Our Board

Robert H. Smith serves as Chairman of the Pala Band of Mission Indians, a position he has held since 1990. Chairman Smith successfully negotiated the first Tribal-State compact in California with Governor Pete Wilson in 1996, and subsequently supervised the opening of Pala Casino, creating thousands of jobs for tribal members and area residents. Chairman Smith’s work for the Pala…

Rose-Margaret Orrantia, Yaqui, and Tribal STAR Team Elder, completed her Bachelor and Master degrees at San Diego State University. She served in the Peace Corps in Peru from 1962-64. She worked at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M. for 18 years. Returning to San Diego, she served as the Executive Director of Indian Child and Family…

Sara Dutschke is currently serving as the Vice Chairperson of the CCTCA. Serving her second term as Chairwoman of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians, Sara’s career in Indian country has given her a keen awareness of the challenges facing Indian Country. Sara served as a staff member of the BIA’s Pacific Regional Office for nearly a decade, where she…

James is Cupeno and a member of the Pala Band of Mission Indians. James serves as the tribe’s Fleet Manager and often finds himself working on a wide variety of special projects around the reservation, utilizing his trade skills in mechanics, welding, and machinery. James is married to Season Goodpasture, and together they have four children (Harley, Huntley, Holley, and…

Wayne Nelson is our newest board member. Wayne was also appointed to the California Native American Heritage Commission. Nelson is an enrolled member of the Pala Band of Mission Indians and has been Culture Resource Manager at Native Ground Monitoring, Research and Consulting since 1999.