THE CULTURAL CONSERVANCY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
AND STAFF

Tirso A. Gonzales, Ph.D. (Peruvian of Aymara descent) His accumulated work experience as scholar, international consultant and activist has allowed him to work closely with Indigenous Peoples and related issues in the Americas (North, Central and South). Dr. Gonzales is an assistant professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of British Colombia - Okanagan, Canada. He completed his Ph.D. in Rural Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He recently worked for two years as a member of the Peruvian National Commission of Indigenous Andean, Amazonian and Afro Peruvian People. His current work explores the use of participatory methodologies and techniques on issues central to indigenous development, community development, indigenous and local histories, indigenous strategic visions, and local management of natural resources. Dr. Gonzales is committed to supporting the agenda of Indigenous Peoples as well as processes related to ecological knowledge, cultural affirmation and decolonization.

Kimla McDonald, Secretary, M.A. University of California, Berkeley (Landscape Architecture). Kimla is trained both as a landscape architect and as a midwife, and is currently working in the health care field. She has worked as a producer of documentary films with the Earth Island Institute's Sacred Land Film Project. She has decades of experience protecting sacred sites and working with Native nations in the desert Southwest and serves as a special advisor to our indigenous health projects. Kimla is an original founding board member of the Sacred Land Foundation, the parent organization to the Cultural Conservancy. She lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

L. Frank Manriquez, (Tongva/Ajachmem), Native California Indian artist, tribal scholar, cartoonist, language advocate, and self-described “decolonizationist,” L. Frank has exhibited her artwork (paintings, sculpture, weavings, cartoons, regalia) in museums and galleries locally, nationally, and internationally. L. Frank is the co-founder of Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival and serves on the board of Neshkanukat. She is the author of two books, Acorn Soup and the forthcoming First Families: A Photographic History of California Indians, both published by Heyday Books.

Melissa Nelson (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) President, (Turtle Mountain Chippewa), University of California, Davis (Cultural Ecology with Emphasis in Native American Studies). Melissa is a writer, researcher, educator, and cultural and environmental activist. She has served as The Cultural Conservancy’s president and executive director since 1993. Since 2002 she has also served as an assistant professor of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University. Nelson is a Switzer Environmental Fellow and Leadership Award recipient and has served on the boards of numerous environmental organizations including Earth Island Institute and the Collective Heritage Institute, the parent organization to the Bioneers Conference. Her published works have appeared in academic and national journals.

The Cultural Conservancy Staff and Program Consultants

Melissa Nelson (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) – Executive Director and President. Melissa has served in this capacity since 1993.

Nicola Wagenberg, M.A. (Colombian) – is Programs and Production Director for TCC. Nicola is a videographer, digital storyteller, educator and community advocate. For seven years, Nícola was Programs Director and teacher with Just Think, a media education organization. Her students created award winning documentaries that speak about the struggles and resistance of inner city youth. She is also a facilitator and filmmaker with Herstories, a community based multi-disciplinary performance and art project. Nicola is a candidate for Psy.D. in Psychology with an emphasis on intra-generational trauma and restoration of cultural traditions.

Philip M. Klasky, M.A., is the Storyscape Project Director and an environmental and indigenous rights activist. He is a nationally known environmental justice and anti-nuclear activist. He holds a Master’s degree in Geography and Human Environmental Studies from San Francisco State University and lectures there in the American Indian Studies department. Phil has founded and served on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations including the Bay Area Nuclear Waste Coalition and the Institute for Deep Ecology. His published works have appeared in academic and popular journals.

Laura Baldez (Mexican-American) – is a graduate of Columbia University and holds her B.A. degree in Anthropology. She worked in Development at the Natural Resources Defense Council; as a Corpsmember with the Washington Conservation Corps; and as a teacher at both an urban school garden and ranch in California. Currently, Laura is working at the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) and at the Cultural Conservancy (TCC) as the Native Foods Coordinator.

Bernadette Zambrano (Chicana) – is an urban gardener, seed collector and saver, and researcher. She strongly believes that everyone needs to know how to grow their own food and medicine (herbs). Bernadette worked at the native plant nursery in the Presidio of San Francisco, and she presently gardens at various sites throughout the Bay Area. She also conducts research for a documentary on the indigenous perspective of corn/maize. She is a co-founder of the Terra Madre Fund for Indigenous Women and has served as a board member of the American Indian Contemporary Arts in San Francisco.

Enrique Salmon, Ph.D. (Raramuri) – directs our Native Foodways Book Project and is completing an exciting nonfiction book about the revitalization of Native American food traditions. Enrique was raised in the Sierra Tarahumara of Mexico and in the United States and is an ethnoecologist specializing in the Indigenous cultures, plants, and lands of the Southwest.
Padma Holland (Mexican-American) – owner and manager of Padma, Inc. is an accountant and bookkeeper for numerous businesses and nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has served as TCC’s accountant and financial manager since 1993.

Tonu Shane Eagleton (Pacific Islander – Rotuman/Tongan), Artist-In-Residence -- is a wood carver and environmental artist, educator, and activist. He has completed major public art projects in England, Australia, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, and the US. He is renowned for his large-scale “healing poles” that are located in the San Francisco Zoo, Shoreline Amphitheater, Bronx Zoo, and on private lands throughout California and Hawaii. He is currently teaching ecological woodcarving at the Windward Community College, Oahu, and building canoes with Master Woodcarver T’ione of Tonga.