WHO WE ARE |
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All people (native and non-native) need to de-colonize their perceived beliefs; to be humble; live a simple life; remain humble; show compassion. We've learned to be greedy and to hate. We must seek comfort and direction – Omahetun – the Sacred from the other side. With Tipi Raisers, we are invited to give back.
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Phyllis (Kelli) Brandl is a born and raised Jersey Girl. She resides in the small town of Farmingdale at the New Jersey Shore with Brian, her husband of over 20 years, their four sons, and a menagerie of pets. Kelli is an avid road tripper, bicyclist and nature lover.
Kelli has her master's Degree in Special Education and over 20 years of experience working with Early Childhood and Elementary exceptional learners. She finds herself deeply fulfilled through her work and is a passionate advocate for free, fair and appropriate public education. Kelli has experience volunteering with a variety of non-profit organizations. The focus of her service thematically strives to address the societal issues of poverty, domestic violence and substance abuse, with an emphasis on youth and women's' well-being. Formerly, she held a leadership position within the Lakehurst Municipal Alliance for substance abuse prevention in youths. She also served as a founding member of the Hometown Foundation, a non-profit created to provide household furnishings for victims of domestic violence transferring out of a shelter into a new home. It was a desire to expose her children to the Lakota Culture that first brought Kelli to the Tipi Raisers, and so, in 2017, she packed them into her mini-van and began the trek to Nebraska, where they joined the Lakota Ride. Right away, Kelli was moved by the Lakota Ride community and the restorative work of the Tipi Raisers organization. She is grateful for the special relationships she has made during her trips to Pine Ridge, and the broadening perspective and cultural education she gains with each visit. She is deeply inspired by the Lakota way, humbled by the value it places on inter-relatedness, character, accountability, spiritual growth, and community. She finds special inspiration in its measurement of wealth, which, unlike the materialistic Western perspective, is accumulated through acts of selfless generosity. Her desire is to be one piece of the puzzle that helps mend the difficult, shattered history we share. Kelli was extremely honored to join the Tipi Raisers Board of Directors in 2019 and feels blessed to support this very special organization. |
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David is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where he earned his BA, JD and LLM. In 1982 he relocated to Paonia, Colorado where he was the owner, publisher and chief bottle washer of a newspaper called The North Fork Times. He also started practicing law in Delta County, Colorado at that time. David later moved to Denver and, after establishing the tax department of a mid size law firm, he opened his own practice in Denver. His firm emphasizes wills, trusts, tax planning, probate, business formation and advice, and real estate.
David is active with a number of local non-profit and charitable organizations and serves on the board of directors of The Tipi Raisers, a non profit serving the Lakota Sioux on Pineridge Indian Reservation. David is an instructor at Arapahoe Community College in its adult education program and speaks throughout the Front Range on estate planning/family relationship issues. My draw to work with Pine Ridge and the Tipi Raisers is from three "pulls": 1. The dedication, persistence and love of the Lakota people exhibited by its founder and CEO, Dave Ventimiglia. 2. The cultural wound balanced by the dignity of the Lakota people; and, 3. The opportunity to take from the "We are all related" worldview a glimpse where law and relationships could progress for all of us. David and his wife have been married for over 32 years and have three daughters together, a daughter from a prior marriage and 2 dogs, 2 birds and Myrtle the turtle. |
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Rob Jansen grew up outside of Detroit, MI with his parents, Paul and JoAnn, and his seven sisters and brothers. His grandparents lived and raised their families in Cincinnati, OH.
After studying theatre at Western Michigan University, Rob earned a MFA in Scenic Design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Since then, has enjoyed an over 25-year career in design. He has designed and collaborated on; sets for theatre and broadcast television, environments for corporate and special events, and interiors for individuals and businesses. He has served on the boards of various arts and school organizations. Rob has been involved with The Tipi Raisers since participating in the first LakotaRide in 2014. He has come to love sitting in circle and sharing meals with a diverse group of people, all learning and growing from each other. Rob currently lives in the Brandywine Valley of Southeastern Pennsylvania with his beautiful family, both two legged and four legged. He currently, designs and builds his own furniture and cabinetry. |
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Matt Graham is a Senior Director at Leavitt Partners with expertise in consulting operations, management, and project development and management. His professional experience includes six years as a consultant for Leavitt Partners focused on accelerating the transition to value of the U.S. Health Care sector and over ten years of international development work in microfinance and agricultural development. Mr. Graham has worked extensively in both the private and non-profit sectors. In health care, Graham’s area of expertise is the development and operation of private health insurance exchanges.
Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Graham worked for Gaiacor Management, a privately held international agricultural management company. As VP of Business Development, Graham identified, developed and presented new business opportunities to management, investors and government officials. Before Gaiacor Management, he served as the Chief Financial Officer for Sweetwater International, including its subsidiaries and projects. While CFO he was responsible for oversight of all financial aspects of the establishment and ongoing operation of a $34 million beef, dairy and farming operation in Pakistan. Prior to Sweetwater, Graham served as a Regional Manager for the Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX), the global clearinghouse for microfinance data, analytics and performance information. As Regional Manager, Graham more than tripled the number of institutions providing data to, and receiving services from, MIX in his respective regions. |
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Born and raised in New York, I grew up hard-headed and stubborn which led to some hard life experiences that sometimes had to be gone over several times to fully absorb. A sibling to four others, one of which has gone on to be with the Lord. I cared for my father and mother in their golden years several months out of the year and found that experience most rewarding. As a family we were able to allow my mother her wish of living her entire life in the home she was born in and ultimately died in. She had been diagnosed with Dementia with Lewy Bodies in her early sixties and lived into her eighties.
I sought the comfort of the animal kingdom at an early age. Dogs and then horses just seemed to be the natural progression. I wandered the eastern and southern United States with the race horse industry until arriving in Texas and making it my home in 1985. The oil and gas crash drove me to hospitality industry while I earned an electronic engineering technology degree from a two year training school. Fresh out of school, I was employed by the time clock/fire alarm industry for several years and I bought my first three year old untrained palomino. Wandered on to insurance sales in the nineties, where I thrived financially but became restless again. Mentally and Physically exhausted from the ‘ the rat race’, I started training horses and I opened a residential and commercial cleaning company to support my addiction. As a part time gig I started buying and rescuing horses for resale and twenty horses later I was teaching my addiction to kids and anybody else who wanted to learn. In 2004, I opened a boarding training and riding school In Manvel City Limits which led me to become involved in local politics. I chair the PD & Z commission and have served on several city boards as needed. Sundance Horse Ranch has allowed me to take several wonderful adventures, from the South Dakota Buffalo Roundup (2016) to the Tipi Raisers LakotaRide (2018). I continue to work with several very gifted Horseman attending clinics to develop my abilities to speak the language of the horse. Currently I manage Sundance Horse Ranch and my husband and I purchased another property in Rockdale, Texas to develop into a cattle operation with a B&B. The introduction to Native Americans started on the buffalo run in 2016 where I rode the Black Hills and came to wonder deeply why and how anyone could be so cruel to an entire nation of such incredible people. I got a brief look at why Crazy Horse fought so hard to keep his beloved Black Hills. Then I rode with the Lakota people on the 2018 Ride. We laughed and cried, we hurt and healed, We lived and thrived as we adjusted to circumstances of chaos and calm. Yet again I wondered how we can be so cruel to an entire nation of such incredible people. I pray that I might somehow bring my knowledge to - and receive the knowledge of - others to give and receive in the way the helps all grow and thrive. |
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