J. Miko Thomas, Co-Chair is a Two-Spirit activist, writer, performance artist, and leader. They are an enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.  Thomas served in the U.S. Navy during the Desert Shield / Desert Storm / Desert Recovery campaigns, before relocating to San Francisco. Thomas has been active in multiple intersecting communities: Two-Spirit / Native American / LGBTQ / arts. They serve as Co-Chair for the Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITS) organization. They’ve sat on the board of the Native American AIDS Project, the GLBT Historical Society and is on the executive board of the Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco. Professionally, besides activism and art, Thomas works as a financial analyst at UCSF and owns a design company named Pashofa Designs. As A Founder Thomas co-founder Gay Indian Nations (GIN) in 1986 with Russell Bighourse and Samantha Wilson as the first Native American Gay and Lesbian organization in Oklahoma, Thomas founded the Brush Arbor Gurlz in 2004 and is referred to as the Mother of the Arbor Thomas founded the House Of Glitter in 2005 as the house mother, Thomas co-founded the BAAITS Two-Spirit Powwow in 2012 with Ruth Villasenor and Derek Smith as the first large public two-spirit welcoming all people and Thomas co-founded Weaving Spirits Two-Spirit Performance Festival in 2021 with Javier Stell- Fresquez.

​

Javier Stell-Fresquez, Co-Chair (detribalized, Piru & Tigua Pueblo ancestry, Mixed Chican@) grew up in El Paso, Texas, and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2008. After volunteering on the Two-Spirits Powwow Committee for over a decade, she joined the BAAITS Board in 2023. She produces and curates Weaving Spirits Festival of Two-Spirit Performance. He continues to work with our circle of BAAITS community leaders to build and support full indigequeer life today, and for all the children coming after us.

​

Susana M. Cáceres, Treasurer is a queer embryonic immigrant, made in El Salvador and born and raised in Pico Union and South Central, Los Angeles, CA. She is of Pipil, Maya and Lenca indigenous ancestry. She speaks her truth trough poetry, drum, song, dance and film. Susana earned a M.A. in Latin American Studies with a concentration in Women's Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and completed her undergraduate studies at Cal State Long Beach majoring in Human Development and minoring in Spanish. She’s worked in nonprofits since she was 16 and held the position of Executive Director for two women’s nonprofits. Most recently, serving as ED for 4 years at El/La Para TransLatinas, a nonprofit organization for Latin American transgender women (translatinas) in the Mission of San Francisco. Currently she works as a coach and donor advisor and she does transnational solidarity work with the women of the U’wa tribe in Colombia via Mujer U’wa, an organization she runs with her friends. In coaching, Susana emphasizes self-wisdom, self-love, grounding and abundance in supporting her client’s purpose.

​

Crystal "xtal" Azul Barajas Barr, Co-Secretary is a mestiza queer femme artist, curator, and educator, with indigenous roots in Mexico and so-called San Antonio. They were invited to sit at the BAAITS Drum 2016 and are honored to support as co-drum keeper of the drum We'wha.  Xtal is the current co-curator of the annual National Queer Arts Festival visual art exhibition.

 

Paula Calles, Co-Secretary, Ohlone Writer, Advocate & Artist | Director, Animal Experiences | Management | Communications | Company Growth Professional 

​

Faun Harjo, Member (he/him) is a transmasculine/Two-Spirit artist who was born and raised in Oklahoma of the Muskogee Creek and Chickasaw Nations. Fauns Art is graphic, installation and video work. Now residing in San Francisco, he performs amongst his peers and family.

​

Cody McCook-AhTave, Member is a Master of Social Welfare candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, an internationally published fashion editor, and an enrolled member of the Ute Indian Tribe, Northern Ute Uncompahgre Band (Nuche). Their work bridges creative practice, community organizing, and mental health advocacy for Two-Spirit and Native LGBTQIA+ communities, grounded in building culturally rooted, affirming spaces that center healing, visibility, and self-determination. Cody has supported the planning of major gatherings such as the BAAITS Powwows and the Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake Two-Spirit Powwows, and has led Indigenous-focused suicide prevention initiatives, including Reaching Out to Your Relatives in partnership with Live On Utah. They have also contributed to 2SLGBTQIA+ youth programming, supporting the development of affirming spaces for young people. Dedicated to Indigenous research and scholarship, Cody brings a community-driven, justice-centered approach to advocacy that uplifts cultural knowledge, collective care, and resilience.

​​

Bridie Mae Johnson, Member (Ojibwe Garden River First Nations)

​

River Webb, Member (Nez Perce, Meskwaki)

​

Shelby Chestnut, Member (Assiniboine Ft Peck)

​

Tzapotl Flores, Member (Pipil, Comanche, Cahuilla, Aztec lineage, also from the Romani people)

​

Ruth Villasenor, Emeritus Board Member, Co-Founder of the BAAITS Powwow, is a Chiricahua Apache, Mexican woman who identifies as Two Spirit, has been a member of BAAITS for 20 years and recently retired. A Traditional Indigenous Values filmmaker, a community activist, and KQED 2003 local hero, Ruth continues her life-long commitment to bridge communities, bring cultural awareness to non-natives and continue helping Native communities remember traditional roles of multiple genders before colonization. The former co-owner of Paws & Claws, an Oakland-based Natural Pet Food Store, voted Best Pet food store in 2017 Ruth and her wife Diane sold their business in 2018 to retire in the sun.

 

Ken Harper, Emeritus Board Member, (Cherokee) also known as drag persona Kenya Pfister began performing with the Brush Arbor Gurlz from the first show when they came together in 2004 until today. Ken created the AIDS Through Native Eyes Art Exhibition (A 25 Year Retrospective of the Native American Response to AIDS through Poster Art) that was shown first in San Francisco in 2005 and later in New York City in 2007.

 

​