directors

 Heather Torres (San Ildefonso Pueblo, Navajo)  [she/her/hers] is a graduate of UCLA School of Law's Critical Race  Studies program, where she focused her courses and research on Federal  Indian law and the racialization of American Indian identity. Currently,  she is the Program Director for the Tribal Law and Policy Institute. From 2018-2019, Heather served as Director of  Native Student Programs  (NSP) at the University of Redlands. Heather was the founding staff of  NSP when the program was created in 2011, serving as Creating a Passion  for Learning Coordinator. Heather's work in education started during her  undergraduate years at UCLA where she was a student leader in the  American Indian Student Association overseeing the American Indian  Recruitment and Retention of American Indians Now! projects. Her passion  for education continues today through her work on the board of the  American Indian Scholarship Fund of Southern California and active  membership in the American Indian Alumni at UCLA. Heather earned her BAs  in English and American Indian Studies in 2011, her MA in Collaborative  Educational Leadership in 2014, and her J.D. in 2017. She is licensed  to practice law in the State of California. 

Yolanda Duerte-White is a highly skilled and experienced community activist who currently serves as Treasurer for the American Indian  Scholarship Fund of Southern California.

  Ms. Duarte serves on several non-profit boards all of which provide  community-based  services for thousands of families,  including those with special needs,   throughout Los Angeles County and including Riverside County.  

Ms. Duarte-White’s  clear understanding of the dynamic forces impacting non-profit  management gained through her 27 years of non-profit management  experience led to the formation of Provision Services, an  organizational  development consulting firm serving non-profits in Los Angeles County.  The firm was launched in 2003 and retired in 2019.

Ms. Duarte-White remains a prominent voice among many who champion for disadvantaged  populations and families with special needs. Her leadership role in the  community has led to  her appointment to various commissions and boards, including the Historic Landmarks and Records for Los Angeles County (LAC)Vice-Chair,  the LAC First District Consolidated Oversight Board, the Los Angeles  General Hospital Reuse Feasibility/Community Engagement  Steering Committee, and the Health Innovation Community Partnership  committee. 

Scott Andrews is the former director for the American Indian Studies Program at California State University, Northridge, where he also is a Professor in the English Department. He teaches courses in American literature, American Indian literature, and American Indian Studies. He has published reviews, essays, fiction, and poetry in various journals. He serves on the editorial board  Transmotion: a journal of postmodern indigenous studies, and he is former board member for Studies in American Indian Literatures. He is an academic advisor for the American Indian Student Association at CSUN, and he coordinated the annual powwow there for a decade. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of California, Riverside. He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.

In 2018, he received the Educational Service Award from Pukuu Community Cultural Services.

Peter Weiss, Treasurer Emeritus
Peter has been with AISFSC since the first Buffalo Feast/ Powwow in the 1960s held at the home of City College President Dr. Fred Wyatt.  Peter volunteered to dig and man the Fire Pit where he was initiated in the traditions of buffalo roasting. As the years went by, the role of Treasurer became difficult to fill until Peter brought his Major in Business from the University of Illinois to administer expenses and proceeds. Under Peter's leadership, sufficient income has been generated to  fund our scholarships and maintain a good financial base. Peter has recently turned 80 years old and remains a cherished board member at large.

 JoAnn Semon is the mother of Sam and Robert Semon and of Kimberly Semon Ruiz. She is the grandmother of Sam, Jake, and Gia Semon and of Amanda and Adam Ruiz.

 She was 1976 Woman of the Year for the City of Los Angeles, and she was honored as an American Indian Elder for “Honoring Our Elders” Heritage Month. She worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District for 39 years, and she chaired the American Indian Education Commission for LAUSD. JoAnn is a member of the Los Angeles American Indian Chamber of Commerce, and she is a member and former chair of the Kateri Circle. She is a member of the Office of Ethnic Ministry for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and she is an American Indian representative for the Archdioceses of Los Angeles Catholic Women’s Organization. Soon she will be inducted as a Franciscan Associate. 

Dawn Jackson is an enrolled member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan and has served as an elected Los Angeles City/County American Indian Commissioner since 1994.

Early in her career, Ms. Jackson served as the Chair of the American Indian Registry for the Performing Arts, providing script approvals, casting and cultural consultants for films & TV. In 1992 she co-founded First Americans in the Arts, serving as Chairman of the Board and producer of an annual awards show to showcase and empower American Indians in the entertainment industry. 

Ms. Jackson joined The Walt Disney Company in 1993, working in product design, brand marketing. and creative development.  In 2005 Ms. Jackson took on the role of Executive Director of the American Indian National Center for TV & Film, a historic partnership between the ABC, CBS and FOX TV networks to provide access and opportunities to American Indians. She is currently the Studio Manager of Story Development at Walt Disney Imagineering.

Ms. Jackson is a producer with Red-Horse Native Productions, producing three documentaries for PBS, including Mankiller (2018) and the feature film Naturally Native (2010). In partnership with the UCLA School of Film & Television, in 2015 she served as co-curator of Through Indian Eyes: 100 years of Native Cinema, a two-year retrospective and traveling film program.

Ms. Jackson is a member of the Producers Guild of America, NAACP and an award winning fine artist, designer and curator of Native American art. 

Thomas James Reed, PhD, is a dual citizen of the United States and the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. Thomas is a member of the Turtle Clan, and his Oneida name is “Lukwe'tiyó” (pronounced lah-gway-dee-oh), which translates to “He is a Good Man”. His grandmother is an elder in the Oneida Nation, Eleanor Bailey, and together they co-authored the book Kunolúkhwa means I Love You. He has written chapters titled “A Critical Review of the Native American Tradition of Circle Practices” and “Unique Challenges in the way of Native American Education” in the book Indigenous Research of Land, Self, and Spirit. Dr. Reed's dissertation is titled Oneida College Lacrosse Players’ Perspectives of the Sacred Game of Lacrosse. It used talking circles to collaborate with 12 Oneida college lacrosse players.

Dr. Reed is an assistant professor at California State University of Long Beach in the American Indian Studies Program. He works as practitioner of Community Peacemaking, also known as Restorative Justice, nationally and in different Tribal communities across Turtle Island, or North America. He serves as a trainer for the University of San Diego’s Center for Restorative Justice. Dr. Reed has been teaching Restorative Justice in Indigenous Communities as an adjunct professor at Vermont Law & Graduate School since the summer of 2021. He was the first Haudenosaunee (Iroquois or Six Nations) person to be an announcer in the history of the World Lacrosse Championships. Lukwe’tiyó’s vision is to create a better universe for seven generations to come for all peoples.