Rachel Sundberg is the Board President for the Native Women’s Collective. She is a Ner-er-ner/Pu-lik-lah (Yurok) Indian enrolled at the Trinidad Rancheria and has her BA in Native American Studies from Humboldt State University.
Ms. Sundberg is the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Tribal Library and Cultural Resources Department Manager for the Trinidad Rancheria where she manages and implements grants and cultural programming; cares for the basket and regalia collection and is developing a Cultural Resource Management Plan and archives collection. She is also the Board Secretary for Sustainable Nations and a media consultant for Seventh Generation Fund.

Rachel is passionate about photography, beading, reading and working on traditional dance regalia. She sees the Native Women’s Collective as a support for Native artists and a space to bring their dreams to fruition. She also sees it as a place for the communication of ideas across generations and cultures.

Vanessa Vandever is the Board Secretary for the Native Women’s Collective. She is the Director of the Thomas Jefferson School of Law Alumni Relations where she is responsible for the creation and management of programs that meet the needs of the diverse and busy alumni. Ms. Vandever also works as Sustainable Development Specialist where she assists in projects that create healthy communities. She also serves on the board of the San Diego American Indian Health Center.

Ms. Vandever has a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University and is finishing her M.S. in Natural Resource Management from Central Washington University.  She is passionate about promoting and protecting Native American rights and culture and advocating for healthy communities.

Originally from Arizona, Ms. Vandever is from the Navajo tribe. Now that she lives in San Diego, Vanessa is a budding surfer and can usually be found sunset surfing or resting on the beach after an afternoon of surfing.
Ms. Vandever envisions the NWC as a respected network that fosters successful Native entrepreneurs and believes that the NWC can assist and empower Native peoples throughout the nation. She will use her expertise in business plan writing and the process of business start-up to help Native Artists to create a successful business. In the future Ms. Vandever would like the NWC to expand their outreach to a national and then international level.

Lori Biondini is the Board Treasurer for the Native Women’s Collective. She is an Environmental Science Professional and entrepreneur. Ms. Biondini received her B.A. from Willamette University. While at Willamette she minored in Art History. She is an enrolled member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe with a passion for art and creative endeavors.  

She believes that the NWC can support artists in fulfilling their goals as well as make significant contributions to their communities and their cultural heritage. She sees the NWC as a place for developing national education programs and physical spaces for the Collective and artist-in-residence to display and create their work.

In art everyone has something to say and everyone deserves the opportunity to say it. I think Native Artists/Voices are particularly important because they have been underrepresented historically yet have a HUGE legacy to bestow.

As a Board Member, Ms. Biondini is ready to help steer the Collective into the future and to fundraise, fundraise, fundraise!