Sierra Nevada, CA) The Sierra Fund, a respected regional organization, proudly announces their board of directors has elected six new Indigenous Board Members from around the region (making the board 75% Indigenous members) and hired a visionary Indigenous leader as their new Chief Executive Officer – transforming the nonprofit into an Indigenous-led new force for the Sierra Nevada. By centering the voices of the Sierra’s first nations, The Sierra Fund seeks to blend traditional ecological wisdom with western science to restore and protect Sierra lands, waters, and communities through practices that have sustained it for generations. For the full board member list and bios visit here.
The transformation, fully supported by the prior Executive Director and board, includes the adoption of a new mission to invest in and elevate Indigenous place-based wisdom, leadership, and guardianship to achieve reparative justice and resilient Sierra Nevada cultural ecologies and communities for future generations.
“The Sierra Fund’s new mission is about more than conservation,” said A. Brian Wallace (Washoe/Nisenan), Chief Executive Officer, The Sierra Fund. “It is a call to action for funders, allies, and partners to join a collaborative journey to a sustainable future. This is an organization reflective of a new movement to center and honor indigenous sovereignty to promote ecological balance and enhance community resiliency more effectively.”
A. Brian Wallace, the new Sierra Fund Chief Executive Officer, is a visionary Indigenous leader with a wealth of experience and success in advancing tribal led initiatives. Wallace served as an elected official of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California from 1979-2006, including four terms as Tribal Chairman. Wallace secured federal court protection of sacred sites in Lake Tahoe and throughout Washoe homelands, was a key leader ensuring clean-up of the Leviathan Mine superfund site, facilitated a bio-cultural international agreement on restoration with the Republic of Buryatia and the Washoe Tribe, and was a founding member of the Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee. Under his leadership the Washoe Tribe created their first Environmental Protection Department, Development Corporation, Cultural Foundation, Language School, and Land Trust.
“I’ve worked for over forty years in the conservation movement, and I’ve never been this excited about coming to work,” said Joan Clayburgh, prior Executive Director and now retained as Executive Officer of Strategy and Operations. “This bold transformation is reflective of a profound commitment to Indigenous leadership and decision making, knowing that centering Indigenous wisdom is needed more than ever to craft solutions for the challenges ahead. I am not indigenous and I’m very honored to be invited to serve under this talented and committed new CEO and board.”
The Sierra Nevada Indigenous-led organization will be launching five new innovative Indigenous centered programs in the coming years: 1) Climate Adaptation, Emergency Services and Community Safety. 2) Cultural Ecologies – promoting tribal ecological knowledge, language, food, and data sovereignty and revitalization. 3) Land and Water Guardianship, 4) Workforce and Social Investment Strategies, and 5) Reconciliation and Equity. The organization’s approach will establish and support collaborative tribal efforts, offer technical assistance and mentorship, create knowledge sharing platforms and events, support Indigenous land return and land and water management, and advocate for the centering of tribal voices and the rights of nature.
“By centering Indigenous knowledges and tribal ancestral wisdom in the promotion of a culture that is founded on the principles of collective stewardship, we work together to preserve and restore the rich biodiversity of the Sierra. We ensure that our future generations can enjoy the natural beauty that defined this region since time immemorial” said Dr. Lisa Grayshield, (Washoe), Chair of The Sierra Fund’s Board of Directors. “This collaboration is writing a new future, one defined by reconciliation, stewardship, and shared responsibility for the land and our more than human relatives with whom we share this land we call home.”
This revitalized organization can create a long-lasting legacy of empowered communities and protected landscapes. Collaborating with tribes across the region, The Sierra Fund will support Indigenous visions for the future and help create a sustainable and resilient future for all peoples and life.
The Sierra Fund invites the public to be a part of this transformative journey. The Sierra Fund launched a GoFundMe Campaign to show support for helping the Sierra Bioregion thrive by elevating the stewardship and leadership of Indigenous peoples.
“The sky shouts now or never,” continued Wallace. “Together, we can create a future where Indigenous wisdom and western science unite to protect our natural worlds, cultures, and ecologies for generations to come.”
For more information or to support The Sierra Fund, visit https://sierrafund.org