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Calvin Hedrick

Community Organizer -Northern California
Mountain Maidu

Angelia 'Angie' Diaz

Youth Organizing Coordinator
Dińe

Candee McCovey

Director of Programs and Operations
Hoopa Valley Tribe

Chrissie Castro

Co-founder and Executive Director

Diné & Chicana

Rene' Williams

Director of Strategic Initiatives
Colville Tribes

Thomas Sills

Senior Project Manager
Bishop Paiute

Isel Cuapio

Communications Manager

Tlaxcalteca

Maya Sanchez

Youth Organizer
Diné & Mexika

Sequoia Coleman

Northern California Youth Organizer
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma & Mvskoke Creek

Kameiko Hostler

Northern California Youth Organizing Fellow
Hoopa Valley Tribe

Elizabeth Garcia

Operations Coordinator
Chicana

Liam Walsh

Youth Organizing Coordinator
Rincon Luiseño

Maria Villamil

Senior Program Manager
Mexica, Zapotec Xicana
Elizabeth Garcia
Operations Coordinator
Chicana

Elizabeth Garcia provides support with administrative, operational, and to the organization in general. She received her B.A in Sociology with the option in Social Welfare and Social Justice from California State University, Northridge. She believes in the importance of access to higher education for all students. She enjoys traveling, the outdoors, and spending time with her dog, Luna.

Sequoia Coleman
Northern California Youth Organizer
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma & Mvskoke Creek
Sequoia Coleman, Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and Mvskoke Creek, is a Northern California Youth Organizer. Born and raised in the city of Sacramento, traditional Nisenan Land, Sequoia is devoted to empowering Native youth for a brighter future. Her academic journey includes a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences from the University of Hawaii and ongoing studies in the CSU Sacramento Multicultural Education Masters program, reflecting her steadfast dedication to education and personal growth. Outside of her professional life, Sequoia coaches girls’ basketball at Antelope High School, and enjoys various hobbies from crafting to traveling. She is an avid reader, particularly of Greek Mythology.
Candee McCovey
Director of Programs and Operations
Hoopa Valley Tribe
Candee McCovey, is a member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and is of Yurok and Karuk descent in far north of California. She is the Director of Programs and Operations and currently the Acting Director of the California Native Vote Project. Candee earned her bachelor’s degree in Native American Studies from CalPoly Humboldt while raising her three children as a single mom. Candee is also a traditional cook for her family’s traditional dances and enjoys feeding the people and the dancers.
Maria Villamil
Senior Program Manager
Mexica, Zapotec Xicana
Maria Villamil is a Xicana Indigenous first-generation daughter of Mexican and Zapotec descent. She is a single mother of two sons and a daughter. She has been involved in community transformation and organizing since her early years in high school. She has had the opportunity to work closely in community transformation and human development with many community leaders and organizations across the city of Los Angeles and State for the last two decades.
Angelina Diaz
Youth Organizing Coordinator
Dińe
Angelina Diaz is a Diné (Navajo) and Guatemalan woman who was born and raised in Inglewood, C.A. She resides in the Inland Empire County, on Kizh and Tongva territory. As a Youth Fellow Organizer, Angelina helps bring Native and Indigenous youth across California to a safe environment where they can express who they are without judging what background they came from. Angelina is also currently an Ambassador with The California Endowment: President’s Youth Council; she brings justice to her Native and Indigenous communities in the California area. When Angelina isn’t serving her community, she loves to spend time with her relatives off/on the reservation. She also enjoys playing the guitar, singing, playing soccer, and spending time on self-care habits.
Liam Walsh
Youth Organizing Coordinator
Rincon Luiseño

Liam Walsh is a UC Santa Cruz alumni who serves as the statewide outreach manager for the California Native Vote Project team. Liam grew up in Portland and moved as a teenager to the Valley Center area near the Rincon Reservation, where his family lives. 

Liam spends most of his free time surfing, skiing, and playing guitar for his dog. Liam found his passion for social justice work while working with ACORN at UC Santa Cruz. As the statewide outreach manager Liam works in the areas of Covid programs, census work, and voter engagement work surrounding elections.

Isel Cuapio
Communications Manager
Tlaxcalteca
Isel Cuapio, Tlaxcalteca, is an experienced journalist and organizer skilled in storytelling, radio broadcasting, and digital campaigns. Isel joined the project in 2020 to support and advance the electoral justice work to increase Native political power in California. They received a B.A. in Political Science and English from UC Riverside in 2017. Isel enjoys writing poetry, photography and organizes in their community.
Maya Sanchez
Youth Organizer
Diné & Mexika
Maya Sanchez is Diné and Mexika, born and raised in Los Angeles. She started as a canvasser for California Native Vote Project in 2017 and was brought onto the Team in 2019 as a Youth Organizer. Maya has developed a passion for working with Native Youth and advocating for our MMIWG2S+ relatives in her time here. She was a 2021 Fellow in the Remembering our Sister Fellowship with the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute. In her spare time, Maya enjoys developing her passion for the Culinary Arts, Discovering new small businesses to support, and spending time with her Dog.
Chrissie Castro
Co-founder and Executive Director
Diné & Chicana
Chrissie Castro, Diné and Chicana, is the co-founder and Executive Director of the California Native Vote Project. She is the Vice-Chairperson of the Los Angeles City and County Native American Indian Commission and co-led the change to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day in Los Angeles City and County. She co-founded Advance Native Political Leadership and is a leadership and coach trainer for multiracial grassroots leaders in service to healing, justice, and liberation.
Thomas Sills
Senior Project Manager
Bishop Paiute
Thomas Sills is a Senior Project Manager at the California Native Vote Project, California’s first and only state-wide Native American power-building organization. Sills is a member of the Bishop Paiute Tribe and was raised on the Bishop Paiute Reservation in Payahuunadü (Owens Valley). Growing up as a rez kid, Sills has a deep understanding of the educational, economic, and health disparities faced by Native American communities. He is driven by a personal mission to improve the lives of Native people throughout California and across Indian Country. Sills is passionate about Native health, the Nüümü Yadoha language, and utilizing modern technologies to preserve and celebrate ancestral, Indigenous knowledge. With a Master’s Degree in Public Health, Health Management from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from UCLA, Sills brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his role.
Rene’ Williams
Director of Strategic Initiatives
Colville Tribes
Rene’ Williams, member of the Colville Tribes, was raised on her reservation. Rene is committed to working towards health equity to address health disparities and the social determinants of health for Native American people. During her 30 years of service with various tribal entities and nonprofits Rene’ held various leadership positions throughout the United States. She developed and implemented numerous health, educational, workforce development, and youth programs, including two large regional Tribal designated TANF programs among many HHS, DOL, DOI projects. Rene strives to make a difference by guiding and encouraging AI/AN to establish a self-sustaining way of life.
Kameiko Hostler
Northern California Youth Organizing Fellow
Hoopa Valley Tribe
Kameiko Hostler, a proud citizen of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, originates from the village of Ta’k’milding, where her ancestors have resided for time immemorial. With her great-grandmother as the oldest living member of her Tribe, she has had the privilege of acquiring extensive knowledge of her tribal values and teachings, shaping her into the person she is today. Currently serving as the Northern California Youth Organizing Fellow in Sacramento, Kameiko holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, blending academic knowledge with practical experience.
Calvin Hedrick
Community Organizer -Northern California
Mountain Maidu
Calvin Hedrick is Mountain Maidu. Calvin is the Lead Organizer for CNVP in Sacramento. He has over 22 years of experience working with American Indian communities in California. Calvin earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Native American Studies from Humboldt State University (Now CalPoly Humboldt) and attended Graduate school at UCLA. He is a Maidu dancer and is knowledgeable in Native culture. Calvin lives with his wife Virginia and three sons (ages 21, 12, 10) and two nieces (ages 5 and 7) in Carmichael, CA.