Volunteer of the month
Kent Lewandowski makes steep climbs
In the spring of 2005, when Kent moved from Wisconsin to the East Bay, he knew he wanted to become active in the Sierra Club. He has, as he puts it, "a real belief that you have to get involved to make a difference. You can't just pay your dues." He contacted the Chapter Office and was invited to a new-member party, where he "met a couple of people and was intrigued."
His first volunteer job was staffing a Sierra Club table at Oakland's annual Green Festival in front of the Masonic Building, a few blocks from where he works as a data consultant for Kaiser. That was enough to prompt him to get further involved. He became a regular attendee at the Northern Alameda Group's monthly meetings.
After reading a newspaper article about port-generated diesel emissions in Richmond and West Oakland, he raised his concern at a Group meeting. The next thing he knew, he was spearheading a campaign on the issue, one that turned out to be his crash course in community activism and the intricacies of local politics. He admits that it was daunting. "A lot of it was networking with people and building relationships in the community. I was completely new so I felt a little bit out of my league. But", he adds, "anyone can do it. You just have to have the time and energy and commitment to doing the work."
The upshot of his efforts was a panel discussion hosted by the Group in May of 2006. As the facilitator, Kent found it exciting to see "people talking to each other who normally don't talk to each other - the Port of Oakland's public-relations director, the director of the Air Quality Management District, the community activists." The entire process proved to be an enormous learning experience; it taught him that "environmental problems are very complex, especially in an urban environment."
Recognizing Kent's potential, the Group Executive Committee invited him to fill a vacancy - as Group chair. Helen Burke, a volunteer with a long and varied history with the Club (she has served on the Club's national Board of Directors, as Chapter chair, and for 10 years on the Group Executive Committee), recalls, "We were impressed with his ability to take initiative and to follow through." The chair is usually an experienced Club veteran, but in this case the committee unanimously agreed that Kent's energy, enthusiasm, and administrative skills made him a good candidate.
In his two years as chair, Kent has continued his steep learning curve. His most basic task is to organize and facilitate Group meetings (including sometimes to rein in an opinionated and even cantankerous tableful of volunteer leaders). Beyond that, he has been actively involved in three of the Group's major campaigns. Any given week may find him attending a Port meeting, phoning the mayor's office to advocate for Bus Rapid Transit, or strategizing with other activists on how to promote Community Choice Energy among East Bay City Council members. And there are the countless hours he spends writing letters and making phone calls on lots of other issues. He spends a lot of time just keeping himself informed. Chapter energy chair Aaron Israel sums up, "Kent has had to get up to speed with the issues, navigate the Group, the Chapter, and the Club, and figure out how to be a leader within the organization - he's grown into it very quickly."
Joanne Drabek, Chapter office manager as well as a Northern Alameda Group volunteer, points out that "Kent is willing to do the fun things but also the nitty-gritty. One of his biggest strengths" she goes on to say, "is his can-do, will-do attitude." Brad Johnson, the Chapter's legislative coordinator, agrees: "Kent is not afraid of the dirty work. He is involved from the inception of an idea to its implementation. This is what makes him outstanding as a leader."
One of Kent's priorities has been building Group cohesion. Drabek notes that Kent has been particularly involved in varied forms of outreach, helping to organize, for example, a Group members picnic, a slideshow on a volunteer's trip to South America, an environmental film festival, and a forum on biofuel. He acknowledges that it can be a challenge to mediate the myriad opinions, but he is quick to add that he admires the level of dedication among members, many of whom have worked tirelessly on various issues for years. He has learned that even if not all agree on the best course of action, "we all share the same ideals."
Kent's own environmental ideals were formed during a childhood of summers and weekends at his family cabin in northern Wisconsin where he would spend the days fishing and exploring the surrounding woods. He couldn't help but notice that certain lakes were less suitable for fishing than others; problems like fertilizer runoff or invasive species were invariably the culprits. "As a fisherman," he explains, "you are concerned about your environment because you're dependent on it."
In college he majored in German and biology, but concluded it would be difficult to make a living as a biologist advocating the causes that he cared about. He opted instead for what he calls "a nice office job" that allows him time and flexibility for the volunteer work that he finds so satisfying. "When you volunteer with other people who have similar ideals, it gives you a feeling of fulfillment; it's energizing to work with people. Most of my day at the office I work with machines, not with people, and it's a refreshing change."
Somehow Kent finds free time to pursue his hobbies. He hikes and bikes, mostly locally, and has also taken a few Sierra Club backpack trips in the Sierra. "California's got such a beautiful environment," he says. "It's easy to see why so many people become passionate environmentalists when they live here."
What advice does Kent have for members considering taking on a more active volunteer role? "Find something where your talents can be used. One person might be cut out to be a meeting facilitator while another is better suited to be a technical expert on transportation. That's the great thing about the Sierra Club - its base is so diverse, so broad."
When Kent considers the impact of his individual efforts and those of the Group over the past two years, he expresses a seasoned patience. "Environmental battles take a long time," he says philosophically. "We've had the most impact by going to public meetings and championing environmental issues, even if they haven't resulted in immediate policy changes."
He cites as an example the campaign for Community Choice Aggregation and renewable energy in the East Bay. It's not won, but "it's been a success so far in that we've been able to keep the ball rolling here. Without our work, it would have just sort of died." This attitude is familiar to any cyclist or hiker - you have to accept incremental progress and hard-earned gains. As Kent Lewandowski knows, this is how you get where you want to be - to the top of the peak.