Diamond Lomeli is serving her second term as Council Member of the Tribal Council, the elected governing body of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. A lifelong resident of Yolo County, she was elected to the Council by the Tribe’s adult citizens in January 2021.
Council Member Lomeli also serves as a member of the Doyuti T’uhkama Board, and was a member of the Fire Commission, and the Young Adult Assistance Program (YAAP), Health & Wellness and Events Committees.
After completing general education courses at Woodland Community College and Santa Barbara City College, Council Member Lomeli is enrolled at the University of California, Davis in Fall 2019, where she will pursue a degree in Native American Studies. She is a graduate of the Yocha Dehe YAAP program. YAAP supports the development of the Tribe’s youth as both professionals and future tribal leaders by empowering them through education and career exploration.
In her free time, Council Member Lomeli enjoys travel and spending time with family and friends.
Yvonne Perkins is serving her first term as a Tribal Council Member of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation after being elected in March 2021. Additionally, she was appointed by Tribal Council to sit on the Cache Creek Casino Resort Board of Directors and has served in this capacity continually since 2010.
Council Member Perkins is serving on several Committees for the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, including Facilities & Infrastructure, Fire Commission, Young Adult Assistance Program, Doyuti T’uhkama, and the Board of Trustees of the Academy. She is currently Chair of Health & Wellness and Cultural Resources, Vice-Chair of the Community Fund Board, Secretary of the Events Committee, as well as Treasurer for Property, Farm & Ranch.
Council Member Perkins is passionate about the health and well-being of Native communities and serves as a board member for Northern Valley Indian Health. In 2022, she was recognized as a “Woman of the Year” by the United States House of Representatives because of her leadership and work for the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. She takes pride in her work on the committees and aims to actively serving the community and provide good communication and support to the Tribes’ employees and patrons.
Anthony Roberts is Tribal Chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. Elected Chairman in January 2018, he has served on the Tribal Council since 2000 and as Treasurer since 2006.
Chairman Roberts is actively involved in the tribal community, serving as Chair of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Academy Board of Trustees, Doyuti T’uhkama and Cache Creek Casino Resort as well as Vice Chair for the Fire Commission.
Chairman Roberts is also a member of the Young Adult Assistant Program (YAAP), Facilities & Infrastructure, Health & Wellness and Community Fund committees. He formerly served as the Chairman and Commissioner of the Yocha Dehe Tribal Gaming Agency (TGA).
As Chair of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Academy Board, Chairman Roberts is committed to helping Yocha Dehe youth connect with their ancestral heritage, further their education and participate in the businesses and leadership of the Tribe.
As former Chair of the Community Fund Board, Chairman Roberts believes strongly in the Native tradition of giving and is gratified by the positive impact the fund has had in the region. He is a strong advocate for Autism Speaks, which focuses on funding, awareness, advocacy, research and treatment for individuals with autism and their families.
Chairman Roberts actively serves the greater Yolo County community as a member of the Yolo County Fair Board, a post to which he was appointed in 2012 by then Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr.
Chairman Roberts has lived in the tribal community for most of his life. He is an avid sports fan and participates in an organized basketball league.
In January 2021, James Kinter was elected to his fourth term as Tribal Secretary of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. He has served on the Tribal Council since 2009. Additionally, he sits on the board of directors for Cache Creek Casino Resort, serving as Board Treasurer for Yolo County’s largest, private employer since 2015.
Secretary Kinter has worked on behalf of Yocha Dehe in various capacities for more than 17 years. He serves as Chairman of the Fire Commission and the Tribe’s Property, Farm & Ranch Committee, as well as Secretary of the Doyuti T’uhkama Board. He is a member of numerous other committees; Health and Wellness, Events and the Young Adult Assistance Program (YAAP).
James was appointed to the Fire Commission in 2003, and has served as Chairman since 2009. The Yocha Dehe Fire Department is the only tribal fire department in the nation to earn international accreditation- a process he guided in 2010, 2015 and 2020. The accreditation program is designed to help departments achieve the highest global standards in fire service.
First appointed to the Property, Farm & Ranch Committee in 2003, James has served as Chairman since 2004 and helped lead the development of the Tribe’s Séka Hills brand, which includes estate grown varietal wines, extra virgin olive oils, nuts, honey, beef products, and the Séka Hills Olive Mill and Tasting Room. As a leader of the Tribe’s farming operations, he is committed to building strong regional agricultural partnerships.
Along with serving as a key leader for the Tribe, its various enterprises and initiatives, Secretary Kinter is also a business owner. His restaurant, The Ravine on 16, offers high-quality American food. But more than that, it supports the economy of Esparto, California, and gives the community he loves a place to meet, eat, and enjoy life. Along with KV investments, and his previous enterprise, Executive One, he’s been creating value and jobs in Northern California with his businesses.
Secretary Kinter knows Yocha Dehe’s future rests with its youth. He taught a Patwin history class at the Yocha Dehe Wintun Academy for four years, and is committed to continuing education. In addition to teaching, he served as Yocha Dehe’s Tribal Historic Preservation Officer from 2012-2018 to ensure Cultural Resources are protected. He actively encourages young citizens to get involved, have a voice and become leaders.
Leland Kinter began serving as Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation Tribal Treasurer in May 2022. He served as Tribal Chairman from 2015 to 2018 and has more than two decades of leadership experience with the Tribe.
A lifetime Yolo County resident, Treasurer Kinter was only 19 in 1994 when he started in government, serving five years as a Tribal Council Member. In 1999, when the Yocha Dehe Tribal Gaming Agency (TGA) was formed to regulate the Tribe’s gaming business, he became its first Chairman and served in that role until 2015. In 2021, he was reappointed as the Agency’s Chairman. He returned to Tribal Council in 2009 for a term as Tribal Secretary.
Treasurer Kinter is passionate about Yocha Dehe’s efforts to preserve its native Patwin Language. Having earned an American Indian Languages Credential from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, he leads an innovative teaching program for adults and children that combines technology, social interaction and inter-generational communication. He believes language is a critical component to the resurgence of the Tribe’s culture and that learning Patwin will help the Tribe’s youth connect more directly with their heritage.
Treasurer Kinter also currently serves on several committees for the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, including Community Fund, Cultural Resources, Events, Health & Wellness, Facilities & Infrastructure, Property, Farm & Ranch, Academy School Board, Doyuti T’uhkama and as Secretary of the Yocha Dehe Fire Commission.
