Juniper Group Executive Committee Biographies

The Juniper Group April 2008 election of Executive Committee (ExCom) members has concluded with the election of the seven members below.  Their biographies are provided to understand their backgrounds and interests.  Feel free to contact any of them (see the Contacts page) to pursue a common interest.

Biographies:

Gary Kelley

I have been a member of the Sierra Club since 1995 and have always been a biker, skier, boater, and hiker. My home range through college was the Adirondack Mountains of New York with an occasional trip to the Whites. In college I was the leader of the "Outing Club" which organized weekly hikes and backpacking trips. After college I moved to California where I was active in the Sierra Club in the Bay Area - mostly cross country skiing. I also assisted with hiking, canoeing, rock climbing, and skiing trips being run out of De Anza college. I spent the next 20 years in Portland where I continued to do outdoors sports, but my emphasis shifted to work and family.

My career was developing Database and Operating Systems Software for many companies including Tandem, Intel, and Sequent. Later in my career I started and ran R&D offices for both Informix and Oracle in Portland. Now I'm retired and willing to "give back" to the community. I recently joined the board of the Central Oregon Nordic Club and assisted in the Nordeen Ski Hut rebuild project.

Marilyn Miller

A vote for Marilyn Miller is a vote for the Environment!

I have been on the Executive Committee of the Juniper Group Sierra Club for over seven years as a volunteer and am currently the Conservation Chair and the Treasurer. I have also held the position of Program Night and Publicity Chair. I have had a deep love of nature and wildlife as long as I can remember and have a firm commitment to protecting and speaking out in any way I can for our Mother Earth and her critters. My passion is protecting wildlife and wildlife habitat. I have volunteered thousands of hours during my time with the Sierra Club and promise to continue to do so. I am married to Craig Miller who is working on protecting Oregon's high desert with the Oregon Natural Desert Association. We have two geese and one (100 percent indoor) cat. We opted for furry, fuzzy children instead of the human kind!

My qualifications include:

• Federal Forest East Representative for the Oregon Chapter Sierra Club.
• Member of the Sierra Club Forest Committee.
• Certified Naturalist with a broad understanding of our natural ecosystems.
• Currently serve on the Travel Management Strategy Working Group for the Deschutes and Ochoco Forests and the Crooked River National Grasslands as a non-motorized representative.
• Currently serve on the Steering Committee for Central Oregon Partnership for Wildfire Risk Reduction.
• Currently serve on the Board of the East Cascades Bird Conservancy and their Conservation Committee.
• Awarded the Holly Jones Award two years in a row for on-going work trying to achieve permanent protection for the Badlands Wilderness Study Area east of Bend.
• Awarded the Juniper Group Award twice for working on numerous environmental issues and campaigns that were important to the Central Oregon Community.
• Received an Award from the BLM for Sage Grouse Lek volunteer monitoring work.
• Accomplished wildlife/nature photographer.
• Appointed by Bruce Babbitt to the South East Oregon Resource Advisory Committee for three years.

Vote for me and you will know that I will speak out aggressively for the protection of what we value here in Central and Eastern Oregon.

Merry Ann Moore

I've been a member of Sierra Club since 1986. I am president of Buckboard Provisioning, a healthy products fundraising company I co-founded in Sisters. I'd be pleased to serve the local environmental community. Relevant experience:

• Sierra Club San Francisco Group Executive Committee (member 1990-1994, chair 1993)
• Conservation Award for outstanding achievement, Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter 1993
• 1994 national Sierra Club Special Achievement Award for Kids at Risk, a video about lead poisoning in 3 languages
• Communications consultant for environmental concerns (Flexcar, Electric Power Research Institute, San Diego County Public Works, City of San Francisco Recycling Program, South Valley Disposal & Recycling, others)
• Squaw (Why-Chus) Creek Volunteer Streamwatch Monitor for Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, 2004-2006
• Homecare raptor rehabilitator, Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley 1999-2001

Larry Pennington

I recently retired to Central Oregon, locating at Crooked River Ranch, from Pasco, Washington, where I worked for thirteen years at the Department of Energy Hanford Site. This followed twenty-two years in the US Navy and a short stint as a project engineer for Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation in snowy upstate New York. I have always been interested in the environment and conservation, but my recent retirement has allowed me the time to be active with organizations promoting those goals.

I am a long-time member of the Nature Conservancy and participated in four work weekends this last summer. I have recently joined the Oregon Natural Desert Association, and participated in a couple of Friends of the Badlands events this winter. I am now the Webmaster for the Juniper Group web site and a member of the recently formed Juniper Group Political Action Committee. I plan to participate in as many forest and desert field checks this coming spring and summer as I can fit in with my other interests (skier, hiker, computer geek, and political junkie).

I would enjoy serving the Juniper Group as a member of the Executive Committee because I bring a diverse background of experiences that may let me see some of the issues facing the group from a different perspective than others. Many of these issues are difficult - there is no "right" answer to many of them. And as long as humans continue to overrun the earth with uncontrolled population growth, the answers will only get harder. We need to get started educating our fellow humans NOW on the solutions and the consequences of inaction.

Fred Tanis

I am an avid outdoor enthusiast and recently (almost) retired R&D researcher for the U.S. Government. Since moving to Bend five years ago from Ann Arbor, Michigan I have become a Sierra Club National Service Outings leader and have become active working with the Juniper Group ExCom and the Central Oregon Nordic Club Board. I have been a member of the Juniper Group ExCom for two years and have served as Group Co-chair for the last year. I have been the  newsletter editor for the Wild Juniper Journal during the past three years. I have enjoyed volunteering in the community and working with the Juniper Group to help defend our public lands. I also have interest in working on global warming and water issues in Central Oregon. I have had interest in Sierra Club activities at the local and chapter level since the 70's and was active leading group trips as time permitted from work and family. Please support our Juniper Group ExCom with your vote. Our future lies in the hands of those who will give themselves to our world environment.

Dave Tracy

I have been working on conservation issues in Central Oregon since the mid 1990's, and have been a member of the Juniper Group Executive Committee since 1999, currently serving as Juniper Group Secretary. I am running for re-election to the Executive Committee because I believe in the important work that the Juniper Group has accomplished in the past 10+ years and want to support the continuing efforts of other club members and activists. I have also served on the boards of Oregon Field Ornithologists and the East Cascades Bird Observatory. Currently I serve as President of O.F.O and am on the E.C.B.C. Science Committee. Growing up in rural Southeastern Oregon, the mountains and desert have always provided me with places for recreation, solitude and inspiration. As a member of the ExCom, I will continue to work on the important issues that threaten these special places.

Gretchen Valido

As pressure on our Central and Eastern Oregon environment increases due to development and government policy, it's more important than ever to have a strong Sierra Club presence. As volunteers, members of the Executive Committee make decisions affecting an array of issues within the environmental realm.

Since early 2002 I've served in various capacities on the Juniper Group Executive Committee, including Membership Coordinator, Political Committee Chair, ExCom Co-Chair, and Oregon Chapter Political Committee member. Since 2006 I've served on the Oregon Chapter ExCom.

I'm running again for ExCom because I believe so strongly in the good work the Sierra Club has accomplished here and the important role it will play in the future. I enjoy being a member of the Juniper Group community of people with similar values, and it's given me an opportunity to act on my environmental concerns and hopes that otherwise would sit tangled in frustration.

As for my background, I grew up in a rural Chicago suburb, headed to the University of Washington after falling in love with the West's mountains as a kid, lived in the Bay Area much of my adult life, and moved to Bend in 1997. Since then I've worked from home with my transcription business and also co-founded a planet-friendly gift wrap company with my daughter in 2006.

Why do I volunteer for the Sierra Club? Because nature matters! Because there's a strong pull tugging at my conscience and soul that can't be described in words, circling around descriptors like respect, hope, connection, bigger-than-life, reverence, the life-germ of the journey from earliest-then to beyond-now.

By supporting these candidates for the Executive Committee, you'll participate in maintaining and growing its strength to effectively serve the Central and Eastern Oregon community. We value and honor the contributions of each ExCom member. Please vote today.