Penny joined the Sierra Club in 2018, having worked in the nonprofit sector since 2003 in a variety of marketing and communications roles, including editing three award-winning magazines. Among other duties, she sits on the City of Columbia’s Climate Protection Action Committee, helping the city fulfill the promise of 100% clean, renewable energy. As a strategic thinker in her community, Cothran has served on several nonprofit boards outside of work, primarily in the realm of homelessness and poverty alleviation. In 2014, she was recognized for her volunteerism as an Influential Woman in Business by the Columbia Regional Business Report.