Board and Staff — Amah Mutsun Land Trust

Executive Leadership

Noelle Chambers, Executive Director

Noelle has dedicated her entire career to land protection and stewardship, and brings two decades of experience in land transactions. Noelle worked for Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) for 20 years in a variety of positions, including 5 years as Vice President of Conservation. Her tenure at POST has included the successful protection and transfer of over 30,000 acres for long-term conservation and stewardship. During her time at POST, Noelle has provided leadership and guidance to dozens of land transactions, including the acquisition of Pescadero Ranch, which is part of the greater Juristac cultural landscape. Her personal commitment to the interconnected healing of nature and people aligns closely with AMLT’s values. Over the past decade, Noelle has led POST to expand partnerships with Indigenous communities, reflecting her dedication to restoring traditional ecological knowledge and practices.

Board of Directors

Julie Pineida. Tribal member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band

Ed Ketchum. Amah Mutsun Tribal Chairman. Tribal Historian

Millie Bravo-Garris. Tribal Council Member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band

Diane Vargas. Tribal member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band

Nick Carabajal. Tribal member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band

Julisa Lopez. Tribal member of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band

Steve Abbors. Former General Manager of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District

Susan True. CEO of Community Foundation Santa Cruz County

Amanda Serenyi. Nonprofit Accounting Consulting

Guillermo Rodriguez. California State Director of the Trust for Public Land

Robert ‘Perl’ Perlmutter. Partner at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP

Staff

Adam French. Programs Director

Alec Apodaca. Cultural Resources Program Manager

Annaliz Rodriguez. (Tribal Member), Program Assistant

Angelo Espinosa. (Tribal Member), Accountant/Bookkeeper

Bianca Vasquez. (Tribal Member) Cultural Resources Monitor

Casey Estorga. Director of Finance and Operations

Catherine Luna Rodriguez. (Tribal member) Sunlit House Cook/Housekeeper

Emily Sanchez. Executive Assistant

Evie Lichtenberg. Accounting Assistant

Jacob Harris. Coastal and Oceans Stewardship Program Manager

Jacob Sackin. Grants Manager

Jaynee Venegas. (Tribal Member), Community Engagement Lead

Jennifer Webster. Staff Accountant

Josh Higuera-Hood. (Tribal Member), Ethnobotany Specialist

Jodi Litz. Director of Development

Marion Martinez. (Tribal Member), ITK Database Administrator

Maura Pratt. (Tribal Member), Program Manager

Michael Pratt. (Tribal Member) Cultural Resources Monitor

Nathaniel Cruz Vasquez. (Tribal Member), Cultural Monitor

Selam Woldetensaye. Controller

Steven Pratt. (Tribal Member), Program Supervisor

Taylor Pulsifer. Lands Project Manager

Tyler Suttle. Tribal Historic Preservation Coordinator

Tribal Stewards

Anthony Travino. (Tribal Member), Native Steward

Esak Ordoñez. (Tribal Member), Native Steward

Sabella Cordova. (Tribal Member), Native Steward

Sophia Cordova. (Tribal Member), Native Steward

Zechariah Ordoñez. (Tribal Member), Native Steward

Research Associates

Alexii Sigona, Research Fellow Tribal Member and UC Davis President's Native American Studies Postdoctoral Fellow

Rick Flores, M.A. Traditional Resource Management Specialist and Steward of the Amah Mutsun Relearning Program, University of California, Santa Cruz Arboretum.

Gabriel M. Sanchez, Ph.D. Historical Ecology, Archaeology, and Climate Change Program. Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, and Curator of Zooarchaeology, Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon.

K. Michelle Glowa, Ph.D. Political Ecologist Partner with Protect Juristac and assorted research projects. Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology and Social Change California Institute of Integral Studies.