Speakers

Robert Anderson is the Oneida Nation Visiting Professor of Law. He was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate as Solicitor of the Department of the Interior in 2021 and served until January 2025. The Solicitor is the chief legal officer for the Department and oversees a staff of over 400 lawyers with roughly half based in D.C., and the remainder in fourteen regional and field offices. The Interior Department manages federal lands and related resourcs through the National Park Service, the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service, the Brueau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management, and the Bureau of Land Management. The Department also manages oil, gas and renewable energy leasing on federal lands and the outer continental shelf; administers the Endangered Species Act; and carries out federal treaty and trust responsibilities to the Nation’s 529 recognized Indian tribes.

Bob is Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington School of Law where he taught courses in American Indian law, public lands, water, and property. For over a decade, he annually served as the Oneida Indian Nation Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He will return to Harvard in January 2026. He served as an Associate Solicitor and Counselor to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in the Clinton Administration. Bob started his career with the Native American Rights Fund and handled significant Indian water rights litigation and Alaska and western United States.. He is a member of the Bois Forte Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.

Maria Azhunova is a Buryat-Mongol Indigenous conservationist from the Lake Baikal region in Siberia, of Ekhirit and Sagaan/Khongoodor clans. Sacred to Buryat-Mongolian peoples, Lake Baikal is known as a living ancestor and source of life and is celebrated as a sibling lake to Lake Tahoe, reflecting an ancient kinship between waters, Indigenous Peoples, and mountain ecosystems across continents.

Since childhood, Maria has helped organize international Indigenous cultural exchanges, building bridges between Elders, youth, and cultural practitioners across regions and generations. She holds an AA from Foothill College, a BA from Harvard University, and a Masters in Conservation Leadership from the University of Cambridge.

Maria served as a Consultant with Snow Leopard Conservancy and Director of the Land of Snow Leopard (LOSL) Network, an award-winning initiative that bridges Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western science. Working alongside Indigenous Cultural Practitioners across Central and Inner Asia, she supports the revitalization of traditional knowledge rooted in the sacred relationship between people, totemic snow leopards, and mountain ecosystems. She is a member and coordinator of the World Union of Indigenous Spiritual Practitioners (WUISP) and a lifelong member of the Arigun Dalai Union—Hereditary Guardians of Baikal.

Amy Bowers Cordalis is a mother, fisherwoman, attorney, and member and former General Counsel of the Yurok Nation—the largest Indigenous Nation in California. She is currently the executive director of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, a nonprofit advancing Indigenous sovereignty through the protection of cultural and natural resources, including the undamming of the Klamath River. She is the recipient of the UN’s highest environmental honor, Champions of the World Laureate, and has been named to the second annual TIME100 Climate List (2024), featuring the one hundred most influential leaders driving business to real climate action. She is the author of The Water Remembers (Hachette, 2025).

Daniel Cordalis joined the Native American Rights Fund in 2024 with almost two decades of experience working with Tribes to protect their water, natural, and cultural resources, primarily in the Colorado and Klamath River Basins. Currently, he is harnessing those years of experience to lead NARF’s Tribal Water Institute and support tribal water interests through his legal and policy expertise.

Before joining NARF, Daniel worked in many capacities to support Tribes, including as tribal in-house counsel, in private practice, as an associate attorney with Earthjustice, as a legislative associate with the National Congress of American Indians, and in an appointed role within the Department of Interior Office of the Solicitor. Daniel is especially grateful for his time as a clerk for the late Justice Greg Hobbs in the Colorado Supreme Court and as a research assistant for the late Charles Wilkinson.

With his spouse, Daniel is raising three boys who will embrace the world from the mountain and desert ridges to the river riffles their families have lived with since the beginning of time.

Sara Dutschke is keenly aware of the challenges facing Indian Country.  Sara has advised and supported tribal clients on complex matters involving tribal sovereignty and governance, government-to-government relations and business and economic development which includes gaming, energy, conventional and bond financing, and tax analysis.  She has drafted and reviewed tribal governing documents and intergovernmental agreements; assisted with the federal land acquisition process (aka fee-to-trust) for gaming and non-gaming projects; advised on other Indian lands issues including land claims, leasing and rights-of-way and Section 81 approval requirements; advised tribal clients regarding labor and employment matters; and represented tribal clients in Indian Child Welfare Act matters.

Sara has also represented tribal interests in litigation involving tribal sovereign immunity, intratribal disputes, contract-related claims, and tribal jurisdictional issues.  Her litigation experience involves briefing and oral argument in the California superior, federal district court, and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Before and during law school, Sara was a member of the staff of the BIA’s Pacific Regional Office where she focused on federal land acquisitions, administration, forestry, and fire-related issues.  During law school, Sara also participated in the Geneva Institute on Indigenous Peoples Law and Human Rights in Switzerland which included, in addition to coursework on the social, cultural, and political rights of native peoples throughout the world, participation in a Working Group on Indigenous Peoples under the auspices of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Sara is a member of, and elected Chairwoman for, the Ione Band of Miwok Indians.  Prior to joining the Firm, Sara worked at an international firm as a member of their Native American Law and Policy and Federal Regulatory and Compliance practice groups.

Mia Durham has lived her entire life in the Capay Valley and has dedicated much of that time to serving her community and Tribe. Elected to the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation Tribal Council in 2009 as a Council Member, she is currently serving her first term as Tribal Secretary. 

Throughout her years of service, Mia has played an active role in every Yocha Dehe committee, bringing dedication and leadership to a broad range of initiatives focused on the well-being of Tribal citizens and the surrounding community.

In addition to her work on Tribal Council, Mia serves on the Tribal Gaming Commission and is Chair of the Community Fund, the philanthropic branch of Yocha Dehe. Guided by the Native tradition of giving, she works on the front lines of community engagement, developing meaningful partnerships and building lasting relationships with organizations throughout the region. She also serves on the Doyuti T’uhkama Board, helping create opportunities and support systems that strengthen communities.

Driven by a commitment to future generations, Mia continues to use her leadership roles to create positive, lasting impacts and to help ensure a stronger future for the Tribe, Yolo County, and beyond.

Eric Eberhard is a Professor from Practice and the Associate Director of the Native American Law Center
at the University of Washington School of Law. His courses include American Indian Law, Indigenous
Governance, Indigenous Economic Development and the Law, Water Law, Legislation, Comparative Law
– Tribal Law, and Advanced Environmental Law – Restoration of the Elwha River. He began practicing
federal Indian law in 1973, with employment in legal services on the Navajo, Hopi and White Mountain
Apache reservations. He served as the Deputy Attorney General of the Navajo Nation and Executive
Director of the Navajo Nation Washington Office from 1983 to 1987. From 1989 to 1995 he was Staff
Director and General Counsel to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Following that he worked in
private practice in the Indian Law Practice Group at Dorsey & Whitney LLP. He taught courses in
American Indian law, Indian Gaming Law and Tribal Business Development at Seattle University School
of Law from 2009 to 2015. He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Northwest
Indian Bar Association and the Indian Law Section of the Federal Bar Association.

Prof. Eberhard holds a B.A. from Western Reserve University. A J.D. from the University of Cincinnati and an LL.M from George Washington University.

John Echohawk, Pawnee, is the Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund. He was the first graduate of the University of New Mexico’s special program to train Indian lawyers, and was a founding member of the American Indian Law Students Association while in law school. John has been with NARF since its inception in 1970, having served continuously as Executive Director since 1977.

He has been recognized as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America by the National Law Journal and has received numerous service awards and other recognition for his leadership in the Indian law field including the 2023 Thurgood Marshall Award from the American Bar Association.

He serves on the Boards of the Association on American Indian Affairs, the Indigenous Language Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council, Grand Canyon Trust, Native Ways Federation, Water Foundation, Keystone Policy Center,.and the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.

Jim Enote is a Zuni tribal member, lifelong farmer, CEO of the Colorado Plateau Foundation, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Grand Canyon Trust, Board member of the Trust for Mutual Understanding, and serves on the Governing Council of the Wilderness Society. Formerly, he served on the Board of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation. Jim is also a National Geographic Society Explorer, a New Mexico Community Luminaria, and a Carnegie Foundation Senior Fellow.

Jim’s service over the past forty-five years has included assignments for various organizations, both domestic and international, encompassing natural resources, cultural resources, philanthropy, and the arts.

As CEO of the Colorado Plateau Foundation, Jim plans, directs, and evaluates the Foundation’s finances, grant-making program, fundraising efforts, communications, employee success, strategies, and partnerships. As a fundraiser and educator to the philanthropic community, Jim connects, engages, and leverages funding to support regional issues on the Colorado Plateau.

Jim lives in Zuni, New Mexico, his hometown.

Marc Fawns is the Water Quality Manager for the Yocha Dehe Environmental Department and has worked in the department for 15 years. He is involved in various regulatory and in-house monitoring and reporting for drinking water, groundwater, wastewater, stormwater, and surfacewater.  

Marc works closely with other tribal departments, entities, and contractors to ensure that regulatory goals are met, and that Yocha Dehe’s water resources are documented and protected. Marc is a licensed Professional Geologist and has active drinking water treatment and distribution certifications, as well as construction-stormwater certifications in the State of California. 

In his personal and professional life Marc is passionate about protecting water resources for future generations. Marc lives in Woodland, California with his wife and 4 young children.

David Gover (Pawnee/Choctaw) joined the Native American Rights Fund as a Staff Attorney in May of 2005. Since joining NARF’s Boulder office, David has worked in wide variety of legal arenas, including water rights, treaty rights, repatriation, Indian child welfare, and tribal trust fund matters.  David currently serves as the Managing Attorney of NARF’s Colorado office and sits on the organization’s Case Selection Committee.

Prior to joining NARF, David served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and as Legislative Counsel for the Navajo Nation Council. 

Roger Flynn is the founding Director and Managing Attorney of the Western Mining Action Project (WMAP).  Formed in 1993 and based in Lyons, Colorado, WMAP is the nation’s only non-profit public interest law firm specializing in hardrock mining and related public land and environmental laws.  WMAP represents conservation groups and Native American groups and Tribes before federal and state courts on project-specific mining litigation, administrative permitting, and state and national mining laws and regulations.  Roger is a primary legal advisor to the conservation community on legislative reform efforts involving the 1872 Mining Law, public land, and environmental laws associated with hardrock mining.

He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Colorado School of Law (since 2002), teaching courses in Mining and Mineral Development Law.  He was also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Wyoming College of Law (2004-2010).  His publications include: New Life for Impaired Waters: Realizing the Goal to “Restore” the Nation’s Waters Under the Clean Water Act, WYOMING LAW REVIEW (2010); Daybreak on the Land: The Coming of Age of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, VERMONT LAW JOURNAL (2005); The Right to Say No: Federal Authority Over Hardrock Mining on Public Lands, JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND LITIGATION (2001, with Parsons); and The 1872 Mining Law As An Impediment To Mineral Development On The Public Lands: A 19th Century Law Meets The Realities Of Modern Mining, LAND AND WATER LAW REVIEW (1999).  Roger received his J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law in 1991 and his B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University in 1984.

Don Hankins, Miwkoʔ traditional cultural practitioner, consultant, and professor and field director at California State University – Chico. His expertise includes pyrogeography, sustainable water systems, conservation, planning, and Indigenous stewardship considering landscape scale, biodiversity, and resilience informed by his cultural knowledge. Don’s work includes conservation, stewardship, and policy engagement with a variety of organizations, agencies, and Indigenous entities in North America and Australia. He is also an accomplished artist with invited works exhibited regionally and internationally. Don enjoys making traditional arts including coiled and twined basketry, feather work, net making, and making fishing and hunting implements as well as bone and stone tools. He also works in a variety of contemporary media ranging from linoleum print making to photography. A focus of his contemporary works include the depiction of themes from traditional Miwkoʔ stories and other culturally significant themes, which naturally are a reflection of the environment.

Mike Haydon, MBA is of Wintun & Modoc descent and an advocate for broader inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in technology, business, education, and the public sector. He has nearly three decades of experience across marketing, business, digital transformation, and AI consulting, having worked with more than 75 small, mid-market, Fortune 500, and Global 2000 organizations, including the AMA, AT&T, MetLife, RR Donnelley, VSP, Logitech, and others.

After a six-year tenure at Logitech and more than two decades in the technology sector, Mike is now founding a nonprofit focused on AI safety, blind-spot awareness, and responsible AI use. He also provides strategic consulting and advisory services through his firm, Infinity Consulting LLC, helping organizations navigate the intersection of AI, marketing, business strategy, and human impact.

Mike’s work is shaped by firsthand experience with both the extraordinary promise of AI and the serious consequences of unguarded or poorly understood adoption. Through interviews with industry insiders and his own professional experience, he has documented stories of both success and harm across Silicon Valley and the broader technology ecosystem. His goal is not to stop AI progress, but to help leaders, teams, and communities better understand the risks, responsibilities, and human consequences of deploying AI at scale.

He focuses on overlooked AI blind spots, responsible-use frameworks, organizational accountability, and the cultural assumptions embedded in emerging technologies. His forthcoming book, The Irreplaceable You, explores the difference between AI myth and reality, highlights Indigenous perspectives, and offers a more grounded view of what responsible AI integration requires from leaders, institutions, and individuals.

Mike’s message is pragmatic: AI will continue to advance, but the direction of that progress are neither predetermined nor promised. By building more intentional, human-centered, and sustainably scalable systems, organizations can pursue innovation without ignoring the societal, cultural, and ethical consequences of their choices.

In addition to his nonprofit and advisory work, he is also seeking opportunities to contribute from the inside of leading AI organizations, particularly in roles or advisory capacities focused on responsible marketing, ethical go-to-market strategy, AI safety communications, trust and safety, public-interest governance, and cross-cultural awareness & inclusion.

Family lore has it that Mike began walking at seven months—an early hint, perhaps, of the initiative that would later shape his entrepreneurial and leadership path. Mike began developing his business instincts early, working in his family business at age 10, where he learned pricing, product positioning, workflow management, and customer engagement. He later joined a four-year high school humanities honors program and concurrently enrolled in city college, where professor referrals led him to support small business owners with early digital marketing. He continues to volunteer for Indigenous, humanitarian, educational, and DE&I-focused causes.

He lives in Mountain View, California, with his wife and their pets.

 is the Director of Philanthropy for the Yurok Tribal Fund, where she builds long-term partnerships to support the Yurok Tribe’s vision for sovereignty, cultural strength, and the restoration of balance within its community.

An enrolled member of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe and part of the Toi Ticutta (“Cattail Eaters”) people, Stephanie is a descendant of Wovoka (Paiute)and carries deep Shoshone roots on her paternal side (her grandmother is 100% Shoshone and turns 100 years old this year! Her identity and lived experience ground her commitment to strengthening Indigenous-led solutions and tribal self-determination.

Stephanie brings a career defined by both range and consistency, with experience across federal government, nonprofit fundraising, event-based philanthropy, and tribal economic development. She built more than 15 years working in federal acquisitions, contracting and procurement, managing large-scale infrastructure and public service projects with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Western Regional Office), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Kansas City and Seattle District Offices), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (Palo Alto Health Care System). This work gave her firsthand insight into how complex funding systems operate, and where they often fall short.

She later brought all that experience into tribal government settings, supporting economic development efforts with the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians and strengthening coordination between tribal leadership and external partners.

Today, Stephanie applies this cross-sector experience to one of the most pressing challenges facing tribal communities: funding instability. The Yurok Tribe operates more than 35 active programs serving its people, and her work focuses on securing sustained, reliable investment to ensure these programs can continue, grow, and respond to community needs over time.

She works closely with partners to help them understand that meaningful support requires more than one-time funding. Strong partnerships are built on long-term commitment aligned with tribal priorities.

First elected to the Tribal Council in January 2012, Leland Kinter has played an active role in Tribal leadership and governance. With a strong focus on business enterprise, he was instrumental in Tribal governance from early on, serving as the first Chair of the Yocha Dehe Tribal Gaming Agency in 1999.

Passionate about preserving and revitalizing the Patwin language, Leland worked closely with his Aunt Bertha to strengthen the Tribe’s language program. As a former teacher, he inspired others to continue this work by launching the Tribe’s own Patwin language program, where he remains a trusted mentor.

Throughout his tenure, Leland has served in every capacity on the Tribal Council. He is now proudly serving his second term as Tribal Treasurer, continuing his dedication to cultural preservation, mentorship, and responsible stewardship of the Tribe’s resources.

As a Principal at The Angle, I leverage my 20+ years of experience in Tribal advocacy and public policy to provide strategic guidance, government relations, and communications support to Native American clients and partners. I have a proven track record of leading successful legislative and issue campaigns, building coalitions, and influencing policy outcomes at the federal level. My mission is to amplify the voices, stories, and issues of Native peoples and advance justice, equity, and self-determination for Tribal communities. I am also passionate about increasing Native representation and leadership in politics, media, and public service. I serve on the board of directors or advisors of several Native-focused organizations, such as IllumiNative, ICT, Advance Native Political Leadership, and Native Forward Scholars Fund. I am a frequent political contributor and commentator on Native American affairs and a recognized expert in federal Indian policy.

Mark Macarro, Tribal Chairman of the Pechanga Band of Indians in southern California, was first elected to the Pechanga Tribal Council in 1992 and is currently serving in his 30th consecutive year as Tribal Chairman. Throughout his tenure Macarro’s vision for Pechanga has been to see Pechanga strengthen its Tribal sovereignty, political and governmental self-determination, and economic self-sufficiency while maintaining its distinct cultural identity. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Mark is married to Holly Cook Macarro (Red Lake Band of Ojibwe) and is the proud father of four children.

Nico Magee is a filmmaker and cultural storyteller dedicated to elevating Native voices and preserving Indigenous history. Raised on the Pechanga Reservation in Temecula, California, he is an enrolled member of the Pechanga Band of Indians and a member of the Tosoval clan. Since joining Pechanga Studios in 2014, Nico has contributed across nearly every facet of production, including camera operation, animation, editing, and drone cinematography, before stepping into his role as Executive Producer.

As Executive Producer of People of the West, Nico oversaw multi year research teams, guided cultural and historical authenticity, and helped shape the writing, pre production, and production of the series from inception through completion. He provided extensive cultural and language consultation to ensure the storytelling remained grounded in Indigenous knowledge, lived experience, and community responsibility.

With ancestral ties to multiple tribes throughout Southern California, Nico considers Native storytelling his life’s work. His mission is to expand recognition and representation for California Native communities whose histories and contributions have too often been overlooked.

Brad Munoa is a writer, director, and producer, and the Director of Pechanga Studios in Temecula, California. Raised on the Pechanga Reservation, he is an enrolled member of the Pechanga Band of Indians and a member of the Tosoval clan. A graduate of the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, he has dedicated his career to building cinematic platforms for Native storytelling.

He wrote and directed Pechaangayam, a documentary chronicling the history of the Pechanga Band from early reservation life to the present day. He later directed his first feature documentary, The Mountain That Weeps, which followed a seven year effort to protect Wexewxi Pu’eska, a sacred mountain of the Payomkawichum.

He was selected as a fellow for the Native American Media Alliance Unscripted Workshop, where he further developed and refined the series concept for People of the West with leading Native filmmakers.

As the creator and executive producer of People of the West, Brad conceived the series, assembled its creative leadership, secured its support, and led its development from initial vision through completion. Over five years, he directed its creative trajectory, oversaw historical research, shaped the narrative architecture, and supervised production across all phases of the project. Working closely with the showrunner and directing team, he ensured the series remained culturally grounded and aligned with its original vision.

Brad views storytelling as both cultural responsibility and creative calling. His work preserves culture, confronts historical erasure, and brings long overlooked Indigenous histories into the light for future generations.

Monte Mills joined the UW faculty in 2022 as Charles I. Stone Professor of Law and the Director of the Native American Law Center (NALC). He teaches American Indian Law, Property, and other classes focused on Native American and natural resources related topics.

Monte’s research and writing focuses on the intersection of Federal Indian Law, Tribal sovereignty, and natural resources as well as race and racism in the law and legal education. He served as an Executive Editor on the 2024 edition of Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law and serves as a co-author on two textbooks: American Indian Law, Cases and Commentary (along with Robert T. Anderson, Sarah A. Krakoff, and Kevin K. Washburn) and Native American Natural Resources Law (with Michael Blumm and Elizabeth Kronk Warner). Monte also co-authored A Third Way: Decolonizing the Laws of Indigenous Cultural Protection, which was published by Cambridge University Press in July 2020. Monte’s legal scholarship and other written work has also appeared in the Natural Resources Law Journal, the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law, Environmental Law, High Country News, the American Indian Law Journal, the Public Land and Resources Law Review, and The Conversation, among other forums.

Prior to joining the faculty at UW, Monte was a member of the faculty at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana. Before that, Monte was the Director of the Legal Department for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado, an in-house counsel department that he helped organize and implement in 2005 following completion of a unique two-year in-house attorney training program. As Director of the Tribe’s Legal Department, Monte represented and counseled the Tribe on a broad array of issues, including litigation in tribal, state, and federal courts, legislative matters before the Colorado General Assembly and the United States Congress, and internal tribal matters such as contracting, code-drafting, and gaming issues.

Lycia Ortega (she/her), citizen of the Ft. Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe, is a policy and communications strategist. She specializes in capacity building and organizational development for Tribes, Indigenous organizations, and community-led groups. For more than 17 years, Lycia has helped lead domestic and global initiatives to enhance the political power for Indigenous People and she is passionate about leveraging multimedia approaches for narrative change and storytelling efforts. She holds degrees in Indigenous Peoples Law, Communications, and Film and Video Production.

Having witnessed the Tribe’s gaming enterprise grow from its modest start as a bingo hall in 1985, Anthony Roberts has been an active and steadfast leader within the Yocha Dehe community for decades. Since his election to the Tribal Council in 2000, he has served in multiple leadership roles and is now in his third term as Tribal Chairman.

Throughout his tenure, Anthony has contributed to every Tribal Committee, from the Tribal Gaming Agency to the Academy School Board, demonstrating his commitment to comprehensive governance and community development. Dedicated to helping Yocha Dehe youth stay connected to their ancestral heritage, he serves as a momhichemihn for the history program. He actively encourages young citizens to pursue education, leadership, and involvement in Tribal business.

Above all, Anthony is deeply devoted to his family and his community. His leadership reflects a lifelong dedication to preserving culture, fostering education, and guiding the Tribe toward a vibrant future.

Interdisciplinary Environmental Scientist
Tribal Relations Specialist
Program Officer in International Indigenous Conservation
Resources Legacy Fund, Sacramento, CA

Dr. Chuck Striplen is of Mutsun descent and serves as a Program Officer in International Indigenous Conservation at the Sacramento-based Resources Legacy Fund. He works from local to international contexts supporting indigenous rights to access and manage their ancestral lands and waters. He also serves on the California Coastal Commission, appointed by the California Assembly Speaker in June 2023 as alternate to current Commission Chair, Justin Cummings; and on the Planning Commission for the County of Sonoma. For the last decade Chuck worked in California State government, serving as the first Tribal Advisor and Liaison for the California Fish and Game Commission, and managing largescale watershed restoration projects and Tribal Relations for the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. He has conducted and published primary research in the areas of historical ecology, cultural landscapes, wetlands and watersheds, and fire history at the San Francisco Estuary Institute and UC Berkeley; served on the founding staff of California State University, Monterey Bay; served on the Board of the California Indian Basketweavers Association; and worked in and for Tribal governments throughout California and the Pacific Northwest.

Chuck is the founder of the Mutsun Tribal Land Trust and occupies one of the three Tribal seats on the Science Advisory Team for California’s Ocean Protection Council, dedicated to the study and protection of California’s coastal waters. He’s also engaged with a number of New Zealand and Australia-based indigenous communities focused on pursuits related to climate adaptation and indigenous sovereignty.
Chuck received his MS and PhD from the University of California at Berkeley, and a double bachelor’s degree from University of California, Santa Cruz.

Richard Trudell, Santee Sioux Nation, was the founder and executive director of the American Indian Lawyer Training Program (AILTP) and its American Indian Resources Institute (AIRI). Under Trudell’s direction and vision, AILTP was established in 1973 and implemented a variety of innovative programs throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. In 1974, AILTP launched its premier publication the Indian Law Reporter (ILR). In 1990, U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye from the State of Hawaii asked Trudell to bring together 40 to 50 tribal leaders to spend a day with him so he could learn firsthand about the needs and issues facing tribes. After that small gathering of tribal leaders, Trudell organized and facilitated over twenty-five tribal leaders’ forums around the country and in the United States Senate with the goal of shaping a legislative framework for developing an agenda for Indian Country. Trudell has served on governing and advisory boards of numerous organizations, including the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, the national board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation under an appointment by President Jimmy Carter, the Presidio Council of the Golden Gate National Park Service in San Francisco, and the Native American Rights Fund. Trudell is a veteran and received a degree in accounting and a law degree.

Albert Brian Wallace is the visionary of the Indigenous Futures Society, inspiring our groundbreaking programs, and the heart of our annual Sierra Nevada Tribal Summit. Brian served as an elected official of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California from 1979-2006, which included four terms as Tribal Chairman and one four-year term as Vice Chairman. Wallace’s leadership during this period was instrumental in the growth and strength not only of the Washoe Tribe, but of indigenous people and communities more broadly. During his tenure, Wallace secured federal court protection of sacred sites in Lake Tahoe and throughout Washoe homelands, and negotiated international “Accords of Friendship and Cooperation” between the Republic of Buryatia (Siberia) and the Washoe Tribe to facilitate the bio-cultural restoration of the Lake Baikal and Lake Tahoe by their indigenous peoples.

As a founding member of the Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee, Wallace’s leadership continues to be widely recognized as the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, and following appropriations acts continue to fund current and future, forest heath, transportation, stream, wetland water quality, and habitat restoration investments on local, state, and federal lands in and around the Lake Tahoe basin. Wallace often appeared before the U.S. Congress to advise on matters of federal/tribal relations and policy and was appointed by U.S. Presidents Bush, Clinton, and Bush to serve on executive office commissions and advisory bodies.

Chairman Wallace worked for 20 years on the Leviathan Mine. His leadership established the Leviathan Mine Trustees Council, which mobilized state and federal agencies to protect the biological resources and human health of the region impacted by downstream acid mine drainage. Wallace created the Washoe Tribe Environmental Protection Department, Washoe Development Corporation, Washoe Cultural Foundation, Washoe Language School, and the Washoe Land Trust.

After leaving tribal service Wallace became an equity member of a consulting partnership serving First Nations needs in Corporate Governance, Business Management, and Development. Wallace continues to be committed to the cultural well-being of indigenous peoples and homelands and brings his wealth of experience to The Sierra Fund.

Today, Chairman Wallace resides in Auburn, California, and as a member of the Lizzie Enos Nisenan Family Foundation, dedicates his efforts to family Nisenan language literacy, and Nisenan mapping projects. In addition, Wallace currently works on the assertion of the “Rights of Nature” doctrine to advocate the legal status of kum mim sew’ (Bear River) and its legal guardianship by today’s Nisenan decedents to return Nisenan hands to Nisenan lands. Additionally, Wallace spends as much time as possible on a tennis court, most recently as a 2019 #4 in Nation at the USTA Men’s 40 plus League National Championships (Oklahoma City).

Kevin K. Washburn is a Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. His research explores the way federal law and policy works, and sometimes fails, for tribal nations in the United States. He has spent his entire career working in federal public service or public higher education. He seeks to improve the federal Indian law and policy landscape through his scholarship and service; he has made impacts in relation to criminal justice in Indian country, Indian gaming, and indigenous conservation. He has published several law review articles, law school casebooks, and is the co-editor-in-chief of Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law. 

Prior to joining the Berkeley Law community, Professor Washburn served as the dean of the University of New Mexico School of Law (2009-2012) and the University of Iowa College of Law (2018-2024). He previously served as a professor at the law schools of the University of Minnesota and the University of Arizona. His federal service includes serving as a law clerk to Judge Williams C. Canby, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, as an Honors Program attorney in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C., as a federal prosecutor in Indian country in New Mexico, and as the third general counsel of the National Indian Gaming Commission in Washington, D.C. In 2012, he was appointed by President Barack Obama and was confirmed unanimously by the Senate to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior, a position in which he oversaw the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, and several other federal offices related to policy regarding tribal nations. He served in that role until 2016.

Professor Washburn has also been widely involved in service to legal education and the bar, serving as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Law School Admission Council, on the American Bar Association Accreditation Committee,  and on the Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools. He has also served the National Conference of Bar Examiners for 20 years drafting criminal law and procedure questions for the Multistate Bar Exam and the Next Gen Bar Exam. 

Professor Washburn is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma and spent most of his childhood living within or near the tribe’s reservation in Oklahoma. He has degrees from the University of Oklahoma and the Yale Law School. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.  

Education

B.A., University of Oklahoma (1989)
J.D., Yale Law School (1993)

West (Southern Cheyenne) is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Autry Museum of the American West. West has devoted his professional life and much of his personal life to working in the national and international museum communities, and with American Indians on cultural, educational, legal, and governmental issues. West is also the Founding Director and Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.

As an attorney and partner at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, and then Gover, Stetson, Williams & West, P.C., West represented American Indian tribes, communities, and organizations before federal, state and tribal courts, various executive departments of the federal government, and the Congress.

West’s current board affiliations and memberships include:  International Coalition of Sites of Conscience; ICOM-US National Committee; Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums. He has served on the boards of trustees of the Ford Foundation, Stanford University, and the Kaiser Family Foundation, in various roles on the board of directors for the American Alliance of Museums (member-at-large, vice chair, chair), and on the International Council of Museums (member-at-large, Vice President).

In addition to his Stanford degree, West has a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in American history from University of Redlands in California and a master’s degree in American history from Harvard. At Stanford, West was a recipient of the Hilmer Oehlmann Jr. Prize for excellence in legal writing and served as an editor and note editor of the Stanford Law Review.

Noah Williams is a member of the Bishop Paiute Tribe and grew up in Owens Valley. From an early age, he has been involved in the environmental protection of lands and water in his homelands which his family has long called “Payahuunadü.” After earning his degree in 2019, Noah moved back to Bishop to begin his career and support the efforts of local tribal environmental programs for the protection of tribal lands. Noah joined ESLT in 2024 as the Tribal Partnership Program Manager to build long-term partnerships with tribal communities and stakeholders and support the conservation and stewardship of lands in the Eastern Sierra. He envisions tribal partnerships as an opportunity to enhance the conservation values of the lands stewarded by ESLT. Noah also proudly serves as Vice Chair for the California Environmental Protection Agency Tribal Advisory Committee and Vice Chair for the Bishop Paiute Tribe TEPA Board to further advocate for the protection of lands and water in the Eastern Sierra.