From: Stephen Mills <[log in to unmask]>

Date: November 29, 2010 9:30:02 AM CST

To: [log in to unmask]

Subject: Thank you for an amazing adventure

Reply-To: Stephen Mills <[log in to unmask]>

Dear friends,

It has been an absolute honor to be the Sierra Club’s ambassador for the last 22 years. I never thought that a temporary position as an assistant to the Club’s assistant Political Director so many years ago would turn in to such a global adventure.  For a kid from a small town in Alabama I have had a dream career.  I leave the Sierra Club tomorrow, and while I don’t know where I’ll land next professionally, I can only hope for another opportunity where I can believe so passionately about my job.

When I look back it seems like I’ve spent most of that time tethered to my computer, writing grant proposals, preparing budgets and press releases. But that’s not what I’ll remember most. From the stellar volunteer leaders that the Sierra Club continues to attract, to the princes, prime ministers, paupers and presidents with whom I’ve I had a chance to collaborate, it’s definitely the people I’ve met along the way that has made this journey so exciting.  

I began my career by taking notes and making copies at Sierra Club at International Committee meetings. It was there that I first noticed that this organization was attracting some significant volunteer brainpower and enthusiasm.  I loved fielding questions from environmentalists visiting from other countries about how a group like the Sierra Club utilizes the tools of democracy to affect policy (and political) change.

Then, on my very first trip to Africa, a yet to be globally recognized Wangari Maathai took me to see rhinos in Kenya.  Her struggle and persecution for standing up for women who plant trees opened my eyes to another world that wasn’t as just as I had once believed.  Ken and Owens Wiwa showed me their bountiful but brutalized Niger Delta. Three times I served witness at trials in St. Petersburg for a former Soviet nuclear submarine captain, Alexander Nikitin, imprisoned (and ultimately found innocent of) trumped-up charges of espionage for exposing illegal nuclear waste dumping. I went with Ethel Kennedy to a prison in Guerrero, Mexico to present the Club’s Chico Mendes Award to farmers who had simply spoken out against forest destruction.  

We helped a Coloradan blow the whistle on a U.S.-Canadian mining company in the Philippines for hiring terrorists to protect their investments.  Marylyn Snell wrote such an extraordinary article in Sierra magazine about the cover up that Dateline NBC picked up the piece and ultimately received an Emmy nomination for the story.  (http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200405/terrorism/page1.asp)

I had an allergic reaction to a spider bite while attending an IUCN meeting in Bangkok and was rushed into an infectious disease ward when my face swelled up like a watermelon (that was exciting). I slept on a rooftop in the Jordanian desert, sailed around the Galapagos and danced in Mumbai. I got the same rush from watching lemurs hop in Madagascar as I did when helping farmers to organize to stop polluters in rural Ireland.  The inspiring poor women in training to become solar engineers at Bunker Roy’s Barefoot College in Rajasthan brought tears to my eyes.

And for a time I had the great opportunity of managing a team of brilliant international campaigners at the Sierra Club. Each of whom has demonstrated repeatedly that they are much smarter than I am -- which is exactly why I hired them.

When I grew weary of pushing policy change in Washington, DC, the Sierra Club’s leaders let me try something entirely new and daring in our multi-pronged approach to stopping global warming. For the last several years I’ve worked to develop strategic, on-the-ground partnerships in emerging economies like India where the great need to improve quality of life for the poorest of the poor has run head-on into the urgent need for our species to address the greatest threat to our long-term survival on this planet: climate change.

Some exciting successes, some painful failures, but for 22 years the Sierra Club let me seek out creative solutions to some of the biggest  conservation challenges our planet faces.

I knew that I was pushing some very big boulders up some very big hills in the Sierra Club when I chose some of these more esoteric issues on which to lead campaigns, but I believed that as much as my job was to recognize domestic polling data on inconsistent public support for U.S. global engagement, that there was also an expectation from Sierra Club members that we should provide some leadership on issues far beyond the borders of the U.S. in order to address global environmental threats.

To the degree to which we have been successful in the U.S. promoting environmental rules and regulation that we have also inadvertently pushed that burden abroad, into someone else’s backyard. I believed then and now that American environmentalists in particular have responsibility to help our friends overseas who are now fighting our polluters.

For 22 amazing years I have had a chance to passionately and proudly share the achievements of the Sierra Club’s grassroots advocates and staff with the rest of the world – and to bring some of the rest of the world back home to the Sierra Club. I have had an absolute blast doing so.

Thank you so much.

Steve Mills
+1.202.262.8644
[log in to unmask]

P.S. I’ve put a few photos online from some of my most memorable trips here.

http://picasaweb.google.com/slmillsjr/MySierraClubAdventure?authkey=Gv1sRgCJfHh_asp-D2PA&feat=email#

…and below, one of my favorite letters.

Enjoy.



In 2004, the Vice Mayor of the Slovakian city of Kosice was jailed
-- and remained there for nearly seven months.  For what crime you ask?  He
was jailed for speaking out against developers who wanted to raze Kosice
forests. There was never any evidence linking him to any crime -- unless
you consider defending the environment and long term economic interests of
the citizens you represent a crime.

I wrote to the Slovak ambassador to call his attention to this travesty and
to voice our concern. I believe that we were part of a large chorus calling for Cuno's release but clearly someone was listening.

Since none of us see enough good environmental news these days I thought
you would enjoy reading his letter. This is how Wangari Maathai got her
start. SM




----- Forwarded by Stephen Mills/Sierraclub on 01/13/2005 04:59 PM -----
                                                                     
            "Eugen Cuno"                                              
            <eugencuno@centru                                        
            m.sk>                                                      To
                                      <[log in to unmask]>  
            01/13/2005 04:54                                           cc
            PM                        <[log in to unmask]>        
                                                                  Subject
                                      thank you                      
                                                                     
                                                                     
                                                                                                                             




Košice Vice-Mayor  Eugen Čuňo,  Janigová street  n.3,   040 11 Košice,
Slovakia




13. January  2005


Dear Mr. Director Stephen Mills,


I would like to express my big thanks, that also with Your effort, I was on
Wednesday 3.11.2004 dismissed from the jail and finally I would might to
welcome New year with my family and best friends.

I have never believed,that in to my effort to built up for justice and of
new democracy in the Slovakia, would might my opinion and of course my
activity get at meeting with loby  into the serious problems.
My family and my next friends, who know me tirelessly, solved this
injustice.My next friends Mr. Michal Kravčík and Mrs. Danica Klincková
established  civil initiative to solve this problem.Many people have been
understanding to us and understanding, that  we went in for solutions of
many projects, on benefit to city Košice, for participation about 400
citizens.At many directions we obviously overtake time and we threatened
interest of influential groups.Often we have been working without official
support, at own expenses.For example : rescue forests of Košice, before the
sale, for the sake of last debt, preparation of projects to Košice for
ecological dwelling and for the first preparation social-agricultural
development of city Košice.

Dear Mr. Director Mills, also with your support and also your influential,
oldest, greatest environmental organisation in United States, I am back at
my working place and I can continue in my work by benefit, to Košice with
my friends and workmates.
In case of when you will visit the Europe I shall be very pleased and also
my friends, to welcome you into the place of developing Košice.

I am esteeming  immenesly your help and support. In a New Year I wish you
and to your friends very good health, also plenty of power from  creative
activity.


Sincerely,



Eugen Čuňo
Vice-Mayor of City Košice
Slovakia