Wayne’s Sierra Club World: A hui hou e Tanya!
by Wayne Tanaka, Chapter Director | Reading time: 2 minutes
If you’ve participated in a Sierra Club event, rally, panel, or native tree giveaway – or if the Sierra Club has touched your life in the past five years – then the odds are high that you have Tanya Dreizin to thank.
Since first joining us as a legislative intern, and throughout her subsequent role as our Advancement and Administrative Associate, Tanya has become an integral foundation of what we do.
From revamping (or creating from scratch!) our current administrative systems and processes, to writing grants, to organizing events like our Virtual Tree Planting native tree giveaways, to making sure our bills get paid and lights stay on – and so much more – Tanya has breathed life into the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi’s activities in almost every way. Her organizational efforts, creativity, and diligence have revolutionized the way we do our work, and the institutional improvements she has developed and implemented will continue to pay dividends for years to come.
Beyond her professional and technical competence and expertise, Tanya also brought to the Hawai‘i Chapter a personality defined by deep empathy, great humility, and a desire to see all of us succeed – characteristics that have helped to solidify the amazing family of staff and volunteers who I am so incredibly fortunate to work with.
As the Hawaiʻi Chapter’s new executive director, I cannot emphasize enough how much I have personally been saved by Tanya and all that she has done. Both the Chapter and myself would not be where we are today were it not for her contributions.
Which is why it is with both optimism and some sadness that we must bid Tanya a fond “a hui hou,” as she departs the Sierra Club to focus on her Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Through the Sierra Club and her own personal community work, Hawai‘i and our environment has already benefitted tremendously from Tanya Dreizin. With her skills, talents, and dedication, it is clear that her educational and professional endeavors will only enhance her powers to contribute to our islands and to our planet. I think I can speak for all of us here on the Sierra Club team that we are tremendously excited to see her take on this next chapter in her life, and what it will bring for the future of us all.
Mahalo nui loa e Tanya, for all that you’ve done and all who you are!
Me ke aloha nui,
Wayne