SC/PA Zero Waste Team - Need a team leader for 2026

[Jim Wylie]

Hi all. Happy New Year.

I'd like to introduce you to Kara Kukovich, a volunteer leader with the Allegheny Group (Pittsburgh area) and the incoming PA Chapter Conservation Vice Chair. Kara will be supporting the 9 Chapter Conservation Teams. Do not hesitate to reach out to Kara with any questions or suggestions for the coming year concerning the Conservation Teams. 

And as you may know, Melinda is stepping back from leading the Zero Waste team this year. Is anyone interested in leading or co-leading the ZW team this year? Doing all of the things that Melinda has been doing (meeting reminders, agenda building, notes, inviting guest speakers) or sharing those duties? Perhaps with a set rotation for the year. If so, please contact Kara or myself.

Finally, a reminder that the Winter Conservation Teams All-Hands meeting is coming up on Wed, Jan 7. REGISTER HERE. It would be great to have a ZW team leader in place by then so we can share with everyone who that point person(s) is and when the meetings will be held. But if we need to take January to figure this out, that's OK too.

Zero Waste is one of the bigger teams with 79 members. You all joined this team because you wanted to contribute to reducing plastics and waste in general across Pennsylvania. If 2 or 3 people can volunteer to cover some of the administrative aspects of this team, we can continue to do good work of educating ourselves and Sierra Club followers about the need to move away from use-once lifestyles and support legislation that encourages industries in PA to use better/less packaging and reusable products.

Thank you all. 

Jim Wylie

Kara Kukovich

[Melinda Wolff]

Know that I will help the new leader of the ZW team.  I can cover some of the administrative aspects of this team, as Jim has requested volunteers for!

I will be unavailable on Jan 7 for the Conservation Teams All-Hands meeting (I'll be in NYC seeing a Broadway play:  Chess).  

In 2024, our monthly meetings were held on the first Monday of the month, 5:45-6:45pm.  The times and days of the meetings need to accommodate the busy evening schedules of the new SW team leader, Jim, Kara and the most active participants of ZW Team - one of the more daunting tasks of ZW team leading!!

Question for Jim - has your leadership responsibilities changed for 2026?  

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[Kara Kukovich]

Hi All,

I wanted to introduce myself since I will be coordinating with all of you as the new PA Chapter Conservation Vice Chair in the year ahead. Thank you Jim for reaching out and introducing me.

I have been part of the Allegheny Group ExCom for going on 5 years now. I primarily chair the Outings and Events Committee, but have also chaired or co-chaired the Conservation Committee and Membership Committee, as well as being the group's delegate to the PA chapter. Before that I was an avid member and volunteer with the Sierra Club (since the 1990s), but in different parts of the country since I moved a lot as a seasonal outdoor/environmental educator. I am originally from Arlington, Virginia, but have lived all over the northeast, southwest, and west coast, as well as abroad. My dad is from the Pittsburgh area though so I grew up with Pennsylvania as a second home. I have officially lived in the state since 2021, about an hour south of Pittsburgh in a small college town called California. I currently substitute teach, but am looking for more stable work as a full time teacher or in the environmental advocacy field. I am also a published poet and am currently working on a memoir. So I stay busy! 

Jim and Tom Au have been helping me immensely in preparing me for my new role with the chapter. I hope I can be a resource for you and provide you with the tools and guidance you need to make this committee successful. I hope to make it to one of your meetings soon and look forward to meeting some of you at our big Conservation Teams All-Hands meeting coming up on Jan 7th. In the meantime, I am interested in knowing what you consider to be some major issues or updates relating to waste. Feel free to tell me something about you too so I get to know you all!

Thank you,

Kara Kukovich

On Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 9:39 AM Jim Wylie <jimw...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Jim Wylie]

To answer Melinda's Q, I've been nominated (not yet confirmed) for several roles for 2026:

Southeastern PA Group (SPG)

• Conservation Chair

Pennsylvania Chapter

• Chapter ExCom Member At-Large Delegate (thanks to anyone that voted for me)
• Council of Club Leaders - PA Delegate ( national body - one delegate from each of the 63 Chapters)
• Membership Chair
• Digital Tools Help Team Leader
• Dirty Energy Team Leader

Happy New Year 😄

Jim