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Mission Statement

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Proposed Gaming Facility

Physical Address:
Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake
375 E. Hwy 20, Office Suite Letter I
Upper Lake, CA 95485

Mailing Address:
Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake
P.O. Box 516
Upper Lake, CA 95485

Phone: 707-275-0737
Toll Free:
1-877-543-5102

Fax: 707-275-0757
Private Fax:
707-275-2007

©2006 Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake

Council

Tribal Government
The governing body of the Tribe is the Executive Council. The Executive Council consists of seven (7) Council Members.

Carmella Icay-Johnson – Chairperson of the Executive Council
Carmella volunteered to serve on the Interim Tribal Council (ITC) in September, 1998, and accepted the role of Secretary. In October 2001, Carmella assumed the position of Chairperson of the (ITC). In June 2004, she was elected as Chairperson of the Executive Council following the Secretarial Election. Her dedication and commitment to the Tribe dates back to the early 1980’s where she was elected to serve as Treasurer of the predecessor organization prior to the reorganization of the new Tribe in 1998.
Carmella was born and raised in Upper Lake and moved to the Bay Area in 1969. She still maintains close contacts and relationships here in Lake County and spends much time traveling here as part of her Tribal work. Carmella has over 30 years of education and experience in the areas of philanthropy, community relations and community economic development. She is now a consultant in the area of Community Relations. She has a 20-year history with The Clorox Company Foundation in Oakland, CA, where she was Contributions Manager, responsible for managing and disbursing the Foundation’s assets (1981-2001), up to $2.5 million annually. Carmella attended Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, CA and St. Mary’s College (Extended Degree Program), Moraga, CA.

Sherry Treppa Bridges, Vice Chairperson
Sherry Bridges was born in Lake County and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She graduated with a Bachelor degree in Science from The University of San Francisco and spent 15 years as an Account Manager servicing a variety of industries (Medical, Biotech, Wine, Welding and Pharmaceutical). She is a devoted mother of 2 children. She has spent many years as a volunteer in her son’s Cub Scout Pack and is currently her daughter’s Girl Scout Troop Leader. Sherry believes the Tribe’s future lies in the hands of their youth and therefore providing educational opportunities is a priority for her.

Sherry Bridges started her work for the tribe by volunteering for the Enrollment Committee in 2001. Soon thereafter she became the Enrollment Committee Chairperson and along with the other dedicated Committee members has seen the Tribe through its initial reorganization and enrollment of its current membership. She also has served as a Member of the Housing Committee, CILS Board of Directors and Tribe’s CNIGA delegation. Sherry was elected Vice Chairperson of the Executive Council in June of 2004. She is dedicated to preserving the tribe’s Pomo culture and its inalienable right to sovereignty while striving for economic self reliance through gaming.

Angelina Arroyo – Secretary
Angelina began working with the Tribe in 1999 on the Enrollment Committee and worked with other Committee Members to draft the Enrollment Ordinance that the Tribe currently operates from. In 2001 she began providing advocacy work for the Tribe’s Indian Child Welfare (ICWA) Program. Angelina currently is the Tribe’s representative for California Tribal TANF Partnership (CTTP) and is Vice President of the Executive Board of CTTP. She is also the Tribe’s delegate for Inter – Tribal Council of California (ITCC) and elected as the Area 1 alternate for ITCC.

Angelina obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications at Humboldt State University and has over ten years experience working as a Youth Counselor under the direction of the Lake County Office of Education. She is a mother of four children and raising them to understand the value of their education and culture. A long term goal for Angelina is to see all of the Tribal Youth have an opportunity to achieve a higher education

Charlene Muñoz – Treasurer
Charlene has been actively involved with the Tribe since April 2001 when she volunteered to serve on the Finance/Oversight Committee. In August 2001 she was appointed to serve as Personnel Committee Chairperson. Since that time, she has attended every ITC meeting and enjoys focusing on all matters related to the Tribe, especially its business matters. She was appointed to the ITC, by the General Membership, in November 2002 to fill a vacancy. Charlene’s previous efforts on the ITC were rewarded when she was elected again to the Council in December 2002. Charlene was again elected to her current position as Treasurer in the June 2004 Secretarial Election.
Charlene is a Lakeport resident and another life-long County resident. She brings a strong, practical business background to the Executive Council as the owner and operator of a Touch of Class, beauty salon in Lakeport, CA. The Touch of Class has been in continuous operation since 1977. Charlene brings the Tribe over 40+ years of business experience and a “roll-up-your-sleeves” attitude to solving the many challenges facing our Tribe.

Sam Icay – Member-At-Large
Sam was born and grew up on the Upper Lake Rancheria. He attended grammar and high school at Upper Lake. After briefly working a summer job, he enlisted in the US Navy. He served with various ship and air station assignments during his nine (9) year enlistment. During the last year of his enlistment, he started looking for another career to be closer to his family. After several applications and tests, he was selected to start training in the California Highway Patrol Academy. His assignments were in Contra Costa, Solano and Napa Counties and was selected to serve as a Mobile Commercial Officer, Protective Services Detail and Motorcycle/Radar Officer.

During his CHP career, he attended Napa JC night classes, where he received his general college courses. He transferred to the Golden Gate University extension classes, where he received his Bachelor Degree in the Administration of Criminal Justice. His CHP career lasted 29 years, when he was medically retired due to an on-the-job injury. Sam was always a physically active person. He started working part time for a St. Helena lumber company to keep busy. That turned into a full time position for the next seven years.

Upon learning the Tribe was looking for a Tribal Administrator, he applied and was selected in September 2003. At first, it was a one year commitment which turned into a three year term. He participated in the Tribe's first Secretarial Election, Election Ordinance, Code of Ethics Ordinance and Tribal Election.

With his experience gained as the Tribal Administrator, Sam decided to run for the Executive Council and was nominated in early 2006. Tribal Elections for the Member-at-Large seat were held in June 2006, when he was elected.

Teresa Meek – Member-At-Large
Teresa previously served as the Tribal Administrator between 2001 and 2003 where she brought a bounty of practical business experience to the Tribe and its day-to-day operations. She is a life-long resident of Lake County and has especially strong skills and experience in business management, business administration and accounting. Teresa has received a variety of formal and professional educational training and continues to evolve through these professional development opportunities.
She currently oversees many of the business operations of a family-owned-and-operated land development and construction company, which has continuously operated in Lake County for over 30 years. Teresa is very proud of the community involvement and reinvestment opportunities that she has been involved with locally. As a result, she has cultivated many important civic-oriented relationships, including relationships with Lake County’s elected and appointed officials. Her practical experience and knowledge of land development, the local government permit process, and construction management provides the Tribe a unique asset as our primary economic development efforts move forward.

David Tomas – Member-At-Large
David has served the Tribe in many capacities and also brings a strong business-oriented background to the Tribe. He has nearly 20 years experience in the food and beverage industry where he has worked as an Executive Chef and Food & Beverage Manager at private clubs, restaurants and various entertainment venues located in the Bay Area. He also has a strong viticulture background through his retail sales and knowledge of viticulture processes and viticulture manufacturing.

David has served the Tribe in many ways including being in the Tribes' EPA Department (January 2004 - April 2005), and consistently being involved in the following volunteer positions: Finance Committee Chair, CNIGA delegate, Personnel Committee member and the Tribal delegate for Sacred Sites (NAGPRA). David undertook his formal educational studies at UC Berkeley and Cal State Hayward, and received "hands-on culinary training" from many renowned professional chefs. David will be celebrating his 30th wedding anniversary this summer with his wife Maureen and their four daughters.