Carole Goldberg is Distinguished Research Professor at UCLA School of Law, and the Jonathan D. Varat Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus. She also serves as Chief Justice of the Hualapai Tribe in Arizona. In 2011 President Barack Obama named her as one of his three appointees to the Indian Law and Order Commission, which conducted investigations and made recommendations regarding improvement of justice and safety in Native communities. And in 2006 she served as the Oneida Indian Nation Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School. Since she joined the UCLA School of Law faculty in 1972, Professor Goldberg has specialized in the fields of Federal Indian Law and Tribal Law, publishing numerous articles and books on these subjects, including the 1982, 2005, and 2012 editions of Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law, the leading treatise in the field, and influential works about Public Law 280. She founded UCLA School of Law’s Joint Degree Program in Law and American Indian Studies, its Tribal Legal Development Clinic, and its Native Nations Law and Policy Center. Her former students occupy important positions throughout Indian country, and include the current Tribal Advisor to Governor Jerry Brown. She is President of the Wishtoyo Foundation, and one of the founding Board members of the Pine Ridge Girls’ School, Anpo Wichapi. Since 2008, she and her husband and colleague, UCLA Professor of Sociology Emeritus Duane Champagne, have been providing research support for the federal recognition effort of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians. With the Tribe’s support, Professors Goldberg and Champagne are currently using that research to write a book-length Tribal history.

Mr. Billy is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation with a Bachelors of Arts Degree from the University of California, Riverside and a Masters of Business Administration Degree from the University of Redlands. After graduating UC Riverside, he explored a different career before realizing he wanted to work with the American Indian community. Mr. Billy worked for the Native American Student Programs for approximately three years at UC Riverside before having the opportunity to work for United American Indian Involvement, Inc. (UAII). He has been at UAII since 2003, where he held several positions for many programs and departments within the agency to eventually serve in his current role as Chief Executive Officer. Established in 1974, UAII is a multidisciplinary organization that provides healthcare, behavioral healthcare, youth services, etc. to American Indians living throughout Los Angeles County, California.

Scott Andrews was born in Tulsa, Okla., and is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. He is a professor at California State University, Northridge, where he specializes in American Indian literature in the English Department and serves as Director of the American Indian Studies Program. He is a faculty advisor for the American Indian Student Association at CSUN and has helped coordinate the Annual CSUN Powwow for nearly a decade. He reminds everyone that this year’s powwow will be Saturday, Nov. 24. Andrews also serves on the board for the American Indian Scholarship Fund of Southern California, which provides funds to help native students attend colleges or universities in the region. He was appointed to the CSU Task Force for the Advancement of Ethnic Studies in 2015, which surveyed the health of ethnic studies programs in the 23-campus system and made recommendations for their support. He currently serves on the President’s Commission on Diversity and Inclusion at CSUN. Andrews has published book reviews, essays, fiction, and poetry in a variety of journals. He is married to Laura Contreras, who helps him in countless ways personally and professionally.

Patricia Lopez was born in the Los Angeles native community due to the federal “Indian Relocation Act of 1952” and is a bearer of her Pueblo culture and Kiva (spirituality) of her Taos/ Tiwa nation. She is presently a Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner, Colposcopist (CRNP), Clinician at United American Indian Involvement and a Los Angeles County Supervisor Hahn appointee to the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission (LACCNAIC). Mrs. Lopez serves as chairwoman for the LACCNAIC Powwow Committee and has provided cultural presentations for the L.A. City American Indian Heritage Month day celebrations for the past 8 years.

Mrs. Lopez had worked for the County of Los Angeles from 1974 to 1997 at General Hospital, then at East Los Angeles Community Health Foundation, and Planned Parenthood of L.A. Through many years of experience and knowledge, Mrs. Lopez wanted to help her native community and began working for UAII in 1998. At UAII she enjoys the many opportunities to interact and mentor the youth and parents, educating and forming relationships with the clients and community. With her husband, she mentors and teaches drumming to the men at Changing Spirits. They have also worked with the incarcerated youth at California Youth Authority alongside Jimmy Castillo until the closing of the facility.

Mrs. Lopez feels blessed that her parents ensured to pass down their culture, language and spirituality, which inspired her to became involved with the powwow arena in the 1970s. Her and her husband returns to their Pueblo Villages frequently, staying connected with their Kiva ceremonies and ancestors.

Master of Ceremonies

Mr. Joseph Quintana joined United American Indian Involvement in the Fall of 2015 to lead the organizations new development projects. During this time he has increased the visibility of the organization, developed new- and maintained existing partnerships, and been involved in diversification of funding sources. Over the past 15 years Mr. Quintana has served Indian Country in a number of positions including Hospital Administration, Grant Writing/ Economic Development, Marketing and Community Outreach. Mr. Quintana has served 3 Native Nations and worked on projects funded by Federal and State awards such as the U.S. Dept of Labor, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, and Housing and Urban Development. Joseph has also managed a non-profit publication with subscriptions across the U.S., including foreign countries: Germany, France, and Australia. Joseph plans on continuing to serve the needs of the American Indian community as a mayoral appointee to the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission, and is an active participant in many of the cultural and family orientated activities in Los Angeles.

Stage and film actress and director Carolina Hoyos was born in Washington, DC and raised in nearby Fairfax, Virginia. Her childhood as a competitive classical concert pianist and elementary school chorus accompanist was enriched with acting and directing after she played a ship captain in her 1st grade play. Her days quickly filled up with local commercials and theater as well as hosting and performing on DC/MD/VA cable access show “U.S. Kids”. While in her 1st year studying theater at Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in NYC, she launched her TV career on “MTV Hits”, appearing on the pop culture talk show for 3 seasons.

Carolina’s most recent screen work includes playingAntonella in Nicolas Winding Refynshow Too Old To Die Young, a cameo in “Under the Silver Lake” and starring roles in the Jason Brown Lewis sitcom pilot “The Gym”alongside Quinton Aaronof “The Blind Side”and Native American LGBT family drama “Polar Sun”,directed by Katie Doane Avery, which premiered at imagineNATIVE festival. She also appears in “Foreign Land”and “Bruising For Besos”as well as short films “Exotica”, “The Gig Is Up” and “America Will Be.”