Joelene Tamm

As the Natural Resources Director for the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians and a member of the Squaxin Island Tribe, Joelene Tamm is dedicated to fostering sustainable natural resource management. She founded the Natural Resources Department and currently oversees a CalFire Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grant and a Forest Service Wood Products Infrastructure Grant. This critical work focuses on reducing fuel hazards and developing income streams, training, and capacity to ensure year-round departmental funding. Joelene's efforts emphasize building capacity to tackle pressing concerns like Agrilus auroguttatus tree mortality and oak woodlands management through cultural and prescribed burning. Her robust background includes expertise in environmental and cultural compliance, as well as grant writing and management. Joelene holds an Associates degree in Computer Science and Information Systems, a B.S. in Biology from California Baptist University, and is pursuing a master's degree in Entomology at the University of California, Riverside. Her master's research explores the use of cultural burning as a landscape-level management tool to mitigate tree mortality.