About our Board
The officers of the Native American Church of Southern Arizona (NACSA), Inc. shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and shall serve a term of 4 years.
Officers shall constitute the Board of Directors and shall be elected at the annual meeting of the church by a majority vote of those members present.
Officers’ elections shall alternate in respective election years so that only one officer election shall occur each year and every officer elections in each respective successive order of their term.
NACSA, Inc. operates under the by-laws of the church.
Business meetings of the full members of the Native American Church of Southern Arizona (NACSA) Inc. are held on a quarterly basis.
These meetings are scheduled three weeks prior to the Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Fall Equinox, and Winter Solstice. This spiritual alignment provides organization structure and consistency to facilitate planning by members of the NACSA, Inc. Church ceremonies are held around each of the Equinox and Solstice seasons.
Edward M. Francisco
President
Edward M. Francisco is currently the President of the Board of Directors for the Native American Church of Southern Arizona (NACSA), Inc. He has occupied this position since November 2008. Edward is an enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation and has been affiliated with the Native American Church since 1985.
Edward earned a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Sociology, with an emphasis in Corrections, from Northern Arizona University. After working in Corrections for 32 years, Edward retired from Pima County Juvenile Court in Tucson, Arizona.
Edward served on the Board of Directors for Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise from 1993 to 2020.
Edward currently resides in Tucson, AZ and spends his leisure time reading, enjoying teahouses and taking occasional walks and hikes in the beautiful desert landscapes throughout Arizona.
Crystal Snowball Ramon
Vice President
Crystal Snowball Ramon is the Vice President of the Native American Church of Southern Arizona (NACSA), Inc. Crystal has been affiliated with the Native American Church since 2010. As Vice President, Crystal is excited to serve others and contribute to the betterment of society. On a personal level, she looks forward to her continued growth and to learning new skills to expand her ability to uplift others and herself.
Crystal is an enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation and hails from Sells, AZ. Crystal’s lineage also includes Ho-Chunk from Black River Falls, WI. Crystal’s mother, Margaret Felix Snowball, is from the Tohono O’odham Nation, while her father, Calvin Snowball, is from the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Crystal is a wife and proud mother of four awesome children and works full-time as a Data Specialist in the operations department of Waste Management.
Crystal believes in the Father God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, which make up the foundation for everything she does in life. As a devout follower, Crystal is proud to share that the Native American Church has been invaluable in establishing these foundational beliefs, which she looks forward to sharing with others.
Mona Polacca
Treasurer
Mona Polacca is of Havasupai, Hopi and Tewa descent. Mona has been an active member of the Native American Church for over 40 years. She is the Treasurer of the Native American Church of Southern Arizona (NACSA), Inc. and has also had the honor of being a ceremonial water woman through her church affiliation.
Mona is a founding member of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, which is an alliance of indigenous women from around the world who are upholding, preserving, and protecting earth-based medicine as well as Indigenous practices and beliefs.
Mona works as the Coordinator of the Indigenous Water Ethics Initiative for the Indigenous Environmental Network and is the co-secretariat of the Indigenous World Forum on Water & Peace.
Mona is deeply dedicated to the NACSA, Inc. and looks forward to establishing a home site for The Church and to creating space for community members to gather socially, in a healthy environment, to uplift the tenets, principles and practices of the NACSA, Inc.
Faith Ramon
Secretary
Faith Ramon is an enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation. Faith is the Secretary of the Native American Church of Southern Arizona (NACSA), Inc. and has occupied this position since February 2022. She is also the Secretary/Treasure of the Native American Education Program for SunnySide School District in Tucson, AZ, and the Tucson Environmental Justice Manager for Arizona Center For Empowerment and its sister organization, Living United for Change in Arizona.
Faith identifies as a felon in recovery, a survivor of domestic violence, and an Indigenous woman who will no longer be silenced by systems of oppression. In 2018, realizing the need to do more, Faith joined the Mi AZ campaign, a collection of grassroots organizations throughout the state that, together, knocked on half a million doors in Arizona for the upcoming election.
Committed to building leadership capacity within marginalized communities, Faith co-led a Movement Builders Summit, where 17 teams across the state came together to increase civic engagement, to safeguard voting rights to secure equitable representation, and to protect the sacredness of water and land in Arizona, especially in Indigenous Nations.
As a staunch advocate for basic human rights, Faith is proud to represent her deep rootedness in the Tohono O’odham Nation and is determined to support the success of the next generation, to protect plant medicines and the sacredness of elements used in ceremonies. Faith’s continued involvement in and commitment to the NACSA, Inc. reflects these and other core values. She is honored to be an active member and leader in The Church.