Our Board
Philip Zwerling
Chair Philip Zwerling earned his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Orleans and his Ph.D. in Drama from UCSB. He taught as Playwright in Residence at Ursinus College and, prior to retirement, Chaired the Creative Writing Department at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley. He is the author, coauthor, editor, and co-editor of eight books.
Nathan Rich
Vice Chair Nathan Rich is of Dakota / Muscogee / Filipino / Irish descent. Born in Oakland California, Nathan will share his family’s history, their challenges and triumphs to build community and maintain a healthy cultural identity in an ever changing world. Nathan’s experiences of being raised in a Native Community in the diversity of the Bay Area provides a glimpse into the value of indigenous commitment to healthy communities.
Evelyn Acre Erickson
A descendant of the Muisca people of Colombia, Evelyn is passionate about Indigenous self-determination and Indigenous-led philanthropy. She founded Indigenous Resilience Consulting (IRC), with the mission to build Native led capacity and serve as a strategic advisor to both donors and Indigenous communities. Previously Evelyn co-founded and ran an international NGO for 15 years called International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP). It was the first organized effort to bring hundreds of millions of dollars directly into Indigenous communities.
She obtained her Bachelor’s and Master's degrees from Cornell University. Evelyn now lives in the territory of the Pomo tribe (now called Mendocino) with her husband and three children. She spends her free time exploring the raw beauty of the land
Clayton Duncan
Board Member Clayton Duncan is aa tribal elder of the Robinson Rancheria of Eastern Pomo in Lake County. He has the distinction of being the great grandson of Lucy Moore. At the age of 6, Lucy survived the massacre of Bloody Island at Clear Lake where the US Army slaughtered an untold number of Pomo in retaliation for the killing of Andrew Kelsey and Charles Stone who had
enslaved, whipped, murdered, and raped Indigenous people on their ranch in what is now Kelseyville.
Duncan led a project to erect a memorial at the site of the massacre and later worked to change the name of Kelseyville’s sports teams from The Indians to The Knights. Today he is working to change the name of Kelseyville itself so it no longer memorializes the rapacious Andrew Kelsey and his murderous brothers.
Nikcole Whipple
Board Member Nikcole Whipple is a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes. She is a water protector and policy advocate who works with organizations providing professional development in Native Land Stewardship and (TEK) Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Her work experience includes the exercise of Tribal Rights in creating policy initiatives to provide equitable recommendations in the oversight of cultural resources and the collaboration of community partners to provide cultural events for Tribal youth and families.
.JPG/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:600,h:600,cg:true)
Carol Furey
Carol Furey is a long time resident of Fort Bragg, who lived near Ten Mile Dunes for many years and became interested in the history of the area.
Her mother Barbara Furey took a Botany class at the College of the Redwoods in Fort Bragg from Teresa Sholars.
When Carol moved up here to live with her son and her parents, her mother took her on a walk over the dunes and pointed out every plant and its name.
That was her first introduction to this beautiful place. Carol graduated from the College of the Redwoods with an Associate of Science in General Studies degree.
After reading her college English teacher, Bob Winn's, monograph about the Mendocino Indian Reservation, and looking through her mother's copy of "Genocide and Vendetta," Carol began to realize the enormity of the history here and that it was not fully acknowledged in what she saw in local history displays and museums.
Carol is devoted to understanding how local history can be documented using digital archives.
John Fremont
John Fremont has been a resident of the Mendocino Coast for over 40 years. He formerly taught English and Literature at Brooklyn College, New York University, and the College of the Redwoods. He taught in Malaysia as a Peace Corps volunteer and marched with Martin Luther King and was a Freedom Rider. Locally he founded Cypress House publishing company and published authors from all over the world.