Aaron Mair
Retired NYSDOH GIS-Epidemiolgist
Dr. Aaron Mair is a retired New York State public health epidemiological-spatial analyst, environmentalist, and 57th national president of the Sierra Club with a Doctor of Humane Letters for his international climate work from the State University of New York at Binghamton. Dr. Mair was the Adirondack Council’s “Wilderness Campaign Director” responsible for connecting all New Yorkers to the nation’s largest environmental treasure. Dr. Mair is a forty-year veteran urban environmental activist; regional and national Environmental Justice organizer and strategist from the State of New York. Environmental Protection Agency Region Two, Year 2000 Citizen Environmentalist Activist Award recipient. 2024 Franklin Pierce University Fitzwater Communications Medallion award winner lecturer, for my work that centers on the intersection of climate change, wilderness protection, public policy.
As a national environmental justice movement pioneer, founder, and activist of the Arbor Hill, NY community in Albany, he was responsible for the creation of the W. Haywood Burns Environmental Education Center and the Arbor Hill Environmental Justice Corporation. He currently lives in Schenectady, New York and works for the Adirondack Council.
Strategic leader with a record of success directing programs and campaigns for social change. Background includes strategy, external affairs, brand development, and movement building. Strong operations and management experience. Experienced in working with diverse groups with differing agendas. Accomplished advisor, and coach. Recognized for project management, facilitation, initiative, collaboration, and inclusive leadership. Critical thinker with dedication to ongoing learning and development.
Mair was elected president of the Sierra Club on May 16, 2015, and was the organization's first African-American president. Mair has been a life member of the Sierra Club since 1999. Since that time, he has held many leadership positions with the Sierra Club: National Environmental Justice and Community Partnerships Chair 2010–present; National Diversity Council 2008-2010. New York Atlantic Chapter Chair 2003-2004; International Human Rights/Environment 2003–present; Environmental Justice 2002-2008; Wilderness, Water Quality/Habitats 2006-2011.
He is a graduate of Binghamton University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in History and Sociology and a certificate in Southwest Asia and North Africa Studies. Mair also trained at Rhode Island's Naval Education and Training Center and attended The American University in Cairo. He participated in Binghamton University's Political Science Doctoral Program, but left the program to begin State service in 1988.
In 1995, Mair founded the Arbor Hill Environmental Justice Corporation, which was a member of the White House Council on Environmental Quality from 1998 to 2000. He also founded, served as board member, and lectured at the W. Haywood Burns Environmental Education Center in the Albany Capital region of New York. In 1999, Mair was a founding member of Friends of Clean Hudson. In 2000, Mair received an EPA Environmental Quality Award for cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on the Hudson River. Mair also served as a board member at the New York League of Conservation Voters in 2000. Internationally, Mair has participated in the United Nations Climate Change “COP” Conferences since 2015 – 2028.