Devon Lee Lomayesva is a member of the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel. Devon is currently the Executive Director of California Indian Legal Services Before accepting her current position, Devon worked as In-house Counsel for the Santa Ysabel Tribe where she worked on a variety of Federal Indian law issues; including gaming, cultural resource protection, Indian Child Welfare, Tribal Court and code development. Devon was also employed at California Indian Legal Services from 1998 to 2004 and held positions from Law Clerk to Directing Attorney. Devon’s primary focus has been in federal Indian law, particularly the areas of ICWA, Cultural Resource protection, Gaming and Tribal Government issues.

Devon is also the co-founder and Board Chair of the American Indian Recruitment (AIR) Program. This program assists Indian high school students reach their higher education goals with a semester based tutoring and mentoring program. This program is based in San Diego County its partners include USD, SDSU, UCSD and Palomar colleges, in addition to various Tribal and local Indian education and resource centers.

Devon served on the Santa Ysabel Tribal Council for four years, from 1998-2002. She is also a member of the Native American Lawyers Association of San Diego.

Devon graduated from SDSU in 1994 with a B.A. degree in History and in 1999 received her J.D. from California Western School of Law.

Devon lives in Temecula with her husband, Dwight Kala Lomayesva and her two children, Nagavohma Nathan and Temyal Nuvanumcy. She enjoys attending and organizing local cultural events and most of all spending quality time with her family.

Patricia De La Cruz-Lynas
Director of Administration

Patricia has been with CILS for more than fourteen years serving in a variety of capacities. She began her tenure at CILS working as a Legal Secretary for the Oakland field office providing support to seven attorneys and conducting client intake. During 2001 she joined the principal office team directly supporting the Executive Director on program administration and management of all CILS offices. Since 2003, she has been wearing many hats as a member of the principal office team primarily assisting in revitalizing the infrastructure of the organization. She also serves as human resources to all staff and corporate secretary to the Board of Trustees. Currently as Director of Administration she works closely with the Executive Director and other program staff assisting with grant and financial compliance, management and administration of CILS. It has been a challenging but rewarding journey for Patricia to support CILS and its staff in providing services vital to the success of the Indian community.

Angela Medrano
Program Attorney

Angela Medrano is a Program Attorney for the CILS Principal office.  Her legal career began at CILS in 2002 as a summer law clerk in the Escondido office.  After receiving her J.D. from the University of San Diego and taking the Bar Exam, she started work at the CILS Oakland office in 2003.  A member of the Cahuilla Band of Indians, located in southern California, it wasn’t long before Ms. Medrano transferred back to the Escondido office.  From 2005 to 2007 Ms. Medrano worked for her tribe as the Lead Gaming Commissioner of the Cahuilla Tribal Gaming Agency.   In this full-time position she managed the small regulatory agency and gained first hand experience in all facets of gaming regulation.  At CILS, Ms. Medrano works on a wide range of Indian legal issues and focuses on the keeping our Intake Services moving.  Ms. Medrano was seated on the California Indian Law Association Board of Directors in 2007.  She is also an active member of the Native American Lawyer Association in San Diego County.  Ms. Medrano has B.A. degree in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Southern California.  Ms. Medrano joined the CILS Principal Office staff in 2011.

Robert Glen Bryson
Controller

Glen joined the corporate staff of CILS as  Controller in January 2009. He brings with him 30 years of non-profit experience, the last 10 of which have been in financial leadership roles in the San Diego area. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada and an MBA from Nova-Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Glen’s non-profit career has taken him to many corners of the world and immersed him in multiple cultures including 5 years in the Republic of Panama and 5 years in Scotland. He has served as Program Director, Executive Director, Director of Operations, Controller, and CFO.  Glen brings a wealth of knowledge and contacts to CILS with specialized experience in financial controls, policies and procedures, strategic planning, development, and special events.

Summer Morales
Executive Assistant

Summer Morales is a member of the La Jolla Band of Mission Indians and has worked for CILS since 2000. She began working as an administrative assistant in the Escondido field office supporting attorneys and other staff in all aspects of administrative duties including assisting with CILS’ fundraising events. From 2004-2007 she took a brief break to explore other opportunities and returned to CILS in September of 2007. In May 2008, Summer was promoted and is currently the Principal Office’s Executive Assistant. She supports CILS Principal Office staff and the Executive Director with program administration. Summer currently lives on the San Pasqual Reservation with her husband and three daughters.