ESCONDIDO STAFF 

Dorothy Alther has been an attorney with CILS for over 15 years and was in the Bishop CILS Office until she relocated to the Escondido Office in 2003. Her current work focuses on tribal issues including environmental law, housing law, tribal ordinance development, land acquisition, she serves as legal counsel for several Tribes and tribal entities and has worked on tribal court development and a variety of other tribal matters. Ms. Alther has been a trainer on Public Law 280, the Indian Child Welfare Act, housing law and civil and criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country. Dorothy is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and graduated from University of South Dakota and earned her J.D. from Northeastern University. Ms. Alther served as Managing Attorney at DNA’s People’s Legal Services in Crownpoint, New Mexico prior to coming to CILS and has acted as Tribal Attorney for the Suquamish Tribe in Washington.

Lavonne Kiser,
Intake Advocate/Paralegal (part-time)

Lavonne is a Paralegal/Intake Advocate.  She has been working as a litigation paralegal since January 2007, specifically plaintiff personal injury, civil rights and insurance defense.  Previously she worked for an international oil/gas company in Houston, Texas.  She received her Paralegal Certificate in the Fall of 2006 from UCSD Extension’s ABA approved Paralegal Program.  Lavonne is also a Notary Public.  Lavonne is an enrolled member of the Hopi tribe in Northeast Arizona.  Born and raised in Oceanside, CA, she moved to Texas in 1993 only to return to Oceanside where she currently resides with her husband, 2 children and their Boston Terrier, Lola Falana.  Hobbies include jewelry making, sewing, volunteering and attending her children’s volleyball and basketball events.  She is also the Vice-President of Membership for the San Diego Paralegal Association as well as a member of the Guajome Park Academy Athletic Boosters Club.

Mark Radoff, Senior Staff Attorney in our Escondido Office, has over twenty years legal experience including a background in private practice, legal services, and the public defender's office. His expertise includes juvenile dependency and delinquency matters, housing, litigation, probate and estate planning, business, environmental, and civil rights issues. Mr. Radoff's practice includes a full range of tribal representation, including ICWA, gaming and business issues. University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law (J.D. 1985); University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A. 1981).

Mark Vezzola
Directing Attorney

Mark Vezzola joined California Indian Legal Services as a staff attorney in 2009.  Originally from Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Mark graduated from UMass-Amherst in 2000 and moved to California in 2001 to study Indian law at UCLA where he earned his law degree and M.A. in American Indian Studies.  While in law school, Mark clerked for the Hopi Appellate Court in Keams Canyon, Arizona, the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C., and CILS during the summer of 2004.  Upon passing the California bar exam, Mark worked as a litigator with Callahan, McCune & Willis, APLC, in downtown San Diego before returning to CILS.  Aside from practicing law, Mark is an adjunct professor of history at San Diego Mesa College and American Indian Studies at Palomar College in San Marcos.  He has published several articles and book chapters on the constitutional rights of incarcerated Native Americans to practice their religion as well as the issue of same sex marriage in Native communities.  In his spare time Mark is involved with Big Brothers, Big Sisters of San Diego, the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program and enjoys tennis and the beach.  Mark currently lives in the North Park section of San Diego.  

Tara Edmiston
Legal Secretary/Billing Manager

Tara Edmiston is a Legal Secretary in the Escondido office and Billing Manager for the program. She has been employed at CILS since May of 2001. She has experience as a legal secretary for the past 24 years, most of these years were spent in the private practice arena in many different areas of the law. Tara lives in San Marcos with her husband, Richard.

Kelly Grubbs
Administrative Assistant

Kelly originally came to CILS as an intern assisting clients with the ICAN! Income Tax Project in January 2009.   She has since joined the CILS staff as a part-time administrative assistant. She currently attends Cal State San Marcos where she is working towards a degree in human development with an emphasis on Children Services and plans to graduate in the spring of 2010.   She lives in Escondido with her boyfriend, puppy and kitten and enjoys spending time with her family and boyfriend as well as taking her puppy, Penny, to dog beach on the weekends.