California Indian Law Association
Board of Directors
Leonard Powell (President) is a proud member of the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians where he took a lead role between 1995 and 2005 that helped establish the foundations and framework for effective gaming regulation in California. In addition to Indian affairs, Leonard works as a Community Preservation Manager, Zoning Administrator, and Deputy Building Official for the City of Fremont where he is in charge of municipal code enforcement programs, and helps administer the City’s Zoning and Building Regulations. He has twenty-five years of city and county government experience and has held elected public office.
Michele Fahley (Vice-President) serves as Deputy General Counsel for the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians. She has a joint degree in law and American Indian Studies from UCLA. Before joining Pechanga’s Office of General Counsel, Michele served as a staff attorney in the Escondido office of California Indian Legal Services for over 5 years. At CILA, her work focused on tribal representation in ICWA cases, estate planning and training under the American Indian Probate Reform Act , cultural resource protection, tribal court development, and gaming and economic development. As Deputy General Counsel, Ms. Fahley provides general representation to the tribal government in all matters. Ms. Fahley serves as Chair of the Conference Planning Committee. (J.D. 2003; M.A. 2004); University of Washington, Seattle (B.A. 1998).
Austin Evans (Secretary) is an Associate of the Hutton Law Group, a law firm practicing in corporate litigation. He received his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law, where he served as president of the Native American Law Students Association and received the Dean’s Service Award upon graduation. He was a member of the San Diego Law Review and wrote his comment on Public Law 280 and its effects on tribal sovereignty. During law school, he clerked for California Indian Legal Services, focusing on client intake and legal research. He studied as a Powers/Knapp scholar and earned his B.A. in economics and political science from the University of Wisconsin, and he is completing an M.A. in public policy and administration at Northwestern University. Austin has proud heritage in the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians.
Mark Vezzola (Treasurer) is the Directing Attorney of the Escondido office of California Indian Legal Services (CILS) where his cases include tribal code drafting, estate planning for trust assets and taxation issues in Indian country. Originally from Massachusetts, Mark is a graduate of UMass-Amherst with a B.A. in History and minors in Anthropology, Native American Indian Studies and International Relations. He graduated from UCLA School of Law in 2005 and UCLA Grad School in 2006 with a M.A. in American Indian Studies. During graduate school, Mark worked on the 2005 edition of Felix Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law, interned at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington DC and clerk for the Hopi Supreme Court in Keams Canyon, Arizona. Following law school Mark worked as an associate attorney at several civil litigation firms before joining CILS in 2009. He has published articles on same-sex marriage in Native American communities, the constitutional rights of incarcerated individuals and the American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004. In addition to practicing law, Mark is an adjunct professor of history at San Diego Mesa College and an adjunct professor of American Indian Studies at Palomar College.
Rovianne Leigh is Oklahoma Cherokee and is a graduate of the U.C. Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), where she served as Co-Chair of the Native American Law Students Association and the Boalt Hall Students Association. Ms. Leigh is currently an Associate at Alexander, Berkey, Williams & Weathers LLP, a law firm that works exclusively for Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Ms. Leigh serves tribal clients in areas such as environmental and cultural resources protection, health, employment, Indian child welfare, litigation, tribal court development and tribal law. Ms. Leigh has appeared in federal, state, and tribal courts on a number of issues affecting Tribal rights and sovereignty, and specializes in Indian child welfare issues. Ms. Leigh serves as the Chair of the CILA Outreach Committee. More information on Ms. Leigh is available at www.abwwlaw.com, and she can be reached at rleigh@abwwlaw.com.
Hon. Christine Williams, a member of the Yurok Tribe, earned her law degree and Indian Law Certificate from Arizona State University in 2000 and was admitted to practice law in California the same year. Judge Williams’ legal career has focused on representing Tribes in a broad spectrum of tribal legal matters primarily Indian child welfare, tribal court development and cultural resource protection. She currently serves as the Chief Judge for several tribes in Northern California. Additionally, Judge Williams provides training and education on various areas of Indian law and history.
Mark Myers graduated from Stanford Law School in 2001. He served as law clerk for the Hon. William J. Holloway, Jr. in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from 2001 to 2001, after which he joined the Dallas office of Vinson & Elkins as an associate. He moved to San Diego, where he joined the firm of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton as an associate in the business litigation practice. He now works as career law clerk for the Hon. Larry A. Burns in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
Mr. Myers is the author of several articles on the topic of Indian law, including Federal Recognition of Indian Tribes in the United States, 12 Stan. L. & Pol’y Rev. 271 (2001), which has been cited by federal courts. His articles on Indian law topics have been distributed to participants at the Sovereignty Symposium, where he has also been a speaker.
Ariel Natalia Gabbert is an associate at Bates Winter & Cameron LLP in Rocklin, California. She worked as a law clerk at the California Indian Legal Services, a non-profit law firm which represents Native American rights. She received her J.D. from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law where she graduated with distinction and earned her certificate in Public Law and Policy. During law school she received the Witkin Award and served as a club officer in the Government Affairs Student Association. During the summer of 2010 she clerked at LaPena Law Corporation, a law firm which focuses on Indian Law, Tribal Matters and Economic Development. While in law school she worked as a research assistant, teacher’s assistant and a legislative intern at the Assembly Judiciary Committee. She earned her B.A. in Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz and graduated with honors in her major. During undergrad she was a scholar intern at the Public Defender Service and a government relations firm.
Javier I. Kinney is a Tribal member and Director of Office of Self-Governance for the Yurok Tribe. He has attained a Bachelor of Arts Degrees in History and Native American Studies from the University of California, Davis, a Master of Arts degree in Law & Diplomacy, specializing in Development Economics and International Law from Tufts University-Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, and a Juris Doctorate from Suffolk Law School. Mr. Kinney has extensive experience working for Tribal governments specializing in areas of public policy, economic analysis, tribal governance, grant management, protection of tribal cultural resources and strategic planning.