The Board of Directors meets the 4th Tuesday of every month, at 5:30pm. If you’d like to attend the board meeting, contact Kylie Sherman at [email protected] or by calling 559-320-0490.
Ralph Vigil, Board Chair
Current Superintendent at West Park Elementary School District. Serving as an educator since 1981. Hobbies include: Art, Music, Writing, Running, Fishing and Hunting.
“Humankind Advocate for a Progressive World Existence”
Bobby Von Martin - Board Vice-Chair
Bobby is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He resides in Fresno, CA with his three children: Nicholas, Bobby Jr and Vonna Lee. Bobby is a registered artist of the Choctaw Nation. His work has been seen worldwide and has made many
publications in Native American Magazines. He is the 2022 Horizon Artist of the year recipient. Bobby is a published Children’s book illustrator.
Bobby is known for the impact he makes in the Native community with the unique art he creates of real Native people, for the Native people. He is also a public speaker on suicide, alcohol and domestic violence awareness. He travels up and down California and Oklahoma teaching art to young students and elders, and spreading his love of art. In his spare time he likes to work on his classic cars with his children and gives back to the community as much as he can.
Janet Bill - Treasurer
During her time at Stanford, Janet was active in the Native American community, serving as co-chair of the Stanford American Indian Organization, and received awards for her excellence in research and writing. In addition to her leadership roles, Janet has also contributed to academia as a Lecturer in Federal Indian Law at Stanford University.
Janet currently serves as the Chief Justice for the Tule River Indian Tribe of California and is a Board of Trustees member for the California Indian Legal Services, Inc. She has extensive experience in leadership roles, including serving as a Tribal leader for her Tribe, where she spearheaded Tribal programs and legislative advocacy efforts to protect and advance Native American rights. Her legal experience also includes fellowships and clerkships with the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and various Tribal communities throughout the Country.
Recognized for her dedication and expertise, Janet has received the 2024 Outstanding Young Attorney Award from the California Indian Law Association, Inc. and an Assembly Certificate of Recognition from the California Legislature. Licensed to practice in California, she is committed to enhancing the legal services provided to Tribal communities and creating systemic changes to ensure prosperity for our future generations.
LeeCee M. Lee-Oliver, PHD - Secretary
Dr. Leece Lee-Oliver came to Fresno after years of working in her community in Eugene Oregon, where she learned to teach and do community work from her Lakota elders, and the bay area, where she continued her education in Native American and Ethnic Studies.
Today she is a professor at Fresno State, where her community work and research focus on American Indian histories, sovereignty, and wellness. She works with oral tradition, law, critical auto-ethnography, and cultural-artistic expression to explore how American Indian communities respond to legal and social issues that erode sovereignty and impact the quality of life of American Indians. Her current projects include research and consultation on the contemporary epidemic rate of violence against American Indian women and girls, cultural practices and American Indian wellness, supporting American Indian youth. Dr. Lee-Oliver serves on the board of the Fresno American Indian Health Project, which provides cultural and wellness services to American Indians in the Central Valley
Audrey Osborne - Member
Pam Coronado - Member
Pam Coronado is an active member of her tribe the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians. Over the years, she has served on several committees for her tribe including the Election Committee, Constitutional Reform Committee, and currently serves as the Education Committee Chair.
She graduated from Fresno State University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts Degree and a minor in English. She went on to pursue a Master’s of Reading/Language Arts in 1999 and the Professional Administrative Services Credential in 2004. She was involved in the Tewaquachi Club while attending Fresno State and recently helped establish the Native American Alumni Association. She recently retired from the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools where she served as the Executive Director where she was responsible for program development and oversight of the Court and Community Schools programs in Fresno County. Education is her passion.
Darlene Franco - Member
Darlene Franco, a citizen of the Wukchumni Tribe, previously served at the Fresno American Indian Health Project beginning in 2018 as the Community Garden Coordinator and later as Cultural Coordinator and Director of the Native Wellness Department. Raised in Visalia, Darlene grew up deeply connected to her Native cultural traditions and was mentored in basket weaving by her maternal grandmother, Beatrice Wilcox Arancis. She continues to carry forward the teachings of her mother, Martha Tapleras, along with the guidance of many respected elders.
Darlene currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Wukchumni Tribe nonprofit and Chairperson of the Wukchumni Tribal Council. She is also a board member of Quaker Oaks Farm, the Marigold Foundation, and the Sequoia Riverlands Trust. In addition, she recently completed a two-year commitment on the Agriculture Land Equity Task Force for the California Strategic Growth Council, contributing to statewide efforts focused on land access and equity.
Before focusing on agricultural and community initiatives, Darlene worked in the insurance industry and directed statewide Native language revitalization programs while supporting several nonprofit cultural organizations serving Indigenous communities. Inspired by the memory of her father, a farmworker who lost his life to cancer, she became committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of her community.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Darlene founded Wukchumni Farms, an initiative dedicated to strengthening community food sovereignty. What began as a community garden has grown into a multifaceted effort producing fresh foods, medicinal plants, basket weaving materials, and eggs while supporting seed saving, composting, and a plant nursery. Through partnerships with organizations such as FoodLink of Tulare County, the Wukchumni Food Pantry distributes food to the community several times each month.
Darlene also leads a number of youth and community initiatives, including a Native Services Boys & Girls Club, prevention activities through the Elevate Youth Program, Wukchumni language and cultural programs, land restoration work, and the Wukchumni Community Land Trust, where a housing development project is currently underway. In April 2025, she was named Nexstar’s Remarkable Woman of the Central Valley by KSEE 24 in recognition of her leadership and service.
Committed to honoring her ancestors and strengthening the future of her people, Darlene’s work centers on restoring connections to land, culture, and community for generations to come.