This Work Grows Through Community

Nikcole Whipple is a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes and an active leader in the Noyo Bida Truth Project. A water protector and policy advocate, her work centers on Native land stewardship, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), Tribal rights, and the protection of cultural resources.

Nikcole brings her experience in community organizing and cultural advocacy directly into Noyo Bida’s work and serves as producer of Ch’a Hinthel, Ch’a Xo: One People, One Fire, our annual Indigenous cultural and community gathering. She is committed to strengthening Indigenous visibility, cultural connection, and opportunities for Tribal youth, families, and communities.

Evelyn Acre Erickson is a Muisca descendant, nonprofit leader, and advocate for Indigenous self-determination. Her work has focused on philanthropy, community development, and supporting initiatives that strengthen Indigenous communities and advance cultural and ecological well-being.

As Treasurer and an active leader in the Noyo Bida Truth Project, Evelyn brings experience in nonprofit stewardship, organizational development, and community partnership to the board. She helps guide the organization’s growth while supporting work that strengthens Indigenous visibility, relationship, and meaningful change on the Mendocino Coast.

Clayton Duncan is an Eastern Pomo Tribal elder with deep ancestral and family ties to Mendocino County. His commitment to preserving Indigenous history and cultural memory is rooted in the experiences of his own family, including his great-grandmother, who survived the forced removal of Native people from the Mendocino Coast to Round Valley.

Clayton has long advocated for greater recognition of Indigenous history, culture, and place names throughout the region. As a board member of the Noyo Bida Truth Project, he brings an elder’s perspective, lived knowledge, and a commitment to honoring the Native peoples whose histories and continuing presence are inseparable from the Mendocino Coast.

Philip Zwerling is the founder and Board Chair of the Noyo Bida Truth Project. An educator, author, and longtime advocate for social justice, he brings decades of experience in teaching, research, community organizing, and civic engagement to the organization.

Philip founded the effort originally known as Change Our Name Fort Bragg, helping initiate a community conversation about the history behind the city’s name and whose stories are represented in our public landscape.

As the organization has grown into the Noyo Bida Truth Project, he continues to provide leadership, historical research, and advocacy while supporting its broader work of truth-telling, relationship-building, and repair on the Mendocino Coast.

Nathan Rich is of Dakota, Muscogee, Filipino, and Irish heritage and was raised within Native community and culture. His diverse ancestry and upbringing have shaped his commitment to Indigenous history, cultural continuity, and building understanding across communities.

As Vice Chair of the Noyo Bida Truth Project, Nathan brings his lived experience and perspective to the board’s work of truth-telling, education, and strengthening relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities on the Mendocino Coast.

Aeon Karris is a leadership mentor, organizational strategist, and community builder whose work centers on relationship, ecological awareness, and creating meaningful cultural and organizational change. She brings decades of experience in entrepreneurship, communications, leadership development, and building communities around shared purpose.

As an active leader in the Noyo Bida Truth Project, Aeon supports organizational strategy, communications, community outreach, and the development of partnerships and programs. Her work with Noyo Bida is grounded in a commitment to truth-telling, reciprocity, and helping non-Indigenous people understand their responsibility to build respectful relationships with Indigenous peoples and the lands and waters they call home.

Lavender Grace Kent is a Mendocino Coast artist, cultural practitioner, and storyteller rooted in the back-to-the-land lineage of this place. Of Gaelic and Celtic descent, she carries traditions of women’s drum, song, and dance, shaped by a life lived close to forest, ocean, and community. For more than three decades, her work has explored the intersection of creativity, cultural ecology, and relationship with place.

As Secretary and an active leader in the Noyo Bida Truth Project, Lavender brings her deep local relationships and experience in community arts, storytelling, and cultural programming to the work. She helps create opportunities for people to gather, listen, learn, and strengthen their relationship with the history, cultures, lands, and waters of the Mendocino Coast.

Kyle Whiterock is Yokayo and Big Valley Pomo, with deep cultural and ancestral ties to Mendocino County. His work centers on Native youth, education, cultural continuity, and creating opportunities for younger generations to remain connected to their identity, community, and heritage.

As a board member of the Noyo Bida Truth Project, Kyle brings his perspective as a local Indigenous community member and educator to the organization’s work of strengthening Indigenous visibility, supporting cultural knowledge, and creating a more truthful understanding of the history and living Native presence of the Mendocino Coast.