Sierra Club Excom Candidates

Ann Drumm

I am running for my third term on Dallas ExCom. My focus is to continue building on the organizational stability we have achieved: expanding the base of donors whose financial support allows volunteers to focus their energy on education and advocacy; attracting new volunteers and nurturing those with leadership skills; enhancing the quality and mix of our communications; and creating a variety of opportunities that meet our volunteers' interests, skills, and schedules. I am now able to devote more time and energy to my first love – conservation – and I am spending most of my non-administrative time leading the Cool Cities campaign.

James Folger

Jim Folger has appreciated the importance of nature and the environment since his days roaming the woods of Michigan. His business career has taken him through six separate industries in the marketing and planning disciplines, as group product manager with H. J. Heinz and Monsanto Companies, VP of Marketing for health care systems in Oregon and Michigan, and into the consulting profession to provide strategic and business development planning services to a broad variety of clients. He has lived in nine different states, and would bring creative insight and a balanced perspective to the challenges of the EXCOM position. Most recently he served as a board advisor in preserving waterways in Oregon, and maintaining the environment in W. Colorado.

Lynne Messina

I was born and raised in New Orleans. I received a Bachelor of Journalism degree from UT-Austin in 1976 then worked as a reporter for the Abilene Reporter-News and the Austin American-Statesman for about 6 years. I received a law degree from UT-Austin in 1985. My primary area of practice has been real estate law. I have worked for Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody in Austin and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Kuntz & Bonesio and Hughes & Luce in Dallas. Since 2003 I have served as General Counsel for Highgate Holdings, Inc., a privately held real estate investment company based in Irving. Our primary emphasis is hotels. A resident of the Dallas area for 20 years and of Coppell for 16, I have a daughter who is a senior art conservation major at the University of Delaware. While I have always appreciated the Sierra Club's commitment both to preserving and enjoying nature, I considered environmental degradation and global warming too remote and complicated to do much about -- until my entire family showed up on my doorstep last September after Katrina. I would like to make whatever contribution I can to protect the environment for the grandchildren I expect my daughter to have some day. I have been a member of the Dallas Group's Membership Committee since January and have assisted with new member dinners, greeting meeting attendees at the membership table and worked at the green home tour.

Lori Peniche

I am passionate about conservation. I believe every drop of water, every kilowatt of power and every gallon of gasoline counts and I live by that belief. In addition to passion, I bring skills to the conservation challenge as a practicing lawyer for over twenty years, as a manager of multiple, complex projects and business deals, and as a director and fundraiser for non-profit organizations. Finally, I am fortunate to be retiring young from the business world and able to dedicate myself full time to environmental causes.

In the last year, I completed my training as a Texas Master Naturalist and completed coursework at SMU on native landscaping design for wildlife habitat. Hands on, I have volunteered as a hotline operator for the DFW Wildlife Coalition and worked with Wal-Mart headquarters to secure produce donations for an animal sanctuary near San Antonio. I have also worked on the Sierra Club Green Home tour and Cool Cities campaign and look forward to working on these initiatives and other Sierra Club activities in the coming year."

Mike Rawlins

I'm a long time member of the Dallas group and have served in several capacities including Group Chair, Programs Chair, and Outings Leader. I currently serve as Co-Chair of the Conservation Committee. I am interested in serving another term on EXCOM to further build the Conservation Committee and increase the club's effectiveness in dealing with local environmental issues.

David Van Winkle

I would like to continue serving on the ex-com to help the Dallas Sierra Club strengthen its conservation and outings programs. The Dallas Sierra Club has a great opportunity to impact the direction of Texas by producing more clean renewable energy and fewer coal-fired power plants, while utilizing energy much more effectively. In the area of energy efficiency, I have been teaming with Arthur Kuehne to lead the green building programs. At the same, I will continue to lead the outings program to provide individuals the opportunity to see the beautiful natural areas that want to protect.