An inner-city community organizer for 25 years, Dana has founded numerous youth leadership programs in elementary, middle, and high schools and in an inner-city Police Division, partnering with the Juvenile Services Team. Mentoring many inner-city children, youth, and families over the decades, Dana has fostered trust with immigrant, reentry, and refugee populations. In 2017, Dr. Felitti introduced Dana to Dr. Anthony R. Pico, (former) Chairman of 26 years with the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. Now, on the Warrior Spirit Family Leadership Team, we are passionately focused on healing Indigenous families from historical trauma and ACEs. Collaborating with several Tribal Nations in CA and beyond, we are now integrating "truth-telling" in public education and social service sectors.
Mrs. Brown is the PACEs Science Statewide Facilitator with Learn4Life and along with Craig Beswick and Gabriel Nunez-Soria, has trained thousands of folx around the nation on the Trauma-Resilient Educational Communities (TREC) Model, an 18-month accreditation with public charter schools and social service providers.
As a community leader, Dana is on several Advisory Councils and Board of Directors with Community Wraparound, Echo Parenting & Education, HOPE Grounds, and Ilheimo Bopachemihn, dba Tribal Oak Tree Foster Family Agency.
Winning several awards over the years, Mrs. Brown has received many awards over the years, including the Joy McAllister Advocacy Award from Mental Health America in 2014, President Obama's USA Volunteer Presidential Award in 2012 (with San Diego Compassion Project), and the City of San Diego's Human Relations Commission Award in 2009.
An author, Dana co-wrote Hidden Treasures.
Anthony Pico is the elected chairman of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. He has served as the Viejas tribal chairman for more than 24 years.
His tribal "rags to riches" story includes his Native American Indian band's rise from abject reservation poverty to tribal ownership of the successful multi-million dollar Viejas Casino and shopping outlet center on the Viejas Indian Reservation, Alpine, Calif.
Please visit the official Viejas website for information to learn about the sovereign Viejas Tribal Government and Kumeyaay History from a Kumeyaay perspective.