Stephanie Saavedra
Pueblo/Otomi
Vice Chair/VIce President

A graduate of San Diego State University with a B.S. in Biology and Minor in American Indian Studies, Stephanie has been a mentor, tutor, and coordinator for the AIR Program since 1997.  At present, Stephanie is continuing her role in promoting higher education for American Indian students by working with, and as a part of, the University of California, American Indian Counselors & Recruiters Association, promoting programs designed to encourage and give needed information to prospective American Indian students who have the desire to attend the University of California system.  With a strong background in technology, Stephanie, and others helped create N-D-N Communications bringing telecommunications to the local Indian tribes within San Diego County. 

Natalia Orosco
San Pasqual Band of Kumeyaay Indians
Treasurer/Secratary

Mrs. Orosco~Beresford is a lineal descendant of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians. She is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego and has earned her Graduate Degree in Public Health at San Diego State University. She has volunteered as a mentor for the AIR Program since 1997 and was named Mentor of the Year in 2004 before becoming a Board member in 2008.  She has continued to work with her Tribe at the San Pasqual Indian Education Center coordinating their Tribal youth programs and prevention programs and is now working at the Rincon Indian Health Center.

One of the many American Indians to complete their High School education at the Haskell (Lawrence, Kansas) Indian Boarding School in the 1950’s.  Was one of the few American Indian women in the late 1950's to pursue and receive a Bachelor of Science at the University of Arizona.  Continuing her educational pursuit she received a Master’s of Science, with a specialist credential, in Early Childhood Education from California State University at Fullerton with partial graduate work accomplished at the University of California at Riverside. Mrs. Kabotie began teaching at a Junior High School in Snowflake, Arizona, and was then offered to teach at Sherman Indian High School.  She and many others during the 1960’s became the first wave of American Indian credentialed teachers to teach at Sherman Indian High School, Riverside, California.  Leaving Sherman she taught for the next 30 years in the Corona-Norco Unified School District as a Kindergarten teacher at the same time working as a consultant to the Title IV Program in the Riverside Unified School District, helping develop a curriculum dealing with the Native American Indians and getting American Indian parents to become involved with their children’s education through the Title IV Program.  Finally, during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s she taught, (part-time) at the Riverside Community College in Riverside, CA, Early Childhood Development. Retired from teaching in 1997, Mrs. Kabotie is now active in the California Retired Teachers Association and is a member of the American Association of University Women.

Larry Banegas
Barona Band of Mission Indians (Tribal Member)

Larry Banegas is the President and founder of Kumeyaay.com. He served as a member of the Tribal Council for the Barona Band of Mission Indians and is the former Director of Social Services for Southern Indian Health Council. Larry is a graduate of California State Long Beach with a B.A. in Speech and Communication. He also has a Master's Degree in Social Work from San Diego State University. He was raised on the Barona reservation and teaches Kumeyaay culture and tradition to the community. He has taught California Indian history and traditional knowledge at D.Q. University at Sycuan.  He is also a Board Member for the American Indian Recruitment Program, which serves the educational needs of Indian youth.

Gary Lomayesva
Hopi Tribe (Tribal Member)

Mr. Gary Lomayesva works as the Marketing and Intranet IT - Program Director at Hewlett-Packard and is a Hopi Tribal member.  Earning his Bachelors of Science at the University of Arizona Gary has been working for Hewlett-Packard for over 25 years, where he now oversees the overall operation of the Marketing and Intranet operations and over a hundred program staffers in multi-state and multi-national operations of Hewlett-Packard.  Throughout these many years, Gary has been an enthusiastic promoter of our AIR Programs as well as many other non-profit organizations whom serve youth.  

Brandie Taylor
Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel (Tribal Member)

Ms. Brandie Taylor is the current Vice Chairwoman of the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel where she has served her Tribal Community for the last 10 years. She is the first Native woman to be elected to the Warner Unified School District Board and serves as the Vice Chair and in 2011, Brandie was honored as a KPBS/Union Bank Local Heroes Awardee. A graduate from the University of Phoenix, she earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration/Management. Ms. Taylor's true passion is within the field of education and promoting this opportunity to the Native Youth within her Tribe, community and region. We are grateful to add Ms. Taylor to our AIR Programs Board.