Carl Pope to Step Down as Sierra Club Chief



Mr. Pope will take on a new role, becoming chairman of the organization with a focus on climate change. In today’s Sierra Club statement, Mr. Pope said: “While I look forward to continuing to serve the club in a new capacity, I am ready to turn the leadership of the organization over to someone new.” Sierra Club President Carl Pope served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in India in the 1960's.

Carl Pope to Step Down as Sierra Club Chief

Carl Pope Switches Roles at the Sierra Club

By Kate Galbraith

Carl Pope, the longtime executive director of the Sierra Club, is stepping down from that role, the club announced on Friday.

Mr. Pope will take on a new role, becoming chairman of the organization with a focus on climate change.

In today’s Sierra Club statement, Mr. Pope said: “While I look forward to continuing to serve the club in a new capacity, I am ready to turn the leadership of the organization over to someone new.”

He also noted, “My decision comes at a very exciting time for the Sierra Club and the environmental movement” — a reference to the election of Barack Obama.

(Mr. Pope was in attendance at the Green Ball on Monday night, where he told Green Inc., “It’s a wonderful week to be in Washington.”)

Climate change seems already to have become Mr. Pope’s primary focus. Last fall, he explained to Green Inc. how the Sierra Club had gotten a clear message in 2005 from its members: “Do climate. Climate, climate, climate.”

But that message came with a learning curve: “We had to learn how to encourage good stuff, and that’s been a learning experience I think for everyone in the club,” he said.

Mr. Pope will remain in his current role until his successor is found, the organization said.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: January, 2009; RPCV Carl Pope (India); Figures; Peace Corps India; Directory of India RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for India RPCVs; NGO's; Environment

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