Our Tribe

We are the women and men who feel that the loss of ancient cultures would be a loss for our whole world. There is wisdom in the languages, art, stories and songs of the tribal people who weave the fabric of our being-ness, those who once lived freely in nature and who need our help to preserve the precious pieces of their cultures. We may live more fully by listening, feeling and belonging to the stories of the indigenous people of the world.

President

Founder, Nonprofit Excellence.co Nonprofit Attorney/Consultant In addition to being TTF Chair/President, Bob heads up our Fiscal Sponsorship Programs, which enable non-501©3 organizations and projects whose work is aligned and in furtherance of our Mission to receive tax deductible funding and support through the TTF. He has many years of professional involvement with charitable foundations and nonprofits as an organizational excellence consultant in the CA Central and South Coast and in Southern CA, pursuing his passions to work for the benefit of others to help bring about positive changes and build community.

Vice President

Mary has been a longtime supporter of Barbara Savage and the mission of the Tribal Trust Foundation. Mary has founded non-profits and has been a successful entrepreneur. As a TTF board member, Mary offers her business and marketing savvy to promote share the mission and promote community involvement. Mary recently traveled to Bhutan on a TTF led trip to meet the indigenous Monpa people and see 1st hand the positive impact that Tribal Trust offers to this indigenous culture.

Secretary

Maya has had a deep love affair with nature since childhood and was naturally drawn to the wisdom ways of indigenous cultures that support living in harmony with the Earth. As a Certified Life Coach, Hakomi practitioner and international trainer, Maya has been passionately immersed in the field of mind/body/spirit wellness for over 40 years. Her work is grounded in eco-psychology, embodied mindfulness and energy medicine; she respectfully integrates the ceremonial and shamanic practices she learned from her Wampanoag, Cherokee, Lakota, and Paiute teachers to support people in healing themselves and their relationship to nature. Maya is the founder of Write from the Heart and Inner Nature/Outer Nature Retreats and Power with Heart, a feminine-principled leadership training. She is also a published poet and playwright. (The Last Wild Place).

Founder, Treasurer

Barbara Savage has dedicated her time, energy, expertise, and resources to further the mission of the Tribal Trust Foundation. As an educator, Barbara has shared her experiences with students of all ages, including the university level. In her capacity as Curator for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Store, she successfully introduced and fostered a market for handmade Fair Trade products that supported indigenous communities throughout the world. Her company, Showing Up TV, produces documentary films and exhibitions.

Chumash Elder, Leader and Firekeeper

The Chumash People are the original native peoples of the central California Coast. Art holds the sacred space for their annual Tomol crossing to Limu on the Channel Islands. His spiritual name means “Earth Man with a Good Heart” and he truly embodies these virtues. Art also speaks throughout the US for the indigenous voice and for those who have no voice. He offers fire ceremonies at his home for the Santa Barbara community and also offers healing and cleansing ceremonies. Cisneros believes that the time is now for all of us to begin the process of restoring the balance of energy. “We can heal each and the world through our willingness to share what we hold as material wealth and what we hold in our heart as love, kindness, compassion, and generosity”.

Board Member

Dawn received her masters and doctorate in Ocean Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She researched the effects of climate change on intertidal life, deep sea jellies, and created a citizen science program. She created the environmental studies program at Antioch University Santa Barbara and is passionate about conservation and environmental justice. She spent 6 months in Bhutan teaching at the Royal Thimphu College and 6 months in Costa Rica teaching in the cloud forest. She has led many ecocultural trips, including to Bhutan and the Galapagos Islands, focusing on preserving indigenous cultures and habitats. Dawn works to promote conservation initiatives advocating for a sustainable future. She was past president of the board and has been a proud TTF board member for over 8 years.

Board Member

Marilyn O'Malley has been interested in cultures and wisdom since she was a young child. Her whole life she has ventured to explore the world, science, spirituality, creativity, and truths that empower the well-being and evolution of humanity. As a successful certified personal and professional development coach she works with leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, pioneers, healers and highly sensitives, that are positively transforming the way we perceive ourselves, others and the world around us. She taps in, tunes in and shares the wisdom of the past and future that empowers others to stand up, stand out, speak up and make a difference in the World and in the Universe. She is a visionary of love and healing.

Honorary Board Member

Jill has over 30 years of fundraising experience working with international nonprofits including the Smithsonian Institution and Conservation International, both in Washington, DC. Since moving to Florida in 1996, Jill has consulted with varied nonprofits to advise on fundraising and strategic planning. In 2018, she became part-time Development Director for Ballet Palm Beach. Her secondary career as a jewelry designer was inspired by her experiences with indigenous people around the world. Jill's one-of-a-kind necklaces featuring ethnic/tribal collectables are sold predominantly in museum shops.

Advisor

Robert is an Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico and a Professor of Geography at Michigan State University. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Kalahari Peoples Fund (KPF), a non-profit 501©3 organization that assists poor people in southern Africa. Hitchcock has worked on indigenous peoples’ rights issues in Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas since the 1970s.

A vanishing soul from the rainforest is a lost opportunity for us to find the medicines, the wisdom, and the wealth of knowledge they hold in their hearts and minds. What magic do we lose when we lose an ancient culture? What would we be without the Mbuti who have lived sustainably in the rainforest for over ten thousand years or the Chumash grandmothers who are holding the traditions for the seventh generation. Our lives are enriched by the ancient wisdom and beauty of these gracious and loving people who inhabit the earth with no impact to the environment —what can we learn that we haven’t yet been taught?