Mission & Purpose

Mel Figueroa brings nearly 15 years of expertise and experience in traditional ecological knowledge and community-based natural resource management to COL. A PhD Candidate in Geography at UC Berkeley, she has conducted fieldwork with traditional communities in North and South America, including in the lower Amazon River basin studying traditional agroforestry and burning practices to create the carbon-rich, biochar-based anthropogenic soils known as terra preta. For the last three years in Butte County, she has worked closely with Ali Meders-Knight to create a Tribal TEK certification and workforce development program, as well as partner with local and federal agencies on planning, project development, and contracting for Tribally led restoration, fuels management, and climate adaptation projects throughout the northern Sierra Nevada region. Mel and Ali are strong policy advocates for the inclusion of TEK and Tribal co-stewardship in public lands management throughout California, serving on an advisory committee for the US Forest Service Tribal Relations Strategic Planning Team in Region 5, which collaborates with Tribal practitioners and agency staff to expand opportunities for  Tribal co-stewardship on National Forest lands in California.

 Alex Zubia, also known as “Xef,” is a chef and food justice advocate born and raised in Fresno, CA (Yokuts Land). He attended The California Culinary Academy in San Francisco (Ramaytush Ohlone land) in 2007 and discovered his passion for cooking through his love of eating. From 2008-2015, Xef opened his own food truck, focused on providing healthier, farm-to-fork versions of familiar foods.   

In Fresno, Alex works to fight for food justice, mentor young fathers, system impacted youth, and created the Food Sovereignty & Medicine Program at Fresno Barrios Unidos. His goal is to promote food sovereignty and bring his community back to cooking and eating their indigenous foods, which are abundant in the Central Valley. Alex adopts certain principles like ITEK Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Indigenous Permaculture Design as a way to combat the  problems of soil erosion and lack of biodiversity, which will be crucial to climate restoration for our next seven generations. Xef and  his community literally plant seeds for the next seven generations.

Mike is a Broker with more than fifteen years of Economic Development and Commercial Real Estate experience and specializes in helping companies with their real estate experiences so they prosper and grow, creating more jobs for the community.  He is a member of the Chico Rotary, and has served on the Board of Directors for the Work Training Center, the Butte County Economic Development Corporation, the Chico Economic Planning Corporation and the Oroville Economic Development Corporation.  He is also a Founder of Golden Valley Bank and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).  Donnelly loves the great outdoors and open spaces, and looks forward to preserving natural landscapes for future generations. 

Fritz is a former executive of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that operates Wikipedia. In 2014, he started Wiki Education Foundation, an ed-tech nonprofit dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of topics that are of interest to the general public. Fritz is passionate about the natural environment and spends most of his free time outdoors. As one of Wikipedia's volunteer photographers, Fritz enjoys sharing his love of nature with millions of people through the lens of his camera. He's a member of the Pacific Crest Trail Association, the North American Nature Photography Association, and the Chico Rotary Club.