The Sierra Club is one of the nation’s oldest and largest environmentalist organizations. The group has supported the regulation of conventional fuel energy sources in favor of advocating green and weather-dependent sources of energy. The group operates chapters in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. At the national level, the organization has endorsed every Democratic candidate for president since 1984, including then-Vice President Kamala Harris’s unsuccessful campaign in 2024. 4 5 In July 2025, Jealous was placed on leave from the organization, with Loren Blackford serving as interim executive director as of August 2025. 6
Tax-Exempt Status
In 1966, while the Sierra Club was organized as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revoked the Sierra Club’s charitable status after the organization was deemed by the IRS to have “engaged in substantial lobbying outside the scope of that which was meant to be incentivized by the (c)(3) section from which it was benefiting.” 12 due to a $40 million funding shortfall that was the result of, according to a spokesperson, “significant fundraising uncertainty due to overall economic trends.” 12
The layoffs were part of a restructuring plan to implement a “50-state strategy” for state and national-level staff, that then-executive director Ben Jealous claimed would be “critical” for the organization. 12 According to a report by The New Republic, as of April 2024, the organization had not put a yearly budget in place, and as many as 50 to 100 employees could be laid off. According to the article, when Jealous began as executive director, he brought staff to fill vacancies within the executive team with whom he had previously worked at the NAACP as well as People for the American Way. One anonymous employee interviewed by The New Republic claimed that the new executive team had “an us-versus-them mentality. You either are on board with them and you’re the yes people or you’re not. 12
In April 2024, the Progressive Workers Union (PWU), which represents roughly 400 Sierra Club employees, filed a National Labor Relations Board Unfair Labor Practice charge against the Club, claiming the organization was laying off half of the union’s six-person bargaining committee. The PWU called it a retaliation “against union members for protected concerted activity though the Club denied these claims stating the group “has not advised any union leader that Sierra Club will conduct a layoff.” 13
Public Lands Activism
The Sierra Club has previously supported transferring the ownership of land in the Western United States to the federal government and from state governments or private ownership. It also advocated for expanding the amount of land protected by state and local governments. The club also opposes drilling and mining on public lands. 23 The club has opposed oil drilling on public lands as well. 31
Not Above the Law Coalition
The Sierra Club is a member of the Not Above the Law Coalition, which supported the indictment of then-former President Donald Trump on federal charges related to document retention and other criminal charges, and continued to organize events to oppose the Trump administration following Trump’s return to the Presidency. Members of the coalition include Common Cause, Daily Kos, the Defend Democracy Action Project, Greenpeace USA, Indivisible, J Street, the League of Conservation Voters, MoveOn, NextGen America, Our Revolution, People For the American Way, People Power United, Public Citizen, Public Wise, the Secure Elections Network, Stand Up America, the Congressional Integrity Project, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and the Workers Circle. 6That same month, a group of 100 employees had sent a letter to the Sierra Club’s board of directors stating, ““Mr. Jealous failed to articulate any concrete strategy or theory of change for how we will effectively fight the Trump administration’s dismantling of decades of hard-won environmental protections.” 6
Jealous was officially fired from his position in August that year, after the board voted unanimously on the firing. Sierra Club spokesperson Jonathon Berman commented that Jealous had been fired “following extensive evaluation of his conduct.” 38 Other reporting showed that Jealous had been the subject of a misconduct complaint filed by an employee earlier in 2025 alleging sexual harassment and bullying. However, Jealous later claimed that the firing had been due to racism, alleging “No one can be surprised that the Sierra Club has resorted to personal attacks. That’s how racial retaliation works. When you’re being discriminated against, they don’t accuse you of being Black.” 39 Civil rights activist Al Sharpton later released a statement claiming, “[t]here are serious racial implications in firing a Black man of Ben’s caliber, in this fashion, at a time when diversity is under attack. It also runs counter to the Sierra Club’s own principle of eradicating racism.” 39 As of October 2025, Jealous announced he would file legal action over his termination, hiring LA-based employment firm Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai, LLP and later commented “I have begun the process under my contract to fight this decision. I am confident that we will prevail.” 40 41
Leadership
As of August 2025, Loren Blackford serves as the interim executive director of the Sierra Club. 6
Ben Jealous was the previous executive director of the Sierra Club, being hired to fill the position in 2023. 5 In July 2025, Jealous was placed on leave from the organization when the executive committees and leaderships of several state chapters requested a vote of no confidence criticizing Jealous’ tenure such as fundraising efforts as well as hiring a registered lobbyist for cryptocurrency firm Crypto.com. Leadership stated, “We can no longer trust Mr. Jealous and his executive team’s management of the Sierra Club and demand they all resign to institute new leadership.” 6That same month, a group of 100 employees had sent a letter to the Sierra Club’s board of directors stating, ““Mr. Jealous failed to articulate any concrete strategy or theory of change for how we will effectively fight the Trump administration’s dismantling of decades of hard-won environmental protections.” 6 Jealous was the former president of the NAACP and ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic nominee for Governor of Maryland in 2018, losing to then-Governor Larry Hogan (R). Jealous was the president of People for the American Way from 2020 to 2022. 0){
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