Executive Committee

Russ joined the Executive Committee in 2003, and currently serves as co-chair of the Clean Air Committee. His volunteer experience includes board service for the Sustainable Resources Center and the Community Shares Fund (formerly the Cooperative Fund Drive). He has worked as an affordable housing advocate for manufactured home park residents with All Parks Alliance for Change, as a Housing Specialist for the Harrison Neighborhood Association in north Minneapolis, and as a staff member for the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG). Russ Adams has served as the executive director of the Alliance for Metropolitan Stability since 1995.

Lori lives in Duluth and is active in the chapter's Mining Without Harm campaign in northeastern Minnesota.

Christopher is a writer and essayist and a former national spokesperson for Greenpeace USA. His works include "The Spirit's Terrain" a text on visioning for progressive organizations. Christopher also serves as chair of the chapter's Conservation Committee.

Luther Dale has been involved in environmental issues for over 30 years, most recently as a member of the Club's Shoreview Green Community and Building Environmental Communities Steering Committee. He is an avid hiker, biker and canoeist and is currently a pastor at Incarnation Lutheran Church in Shoreview.

Kristen Gast is an attorney at the firm of Faegre & Benson, and has represented the Sierra Club in our efforts to hold the U.S. Forest Service accountable for their management practices. She brings a broad ranging interest in environmental issues to her leadership role with the Sierra Club.

- ExCom Vice Chair

Karen Harder has been volunteering with the North Star Chapter for close to a decade, working primarily around issues of wetlands and water quality. Her background as a staff scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency, and more recently as a member of the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, provides her wide-ranging knowledge on a range of water quality issues.

- ExCom Treasurer

Mat has been a member of the North Star Chapter ExCom since 2000, serving terms as Membership Chair, Treasurer and Legislative Chair.

Since 1996, he has worked to establish light rail transit, commuter rail, and better transit funding for the Twin Cities. He has also served as the chapter's contact regarding the Lower St. Croix National Scenic and Recreational Riverway bridge issue, working to protect the LSCNSRR from a proposed new Highway 36 bridge south of Stillwater and, most recently, to obtain a commitment for transit service to Wisconsin's growing Twin Cities suburbs. Mat currently serves as the chapter's Legislative Chair and as chair of the Transportation Subcommittee of the chapter's Land Use and Transportation Committee.

In 2000, Mat spent a year traveling U.S. cities studying the relationship between community and transportation on a Leadership in Neighborhoods grant from The St. Paul Companies Foundation. Mat is a full-time transit user and, in season, bicyclist. He and his wife Karla live in the Highland neighborhood in St. Paul, within walking distance of the grocery store, and use Minnesota's first light rail line, the Hiawatha Line, every day. Mat recently received the first-ever "Loon of the Year" award from the chapter, recognizing his personal commitment to practicing mobility, as much as possible, without the automobile.

John Hottinger is a former Minnesota state senator and majority leader, representing constituents in Mankato. He brings a long history of public service and a deep interest in environment and conservation issues, particularly global warming, to the ExCom.

Don has been involved with the North Star Chapter for many years, serving as the chair of the Forestry Committee from the mid 1980s through 2003. He joined the ExCom for the first time in 2004. Don serves as secretary of the Excom. He is also chair of the Gift Planning Committee.

In addition to serving on the Executive Committee, Irene is active in environmental issues in her professional life, working as Director of Outreach for Friends of the Mississippi River.

Steve Kelley is a former Minnesota state senator from Hopkins. During his tenure in the state senate he was a champion for energy efficiency and renewable energy legislation, and brings that experience as well as an interest in sustainable agriculture and sustainable economic development to the Sierra Club.

- ExCom Chair

Sharon Stephens has been involved in the North Star Chapter since 2000 and has served in a variety of roles including Land Use Committee Chair and Legal Chair. Sharon also serves on the national Sierra Club Wildlands Committee.