About our Board
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Edward M. Francisco
President
Edward M. Francisco is currently the President of the Board of Director for the Native American Church of Southern Arizona, 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 has also served on the Board of Directors for Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise from 1993 to 2020.
Edward currently resides in Tucson, and spends his leisure time reading, enjoying teahouses and taking occasional walks and hikes in the beautiful desert landscape throughout Arizona.
Crystal Snowball Ramon
Vice President
Crystal Snowball Ramon is the newly-elected Vice President of the Native American Church of Southern Arizona. 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 learn news 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, Wisconsin. Crystal’s mother, Margaret Felix Snowball, hails from Tohono O’odham Nation, while her father, Calvin Snowball, is Ho-Chunk.
Crystal is a wife and proud mother of five awesome children. Crystal works full-time for Waste Management in the operations department as a Data Specialist.
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 and looks forward to sharing these blessings 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 currently the Treasurer of the Native American Church of Southern Arizona 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.
Currently, 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 Native American Church of Southern Arizona 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 Native American Church of Southern Arizona.
Faith Ramon
Secretary
Faith Ramon is an enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation. Faith is currently the Secretary of the Native American Church of Southern Arizona 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, Arizona, and the Tucson Environmental Justice Manager for Arizona Center For Empowerment (ACE) and its sister organization, Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA).
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 MiAz 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 Native American Church of Southern Arizona reflects these and other core values. She is honored to be an active member and leader in the church.