CDP Native American Caucus


The Honorable Andrew Masiel, Sr., Chair

The Honorable Andrew Masiel, Sr., Chair

Andrew Masiel has devoted more than 25 years of his life to serving California tribal governments, accumulating extensive experience in tribal economic development and financing for tribal government projects.  Mr. Masiel was first elected to the Pechanga Tribal Council in 1982 and served until 1986. He than served on the council from 1996 – 2000.  In February 2009, Mr. Masiel was elected to the Pechanga Tribal Council in a Special Election.

Mr. Masiel has worked as Tribal Administrator to the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, the Pauma Band of Mission Indians, and the Pechanga Tribe. Andrew has also served as Business Manager of the Pala Indian Tribe, and Planning Director for the Reservation Transportation Authority (RTA), a consortium of 22 Southern California Tribes.

In 1998, Mr. Masiel co-founded and chaired the first Native American Caucus for the California State Democratic Party, the only organization of its kind in the nation.  Andrew serves as the ad hoc chair of the caucus, and is a member of the California State Democratic Party Executive Board Finance Committee.

In 1987, Mr. Masiel was appointed by Governor George Deukmejian to the California Public Utilities Commission.

Andrew’s commitment to California Native Americans led him to serve the California Nations Indian Gaming Association as its elected treasurer.  He has also chaired the IDRS’ Advisory Committee to the Youth Caucus, a program that instructs and empowers Indian youth in California to take an active role in monitoring California policy making.  Masiel also served on the Board of Directors of California Indian Legal Services for eleven years, five of which were as Chairman of the Board.  Mr. Masiel also served with the National Center for American Indians Enterprise Developer for 11 years. Mr. Masiel has also held appointments as the Tribal Representative for the Southern California Association of Governments and the Cal Trans Advisory Board. He is a regular speaker about tribal gaming, education, economic development, and social development at forums hosted by the UCLA School of Law, San Francisco State University, UC Riverside, San Diego State University and the University of Southern California.

Mr. Masiel earned a degree in Environmental Planning and Business Development from the University of California, Davis.  Andrew and his wife, Gloria, have two grown children and live in Temecula, California.  Their son, Andrew Masiel, Jr. recently earned his master’s degree and serves as Principal of the Pechanga School; their daughter, Myra Zamora, graduated from UC Berkeley, and is currently working on a Masters Degree from San Diego State, while working for Pechanga Cultural center.


The Honorable Mary Ann Andreas, 1st Vice Chair

The Honorable Mary Ann Andreas, 1st Vice Chair

Mary Ann Martin Andreas is a member of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians.

She is known nationally as one of the most active Native Americans within the Democratic Party. Beginning as a Super Delegate to the 1996 Democratic National Convention, she has served as a delegate in every subsequent national convention.  In 2008, she was a member of the National Convention Credentials Committee. A few years ago, she ran as a candidate for the 80th District in the California Assembly.
Mary Ann’s own people have elected her to two decades of service on the Morongo Tribal Council, including several terms as Tribal Chairwoman.  Currently she is Vice Chairwoman.

The 38,000-acre Morongo Reservation is set at the foot of the San Gorgonio and San Jacinto Mountains overlooking Banning Pass along Interstate 10, near Palm Springs.  Today, the Morongo Band has a sound and lasting source of funds that have carried the reservation’s infrastructure and social programs into the 21st century. Throughout Mary Ann’s career, she has advanced her tribe’s views and those of other Native Americans into the halls of local, state, and federal governments.  Her work to hold firm on tribal sovereignty has also focused on economic development, housing, child welfare, health care, vocational training, education, transportation, water and land resources, and environmental protection.

She has served as a commissioner for the All Mission Indian Housing Authority, delegate to the San Bernardino County Board of Indian Health, and board member of the Malki Museum, which is dedicated to preserving the cultures and traditions of Southern California Indian tribes.

Along the way, she earned an associates degree in Business Management, followed by additional course work in psychology.  At Harvard University, she studied the best practices of governance by completing a special program for government leaders at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Mary Ann helped lead the fights for two California ballot measures that firmly established the rights of tribal governments to offer gaming on their lands.  The successful campaigns marked one of the most significant Native American political victories in contemporary politics nationwide.

Then, leaders of more than 50 California tribal governments elected Mary Ann to chair the committee that negotiated the resulting gaming agreements with the governor, a process that took several months.

In March 2009, Mary Ann was one of two persons to receive the 14th Annual National Indian Women’s Supporting Each Other Honor Award in Washington, D.C. A few of the many other awards Mary Ann has received in recognition of her leadership include:  California Lieutenant Governor’s Woman of the Year, California Black Voice Foundation Woman of Achievement Award, honoree of the United National Indian Youth, Inc., National Indian Gaming Association Tribal Leader of the Year, Living Museum of California Indian Cultures American Indian Women of Distinction Award.

She remains a deeply committed activist on Indian issues and continues to work on behalf of tribal interests on state and national fronts.


Dr. Joely Proudfit, Ph.D., 2nd Vice Chair

Dr. Joely Proudfit, Ph.D., 2nd Vice Chair

Joely Proudfit (Luiseño), Ph.D., is a descendant of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Mission Indians. Her maternal grandmothers are Lupe Grijalva Guerrero, Refugia Flores Grijalva Zuniga, Candelaria Flores and Juana Hapish. Dr. Proudfit holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science with emphasis in public policy and American Indian studies from Northern Arizona University and a B.A. in political science with emphasis in public law from California State University Long Beach. As the first member of her family to complete a high school diploma, she serves as a role model for native youth and encourages self-determination through knowledge and education. Dr. Proudfit is one of only a few American Indians with a Ph.D. in political science and was the first recipient of the American Political Science Association Native Fellows Program.

An associate professor, Dr. Proudfit has been tenured three times in the CSU system. In fall 2008, she joined the faculty at CSU San Marcos, where she plays a leadership role in curriculum development and delivery, including collaborating with departments, programs and tribal communities to develop and deliver curriculum relevant to native studies and communities. Dr. Proudfit is the Director of the newly established California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center (CICSC) at CSUSM. The mission of the CICSC is to foster collaborative study and community service relationships among the faculty, staff and students of CSUSM, and members of local Tribal communities, for the purpose of developing and conducting research projects that support the maintenance of sovereignty and culture within those communities.

Prior to coming to CSUSM, Dr. Proudfit served as a tenured associate professor of public administration and the director of the Tribal Government, Management and Leadership Master of Public Administration (MPA) program. A political scientist, she takes an interdisciplinary approach to her wide variety of research interests, which include: tribal sovereignty, federal Indian policy, tribal leadership and governance, California Indian political and contemporary issues, American Indian education, mass media, tribal telecommunications and social justice issues. She has presented her research at numerous conferences and media forums, and published numerous essays and articles including: “In the Trenches: A Critical Look at the Isolation of American Indian Political Practices in a Non-Empirical Social Science” in the book Indigenizing the Academy, “Native American Gaming in California” in the book Native Americans (part of the American Political History Series published by the Congressional Quarterly Press) and “From Activism to Academics: The Evolution of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State 1968-2001” in the Indigenous Nations Studies Journal. Dr. She is the author of a forthcoming book on American Indian political power in the new millennium (published by the University of Texas Press).

Dr. Proudfit also served as the department chair of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University. In addition to her academic positions, she was the first special advisor to the Honorable Cruz M. Bustamante, lieutenant governor of California, for California Indian Sovereign Nations in 2002.  Dr. Proudfit has taught a wide range of both graduate and undergraduate courses including: American Indian Politics, Tribal Government Management, Business – Government Relations, American Indians and U.S. Laws, Images and Issues in the Mass Media, Tribal Government Gaming and Economic Development, American Government and Politics, American Indians: Stereotypes and Realities in the Mass Media, Power and Politics in American Indian History, and Federal Indian Law and Administration.

Dr. Proudfit also served as the lead and  only AIAN consultant for the 2010 Census for the LA Region AIAN outreach campaign.   Dr. Proudfit is the owner of Naqmayam Communications, an independent, full-service, California Indian-owned and -operated public relations agency. Naqmayam Communications, aka NaqCom, promotes socially conscious marketing and consumer and cultural education. NaqCom also offers expertise in developing and implementing communication strategies to successfully build consensus and brand loyalty among Native American communities. Dr. Proudfit holds positions on numerous boards and committees, such as: 2nd vice chair for the Native American Caucus of the California Democratic Party, board member of the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, executive director of the California Indian Professors Association and member of the Verizon Community Collaborative Board.

Committed to serving the American Indian community in a number of capacities, she served as a highly visible campaign spokesperson, participating in numerous television ads for both the Proposition 1A – California Constitutional Amendment, Indian Self-Reliance Initiative; and the Proposition 5 – Indian Self-Reliance Initiative. Dr. Proudfit also is the executive producer for the upcoming documentary entitled, “I is not for Indian,” which explores the controversy behind how Native American curriculum is taught in our public schools. She has participated in a number of media venues such as National Public Radio, television and news specials on issues relating to tribal gaming, social justice, American Indian political development, Native American graves protection and repatriation, and California Indians. She has testified before state legislators on California Indian education issues and works with tribal leaders and state legislators to implement new legislation to benefit American Indians.

Dr. Proudfit is the recipient of numerous accolades for her work and community service such as: the California Teachers Association (CTA)’s Salute to Friends of Education Award, the Opportunities Unlimited 2002 Award in recognition of dedication and leadership by Congresswoman Grace F. Napolitano and the CTA, and the John F. Kennedy, Jr. Award for Outstanding Public Service.


Debra Broner, Treasurer

Debra

Debra Broner, has been a member of the Native American Caucus for over a decade, she currently serves as the caucus treasurer.

Debra joined the Native American Caucus to bring attention to the 2002 “Klamath River Fish Kill” when the salmon population was destroyed from the diversion of water to the Klamath basin for political gain. At that time Debra lived in Del Norte County, home to the Klamath and the wild and scenic Smith River and wanted to communicate the injustice of depriving water to the Klamath River, the life source of the Yurok Tribe.

Debra now serves as the California Democratic Party Region 10 Director and lives in San Luis Obispo.


Denise Turner Walsh, Secretary (Recording and Communications)

Bio coming soon…


Mary Ellen Early, Parliamentarian

Mary Ellen Early, ParliamentarianMary Ellen Early has represented California as a member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) since 1988, and was elected to a sixth 4-year term in 2008. Mary Ellen has attended every Democratic National Convention since 1984, and has been a super delegate at each convention since 1992.  Mary Ellen is a member of the Western States Caucus, and has served on the Executive Committee of the DNC Women’s Caucus.

In 2000, Mary Ellen served as convener for Vice President Al Gore’s nominating caucus in what was then the 24th Congressional District (now the 27th CD). This caucus helped to select delegates to the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.

An active member of the California Democratic Party Executive Board, Mary Ellen was an Assembly District Chair from 1986 to 1988, a Regional Director from 1988 to 1991, and has been a member of the Party’s Resolutions Committee since 1993. She is a co-editor of the California DNC Press Democrat, a quarterly newsletter published for the California Democratic Party. She is a member of the Women’s Caucus, the Vice-Chair of the Irish American Caucus, and is Parliamentarian for the Native American Caucus.

Mary Ellen has been active in the Los Angeles Democratic Party since 1985, and is currently Chair of the Community Outreach Committee, and a member of the Finance Committee. She is President of Action Democrats of the San Fernando Valley, and has worked on numerous political campaigns.

Mary Ellen received her BA in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she participates in the Governmental Affairs Advocacy Program, lobbying elected officials on issues of importance to the University of California in general, and UCLA specifically. In 1995, Mary Ellen was appointed as a public member to the California Board of Psychology by the State Senate, and served two four year terms.

A resident of Sherman Oaks for over 30 years, Mary Ellen is employed at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, where she works as an Information Systems Analyst.


Betty McMillion, Board Member At Large

Betty McMillion, Board Member At Large

Betty is a mother of three children, a grandmother of 13 and a great grandmother of two.   Betty’s father was a union organizer during the 1930’s and fought for worker’s rights all of his life.  Her mother was Jewish and a strong advocate for education and equality.  From infancy, both parents, through example and teaching, instilled in Betty a strong drive for social justice and respect for all races, ethnic groups and religions.

After completing her education, and receiving her certification in Program Management from National University, Betty, started her career in Aerospace.  She became the Boeing Program Manager for Kaiser Aerospace working on the 700 series aircraft.  The last five years of her career as an Aerospace Executive was as the Proprietary Products Focused Factory Manager in Irvine California.

She started working in politics as a volunteer in the John F. Kennedy Campaign for President and again in the Robert F. Kennedy Campaign for President.

Betty served as Vice-Chair for the 65th Assembly District in 2006 and 2007 and was elected as the CA Democratic Party Executive Board Representative in 2006 from the Riverside County Democratic Party.

In 2005 Betty joined the Native American Caucus and was elected secretary in April 2006 at the California Democratic Party State Convention in San Diego. One of her primary responsiblities has been organizing the N.A.C. Women’s Issues Forum and she has worked on the 2006, 2007, 2008 and now the 2009 Forums.  At the April 2009 CDP State Convention in Sacramento she was reelected as the N.A.C. Secretary.

Betty was elected as a Hillary Delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention which she attended.  In October of 2008 she was nominated to serve as a member of the Electoral College and was an invited guest to the inauguration of President Obama in January 2009.

On July 14 2008, Betty was elected Chair of the Riverside County Democratic Central Committee, the highest position a volunteer can achieve in the Democratic Party in Riverside County.


Chrissie Castro, Board Member At Large

Christie Castro

Chrissie Castro is a citizen of the Navajo Nation, and a social justice consultant working on national and international issues of diversity and equity for all peoples, including the
self-determination of American Indian/Alaska Native communities.

Castro is a seasoned leader with more than 15 years of senior management experience in government and nonprofit sectors. Currently, she serves as the network weaver of
the Native Voice Network, a collaborative network of Native American families and organizations that mobilize through indigenous cultural values to inspire positive change
in Native communities. She is also working on a research project, funded by the Women’s Donor Network, to address historical and contemporary reasons for Native
Americans remaining grossly underrepresented in the local and state political landscape, as well as to propose viable strategies to increase representation.

Castro also serves as a senior consultant for the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), a national organization that helps states, cities and neighborhoods improve results for children, youth and families. She manages a team in pioneering work on early childhood and child welfare reform in partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, First 5 Los Angeles, and the Western and Pacific Child Welfare Implementation Center, one of five regionally based Implementation Centers established by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, to provide in depth and long-term technical assistance and consultation to selected counties, states, and tribes.

Throughout her career, Castro has been a strong advocate in promoting diversity, inclusion and equity both within and outside of the nonprofit sector. She has substantive expertise in community organizing, community building, and developing and managing communications campaigns in the fields of violence prevention, economic development, child welfare, mental health, youth development, and for Native American/Alaskan Native populations.

She has been a passionate voice in raising awareness about national and international indigenous governance and human rights issues, which has included work in Bolivia, Canada, Ecuador, Japan and New Zealand. In 2008, Castro was part of a delegation to visit with Bolivian President Evo Morales and other indigenous leaders about the reincorporation of indigenous values into Bolivia’s governance systems. She was also part of implementation planning for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and provided testimony to the United Nations First Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2008.

She currently serves as the vice-chairperson of the Los Angeles City-County Native American Indian Commission, which promotes the development of programs and funding resources to serve urban American Indians and American Indian organizations.

Castro is also a board member for the American Indian Community Council, a nonprofit whose mission is to strengthen the overall wellness of Los Angeles American Indian children, families, and community through leadership development, community organizing, self-determination, and cultural values.

Castro received her undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California, and attended the American Indian Studies Master’s Program at the University of California Los Angeles.


Kyle Crandell, Board Member At Large

Bio coming…


Jason Hodge, Board Member At Large

Bio coming…