Tribal Council
Meet our Tribal Council
Greg Sarris
Greg Sarris is serving his sixteenth consecutive elected term as Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. In addition to serving as Chairman of his Tribe, he serves as President of the Tribe’s Economic Development Board, overseeing all of the Tribe’s business interests, including the Graton Resort and Casino.
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Tribal Chairman
Greg Sarris is serving his sixteenth consecutive elected term as Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. In addition to serving as Chairman of his Tribe, he serves as President of the Tribe’s Economic Development Board, overseeing all of the Tribe’s business interests, including the Graton Resort and Casino. Formerly a full professor of English at UCLA, and then the Fletcher Jones Professor of Creative Writing and Literature at Loyola Marymount University, Chairman Sarris now holds the title of Distinguished Emeritus Graton Endowed Chair in Native American Studies at Sonoma State University, where he taught a number of courses in Creative Writing, American Literature, and American Indian Literature. Chairman Sarris received his BA from UCLA and his Ph.D. in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University. He will receive an honorary Doctorate degree from Sonoma State University in Spring 2024. He currently serves as Chair to the Board of Trustees for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Co-Chair of Smithsonian Campaign, is an appointed member of the University of California Board of Regents, and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. An accomplished writer, he has published several books, including Grand Avenue, an award-winning collection of short stories, which he adapted for an HBO miniseries and co-executive produced with Robert Redford. His forthcoming book The Forgetters will be released in April 2024. Previously released titles include award-winning works How a Mountain Was Made, Becoming Story, and Watermelon Nights.
Learn more about Greg Sarris by visiting his website at www.greg-sarris.com
Patricia Miraz
Vice-Chair
Patricia Miraz is the newest elected member of the Tribal Council. Previously, Patricia worked in the tribal office for eight years. Patricia started as an intern in the Wellness and Justice Department, served as the TANF Employment and Education Coordinator, became Director of the Tribal TANF Child Welfare Grant, and finally, the Education Department Manager. Patricia graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelor’s in Sociology with Distinction and two minors in Political Science and Social and Behavioral Science. She received certification in College and Career advising from UC Berkeley Extension. She will receive her Master’s Degree from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, in Spring 2024.
Melissa Elgin
Ms. Elgin began her service on Tribal Council as a six-month appointment to fill a vacant seat in 2014. She was elected to her first term as Tribal Council Secretary starting in 2015 and is currently serving in her fifth consecutive term. She received her associate degree with high honors in 2010 and is currently working towards her long-term goal of transferring to a university to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
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Tribal Secretary
Ms. Elgin began her service on Tribal Council as a six-month appointment to fill a vacant seat in 2014. She was elected to her first term as Tribal Council Secretary starting in 2015 and is currently serving in her fifth consecutive term. She received her associate degree with high honors in 2010 and is currently working towards her long-term goal of transferring to a university to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Melissa was most recently employed by the Tribe between March 2013 and June 2018 in various administrative and management support capacities, before fully transitioning to focus on her leadership role and primary elected duties. Prior to working for the Tribe, she worked at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital as an Emergency Room Admissions Representative for over 12 years. She currently serves as the Tribal Council Liaison to the Tribe’s language and basketry revitalization efforts and is just as passionate about genealogy and building Tribal community.
Joan Harper
Tribal Treasurer
Joan Harper is serving her third term as an elected Tribal Council Member. Since 2020, she has served as the Tribal Treasurer and the Chairwoman of the Tribal Council’s Fiscal and Audit Committee. Prior to her election to the Council, she served as Chairwoman of the Tribe’s Sacred Sites Protection Committee.
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Treasurer
Joan Harper is serving her third term as an elected Tribal Council Member. Since 2020, she has served as the Tribal Treasurer and the Chairwoman of the Tribal Council’s Fiscal and Audit Committee. Prior to her election to the Council, she served as Chairwoman of the Tribe’s Sacred Sites Protection Committee.
Joan has 30 years of professional work experience as a city planner and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. For the City of San Diego, she prepared long-range community land-use plans, drafted city-wide land use legislation, and supervised the environmental review for major land development projects. While living in Hawaii, she served as the land use planning and policy advisor for the Honolulu City Council. She later worked in the private sector as an historic preservation planner before returning home to California to work as a tribal transportation planner for the National Indian Justice Center.
Early in her career, Joan worked with Native American students as a college counselor at Humboldt State University where she also taught courses in the School of Natural Resources on Native American perspectives on natural resource management as well as Native American fishing and wildlife issues.
Joan has a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in American Studies from the University of Hawaii; a Master of City Planning degree from San Diego State University; and a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources Planning and Interpretation from Humboldt State University.
In her work with the Tribe, Joan seeks to preserve Tribal sovereignty, encourage revitalization of cultural activities, protect cultural resources, and to promote the health and well-being of current and future generations of Tribal citizens and the communities in which they live, through the judicious use of economic resources.
Robert Stafford Jr.
Member at Large
Mr. Stafford has been an active tribal member for the past 10 years. He was elected to tribal council in January of 2015 with a hope to improve health, education and cultural values for all tribal citizens. He has been employed with the City and County of San Francisco for the past 18 years.
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Member at large
Mr. Stafford has been an active tribal member for the past 10 years. He was elected to tribal council in January of 2015 with a hope to improve health, education and cultural values for all tribal citizens. He has been employed with the City and County of San Francisco for the past 18 years.
Matthew Johnson
Member at Large
Matthew Johnson was appointed to Tribal Council to fill a vacant seat from January 2024 through January 2025. He has worked for the Tribe for 13 years first with the Youth and Family Department and currently with the Cultural Resources Department. In his role within the Cultural Resources Department, Matthew served as Project Director on many grants to advance work in the areas of language revitalization, cultural interpretation, and the expansion of the Tribe’s library and archive.
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Member at large
Matthew Johnson was appointed to Tribal Council in order to fill a vacant seat from January 2024 through January 2025. He has worked for the Tribe for 13 years first with the Youth and Family Department and currently with the Cultural Resources
Department.. In his role within the Cultural Resources Department, Matthew served as Project Director on many grants to advance work in the areas of language revitalization, cultural interpretation and the expansion of the Tribe’s library and archive. ,Matthew has also assisted on projects related to repatriation and co-management. Matthew currently works closely with the Sacred Sites Protection Committee to support the important work of protecting sacred sites within the Tribe’s ancestral territory. Matthew earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Portland State University. He is deeply honored to serve as Tribal Council Member At Large.
Lawrence Stafford
Member at Large
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Member at large
My name is Lawrence Stafford. I was born and raised in Sonoma County. I attended college and majored in business, and have been employed with Hewlett Packard Company for over 31 years. My position entails strategic procurement and logistics management. I am currently serving my thirteenth year as an elected Tribal Council Member at Large. I also serve on the GEDA board, Graton Economic Development Authority, for the past thirteen months. I am proud to say I am a husband, father, stepfather, and grandfather. That in itself drives my desire to continue to work hard in life.