Welcome to the Santa Lucia Chapter
of the Sierra Club

Karen Merriam karen@karenmerriam.com

Chair

Karen joined the Santa Lucia Chapter in the early 1990's. She became a hike leader, and then, in 1995, became a member of the Executive Committee. She served for two terms (four years), much of the time as Secretary, and helped to establish a local office and staff for the Chapter. During that time she also worked as a volunteer with the Sheriff's K-9 Search & Rescue team, with her dog Babe. In 2006 she published her second book, Searching for Connection : An Exploration of Trauma, Culture, and Hope , which summarized 30 years of work and thought in the field of traumatic stress and loss. Karen was elected again, to the Executive Committee in 2004 and has served as Chair, committing herself and the Chapter to forging new bonds with other community leaders and groups who share The Sierra Club's interests and dedication to preserve, protect and enjoy our natural environment.

Melody DeMeritt demeritt04@yahoo.com

Vice Chair

Melody served on the Morro Bay City Council from 2004 to 2008. She advocated for protecting trees and the use of electric vehicles as part of the Morro Bay fleet. She brought forward a resolution for the City to stop the use of city funds for plastic bottles or Styrofoam containers. During her term, the Council signed the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement and the Green Accords, and Morro Bay became a member of the C5 Coalition. She worked on the New Futures committee to bring forward alternative uses for the power plant property. She spent several years on the Board of the Coastal Alliance on Plant Expansion (CAPE), fighting the plan to build a new power plant in Morro Bay . She is also a member of ECOSLO. She teaches Technical writing classes for the English Department at Cal Poly State University

Cal French cal.french@gmail.com

Member

Cal is a native of San Luis Obispo and a Sierra Club member for 42 years. He represents the Santa Lucia Chapter to the national organization and is the spokesperson for the Chapter on the Carrizo Plain National Monument , where he leads service outings that work to restore the area to a more natural condition. His goals are to increase activism of our members, and supporting and mentoring new and young leaders.

Steven Marx smarx@calpoly.edu

Treasurer

Steven has taught at Cal Poly since 1988. He developed the Cal Poly Land project, edited Cal Poly Land : A Field Guide, taught courses in Environmental Literature and Writing about Place, and organized three University-wide Earth Day programs on Education for Sustainability. Steven has served on the Executive Committee on and off for nearly twenty years. He has served as chapter Treasurer twice. Recently, he has coordinated two Spring Benefits and the Chapter's Open House.

Linda Seeley lindaseeley@charter.net

Member

Linda is the mother of three, the grandmother of three grandsons and a certified nurse-midwife. She is also a woman's health nurse practitioner. She is a longtime anti-nuclear activist, a board member of the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, and the director of the Terra Foundation, a local non-profit dealing with “Earth Care, Soul Care.” She is an advanced facilitator of Joanne Macy's Work that Reconnects . Linda facilitates workshops for activists and environmental leaders.

Dawn Legg dawn@p-tec.net

Member

Dawn has twenty plus years as an established domestic & international sales executive. Ten years in the traditional LED & LCD market; migrating to SSL with a host of products including street, parking and large facility lighting notably made in the U.S. Dawn has expertise in product development, corporate communications, supplier relations, trade regulations, environmental and hazardous materials compliance for EU and US companies. She works as a Sales Consultant for P- tec Corporation as well as other manufacturers offering LED/Solid State lighting products. Dawn's goals are to make a living while reducing her carbon footprint, positively influencing state and federal policy makers to create bold visions, changing the way we live and work and to live as an example.

Dawn has a Masters from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University . Her interests include creating savings and energy efficiency for clients and the planet, and developing expertise in Climate Change policy, specifically through lighting policy. Dawn is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, Board Member, I Care International, Member of SLO Chamber of Commerce, Alternate Central Committee, Democratic Party, SLO and an active member of Code Pink: Women for Peace too.