PROGRAM DETAILS
Date: Thurs, March 16, 2023 | 5-6 PM PT
Location: Virtual on Zoom
*Advance registration is required to receive Zoom link.
Tickets: FREE with $10 Suggested Donation
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Taking inspiration from our exhibition Terra Firma, curated by Marianne McGrath, join us for a special panel discussion exploring the importance of land stewardship, conservation, and environmental policy. Be a part of the conversation and hear from experts Don Hankins, Professor of Geography and Planning at California State University, Chico, Sasha Berleman Ph.D., Director of Fire Forward, and Valentin Lopez, Chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, as they share their knowledge and strategies, and welcome questions from our community.
Meet the Panelists
Sasha Berleman Ph.D.
Director of Fire Forward
Sasha is working to lead a change in the way we live with fire in the Bay Area. With her team, Sasha plans and organizes cooperative controlled burns and leads community efforts around fire management. Sasha earned her doctorate in wildland fire science from University of California at Berkeley focusing on prescribed fire use for restoration of ecosystem health. She is a CA State Certified Burn Boss, a Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX) coach and leader, and a wildland firefighter with Fire Effects Monitoring, Squad Boss, Crew Boss, Firing Boss, and Incident Commander qualifications. She was a member of the 2017 and 2018 Redding Interagency Hotshot Crew and still details with them every summer. Sasha is a board member of American Wildfire Experience, Bay Area Prescribed Fire Council, and Central Coast Prescribed Fire Council.
Don Hankins
Don Hankins is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at California State University, Chico and Field Director for the California State University Chico Ecological Reserves. His areas of expertise are pyrogeography, water resources, and conservation. Combining his academic and cultural knowledge as a Miwkoʔ traditional cultural practitioner, he is particularly interested in the application of Indigenous land stewardship practices as a keystone process to aid in conservation and stewardship. He is currently engaged in wildland fire research with an emphasis on landscape scale, prescribed and cultural burns; ecocultural restoration approaches to place; and policy. Don has been involved in various aspects of land stewardship and conservation for a variety of organizations and agencies including federal and Indigenous entities in North America and Australia. He is internationally recognized for his work on Indigenous fire. He serves as an advisor to the Indigenous Peoples Burning Network, co-lead to the Indigenous Stewardship Network, and is an appointed member of the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force executive committee.
Chairman Valentin Lopez
Amah Mutsun Tribal Band
Valentin Lopez has served as Chair of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band since 2003, and the President of the Amah Mutsun Land Trust since its inception. Valentin is a Native American Advisor to the University of California, Office of the President on issues related to repatriation. He is also a Native American Advisor to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology. Valentin is actively involved in efforts to restore tribal indigenous knowledge and ensure their history is accurately told.
