Environmental lawyer Hannah Askew will be leading the Sierra Club of BC as its new Executive Director. She replaces Bob Peart, former Executive Director, who retired last year. 2019 will mark the 50th anniversary of Sierra Club BC’s founding.
Confronting the climate crisis and the cumulative impacts of reckless resource exploitation on species, ecosystems and communities demands that environmental justice and reconciliation remain at the core of our work. Hannah’s vision and skills with community-building, and demonstrated experience working at the intersection of Indigenous and non-Indigenous law will be huge assets to Sierra Club BC.
Prior to signing on with Sierra Club BC, Hannah worked as a staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law, where her focus included water governance, Indigenous law, and advocating for proactive and inclusive planning processes to address the cumulative impacts of industrial development.
Hannah is deeply familiar with Sierra Club BC’s history, priorities and practice, having served for three years on its board of directors.
Before becoming a lawyer, she was an instructor in the Aboriginal Justice Studies program at the Native Education College in Vancouver and a legal researcher on Anishinabek legal traditions for the Accessing Justice and Reconciliation project led by Cree/Gitxsan legal scholar Val Napoleon.
Hannah holds a Juris Doctorate from Osgoode Hall Law School where she focused on Aboriginal and environmental law. She also holds two Master of Arts degrees—in History and Anthropology—from the University of Toronto and McGill University.
The Board of Directors gratefully acknowledges senior management Caitlyn Vernon (Campaigns Director), Tim Pearson (Communications Director), and Chantal Barchard (CA, CPA—Sierra Club BC Finance Manager) for their excellent leadership during this transition period. Over the past year, while maintaining dynamic and effective campaigns, this team provided the organization with a stable operating base by implementing an organizational structure to support a sustainable increase in our capacity; phasing in new technologies; and enhancing the strength and sustainability of our financial resources.