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.

Robert Ornstein, ESQ

Mary Elliott
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.

Maya Shaw Gale

Barbara Savage

Art Cisneros

Dawn A. Murray, M.S., PhD
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.

Marilyn O'Malley
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.

Jill Elisofon
Honorary Board Member
Advisory Board

Bob Hitchcock, PhD
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?