Chapter bids fond farewell to two departing staff members

Two members of the Angeles Chapter staff have moved on. Jack Bohlka, who served as senior chapter director for four and a half years, resigned at the end of May in order to run his own photography studio. Johanna Zetterberg, who worked closely with volunteers as conservation coordinator for L.A. county, has left to attend Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Jack Bohlka

Bohlka came to the Sierra Club from the Boy Scouts. He saw an ad for the director position while browsing the Chapter's website. 'I had always appreciated the Sierra Club's efforts to preserve open space, clean air, and water,' said Bohlka. 'I jumped at the opportunity.'

Bohlka looked to a variety of resources to fundraise for the Chapter, such as direct mail, petition cards, telefunding, outings, car donations, and planned giving.

'Fundraising is always a challenge,' observed Bohlka. 'You have to be passionate. You have to believe in the mission of the Sierra Club.'

Bohlka directed all staff and staff leaders and worked closely with the Executive Committee, Political Committee, and Conservation Committee. He also got to see all the candidates for the recent L.A. mayoral race. 'It was a great experience hearing directly from them and seeing how they did in interviews.'

Some of Bohlka's fondest memories of his tenure include attending the Sustainable Food Festival and serving as assistant leader on a fundraising trip to Costa Rica.

Commenting on the future challenges of the environmental movement, Bohlka said that as a nation and as a Chapter, we were more aware of environmental issues. At the same time, he acknowledged that progress is more difficult, given the current pro-business, pro-development climate. 'The key is that we never give up,' said Bohlka. 'That's the strength of the grassroots organization.'

Bohlka is now devoting himself to his photography business in Upland.

Johanna Zetterberg

Zetterberg was very fulfilled working at the Sierra Club. '[My job] went straight to the heart,' she said. 'I've been passionate about protecting the environment since I was a child.' During her three years, Zetterberg assisted volunteer activists and leaders, created campaign strategies, designed public outreach, communicated the Sierra Club's vision to decision makers, and answered questions from the public. 'It was an incredibly steep learning curve,' said Zetterberg. She had to quickly learn the political and environmental landscape of L.A., the structure of the Sierra Club, organizing skills, and to stay on top of the issues.

Zetterberg had many memorable experiences. Among them are working closely with activists Jeff Yann on the San Gabriel River Campaign and with Lynne Plambeck on the Santa Clara River Greenway Campaign. 'The battle is still going on,' said Johanna. 'We have to get activists to run for office and continue public education.'

Zetterberg resigned at the end of June. She will begin graduate work at Yale in the fall. The program she is attending combines physical and social sciences. 'I'm very excited about the opportunity,' she said. She also looks forward to being closer to her family on the East Coast.

Zetterberg would like to be a program officer for a progressive environmental grant-making organization. 'The most important thing I learned at the Club was to be solutions-oriented.'