatest duty and our highest calling.

With a BA in Communications from Penn State University, Amanda is an experienced marketing and communications professional who has worked in some of the biggest and brightest advertising agencies as an Account Manager. Amanda has also worked on small start-ups, various political campaigns, and she has an Emmy Award for her healthy kids’ cooking show, The Good Food Factory.

Amanda also thrives as a grassroots community organizer who has worked on several successful campaigns and environmental issues in San Diego and elsewhere.

Amanda is a joyful and unifying communicator with a can-do attitude, boundless enthusiasm, and a lifelong passion for environmental activism.

Amanda can be found hiking in her backyard, surfing North County, camping in the Eastern Sierra, and working to get things done at various political and environmental meetings around San Diego. Amanda would love to work with YOU on environmental issues that you and your community care about.

Sally PrendergastExecutive Committee Member, North County Coastal Group Representative

Lisa RossVice Chair, Executive Committee

Lisa Ross is a writer, communications strategist and photographer. Over 30 years, she has helped shape San Diego public policy through advocacy, political campaigning, and grass-roots organizing.

Recognized by the San Diego Press Club and Society for Professional Journalism, her op-ed’s, many focused on environmental planning, have appeared in the country’s most influential newspapers and on public radio.

Lisa has managed field operations, fundraising, communications and press relations for local and national campaigns. She was a strategist for some of San Diego’s most important land-use ballot measures which created habitat preserves while defining appropriate areas for clustered housing and commercial development in north city.

Lisa was a Carmel Valley Planning Board Member, Del Mar Mesa Planning Board Chair and is founding co-chair of POPs Protect Our Preserves San Diego. Along with serving on the Sierra Club San Diego Executive Committee, she is a member of San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action, La Jolla Art Association, and Friends of Del Mar Mesa.

Her fine art photography, shot in 115 countries across seven continents, is represented by Imaging The World Gallery Santa Fe and MK Envision Gallery Liberty Station, among others. “Melting Antarctica” was selected for the 2010 UN Environmental Yearbook (UNEP) on global warming.

David RousseauExecutive Committee Member

I’ve been concerned about the environment ever since I participated in the first Earth Day as a high school student. I’ve always loved nature, and being outside, and my awareness of the impact of human activity increased significantly when I took the Wilderness Basics Course in 2002. I’ve been on the WBC Staff ever since, even serving as Chair for two years and writing the Prolog in the latest issue of the WBC textbook.

I’m especially concerned about the ever-increasing environmental devastation caused by the fossil fuel and plastics industries, and the complicity of our politicians. When I recently learned about new technology that can cleanly recycle 95% of all plastics, even plastics “contaminated” by food waste or marine growth, I got involved with the Chapter’s Conservation Committee and Zero Waste Subcommittee. I’ve taken the lead in exploring the feasibility of this new
technology for our region, and introducing it to the city recycling office and some of the local recycling companies, to find a way to get it up and running here.

As a retired aeronautical engineer for the Navy and Marine Corps, I’m undaunted by energy and environmental technology, and I’ll push for solutions that actually work.

VacantExecutive Committee Member

Staff

Richard MillerChapter Director

Mr. Miller has been an employee of the San Diego Chapter since 2009 when he became the Development and Communications Coordinator developing and implementing the Chapter fundraising programs. He holds Certificates in Fund Raising for Small Nonprofits and Fund Raising Management from The Fund Raising School at The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. In 2017 Mr Miller advanced to Development Associate and in May 2018 aws appointed Chapter Director. Mr. Miller is often the first point of contact for the Chapter, responsible for Chapter administration, programing,membership relations and office administration.

Mr. Miller’s previous volunteer experience includes service on the Executive Committee’s for Sierra Club San Diego and Sierra Club California where he served as Chair for both organizations. Mr. Miller has also served on National Sierra Club committees, including as Chair of the National Nominating Committee for the Sierra Club Board of Directors.

Martha 'Marty' MarquezAdministrative Assistant

A new hire in December 2017 and a San Diego native, Marty has an extensive background as an administrative assistant in various fields, most recently as a property manager. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from National University 2013 online program while working full time. She also maintains a small business doing billing, taxes, and is a notary.

In the past 3 years, she began hiking well known trails in San Diego, followed by the Grand Canyon and Yosemite for the first time, it was love at first sight. This past President weekend 2018, she visited Sedona for the first time and did a couple of hikes with friends. Her only regret is that hiking was never introduced to her as a kid.

She has traveled to Machu Piccho in 2015, France 2001, South Africa 2001 for pleasure, and to Guadalajara, Mexico for family. Pacific Beach has been her home for the past 11 years and it is where the bay, beach, community, and outdoor activities thrive in this beautiful vacation destination. Her travels and home inspire her to do more to protect the beauty, people, and animals from any threat harmful to our wellbeing. With the current White House administration, destiny was calling when she heard and applied for the position, leading her on the path of activism.

Karl AldingerConservation Organizer

I am extremely excited and honored to join the Sierra Club team as we strive for the best solutions to challenges facing our climate and our environment. I graduated university with a degree in Electrical Engineering, and I’ve worked as both a software engineer and as a public school teacher. I have lived in Fallbrook since 2001, with my wife Marie-Pierre, who just finished Sierra Club’s Wilderness Basics Course, so I imagine backpacking is in my near future. Having volunteered with San Diego 350, the North County Climate Change Alliance, and as an organizer with the Sunrise Movement, a group grounded in Climate and Justice solutions, I have shifted my life’s work, because our world’s circumstances demand it. My focus at Sierra Club will be on improving Transportation Solutions, adopting Community Choice Energy, and maximizing Building Electrification and Efficiency. I very much look forward to working with all of you, building our community of advocates and pushing for better policies.

Steering Committee Goals

The Sierra Club Board of Directors on February 21, 2014 established the following goals for the Sierra Club San Diego Steering Committee and other Club leaders working with members of the Chapter:

Rebuild Sierra Club functions in San Diego and Imperial counties and transition to a well-functioning, effective member-elected San Diego Chapter volunteer leadership. This will include establishing new group norms to build trust among volunteer leaders, maintaining intellectual honesty and respectful dialogue, addressing disagreements constructively, and establishing a governance structure that engages people in work that advances the Club’s mission.

Provide support to improve Chapter volunteer leadership and management capacity to engage in addressing potential problems before they evolve into conflicts and constructively resolve disagreements.

Build the capacity of the San Diego groups, sections and committees to engage members and supporters in meaningful ways to advance Club goals.

Build a mutually beneficial relationship with the national Sierra Club.

Maintain the core functions of the Chapter: advancing the Club’s mission (conservation, litigation, and political), providing service to members, supporters and the public, building local resources, and complying with policies and standards.

Ensure compliance with applicable Club policies and requirements.

Chapter Chairs Over the Years

Ivy Foster 1948-1949
Jerry Zagorites 1950-1951
Lucius W. “Skip” Johnson 1952-1953
Virginia Gilloon 1954
Glen Conklin 1955
Welton Grosdidier 1956
Lucille Peterson 1957-1958
Bill Thomas 1959
Aubrey Wendling 1960-1961
Gilbert Parker 1962
Harriet Allen 1963
Carl Swedelius 1964
Howard Allen 1965-1966
Nicholas Keough 1967
William Phillips, jr 1968
Carl Swedelius (repeat) 1969
Dick Rypinski 1970
Fred Axe 1971-1972
Peter Nelson 1973-1974
Susan Turnbach 1975

Jim Harrison 1976
Cam Murray 1977
Elizabeth Meyer 1978-1979
Lyndelle Fairlie 1980
Walter Konopka 1981
Bob Hartman 1982-1983
Emily Durbin 1984-1985
Ruth Duemler 1986
Linda Michael 1987
Geoffrey Smith 1988-1989
Rob Langsdorf 1989-1991
Julie Hocking 1991-1992
Rosemary Leigh 1993
Barry Hite 1994-1995
Lori Saldana 1996-1997
Larry Klaasen 1997
Carolyn Chase 1998
Eric Bowlby 1999-2000
Brad Buffett 2000
Ellen Shively 2001-2002

Richard Miller 2003-2005
Joe Zechman 2006-2007
Richard Miller (repeat) 2008-2009
Joe Zechman (repeat) 2009
Carolyn Chase (repeat) 2010-2011
John Stump 2012
Lori Saldaña (repeat) 2013
Kara Liederman 2013
Dave Grubb 2014
Debbie Hecht 2014-2015
Davin Widgerow 2016
Ruben Arizmendi 2016-2018
Peter Andersen 2018-2019
David Hogan 2020-2021