The ever-changing legal and regulatory landscapes are among the most challenging aspects of governing in Indian Country. Our mission includes staying abreast of every law, regulation and trend that impacts Indian Country and developing the training and services you need.
Click on the headings below to learn how our Law & Governance expertise can help you.
From enrollment audits to tribal constitution development, Falmouth’s team of law and governance experts can help you enhance your efficiency and productivity by developing and implementing hands-on solutions that are individually tailored to meet your desired objectives.
Lisa Riggleman is the Director of Guest Experience at the world-renowned Neon Museum in Las Vegas. She is responsible for advancing and maintaining exceptional operational service standards for all guests’ segments and touch points. She leads a professional front of the house and events staff of 50. It is her passion to share Las Vegas’ historic, iconic Neon for generations to come with a world-wide audience through innovative, engaging experiences.
Ms. Riggleman holds a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Wyoming, a Bachelor of Science Degree from West Texas A & M University along with Post Graduate Studies and a Human Resources Certification from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Las Vegas has been Ms. Riggleman’s home for more than 30 years, and she is grateful to have contributed to major resort openings and ground breaking organizational development partnerships. For nearly 25 years, she has facilitated professional development for Native American enterprises, tribal councils and casinos across the nation, and human resources consultation for tribal governments.
In addition, Ms. Riggleman serves on the board of directors for Dress for Success Southern Nevada, Little Black Dress Club member, Faith Lutheran High School Crusader Knight Scholarship Steering Committee, Faith Lutheran Conservatory of the Fine Arts Parent Liaison, The Kenya Project Leadership Team and Global 6K for Water Committee, and the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce Customer Service Excellence Committee. Previously she served as a Board member for Junior League of Las Vegas, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Southern Nevada.
As a long-time Las Vegas local, Brian Pearson has spent the last 20 years working with technology to get the most out of office automation. Brian earned his Bachelor’s degree and Master's degree from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He has been instructing classes in Microsoft Office, Network Security, Records Retention and Electronic Document Management for Falmouth for the past seven years. He is a devoted husband and father of three small children. He enjoys spending time with his children and working with computers.
Patina Park is Mnicoujou Lakota and her family comes from the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes. She currently serves as President/CEO of the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center (MIWRC), a culturally grounded nonprofit agency dedicated to providing holistic, multi-service programming grounded in traditional teachings and values that help to heal, preserve, and strengthen Native American women and their families from the multi-generational trauma impact of colonization. Because of her own experiences as an adoptee, Ms. Park is particularly passionate about issues related to Native American children and families. Upon graduating from Hamline Law School in 2001, Ms. Park focused her early legal career on advocating for Native American families involved in child protection and private custody cases.
Ms. Park co-authored “Best Outcomes for Indian Children, Child Welfare” in the Journal of Policy, Practice, and Program Volume 91(3)(2012), and “The Impact of Health Equity Coaching on Patient’s Perceptions of Cultural Competency and Communication in a Pediatric Emergency Department: An Intervention Design”.
Ms. Park previously served as an appellate court judge for the Prairie Island Sioux Community and taught Children and the Law and Federal Indian Law at the former Hamline University School of Law, now Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
An independent trainer, mediator and professional speaker, Wes Miller applies more than 25 years’ experience in the fields of Human Resources and Mediation to a consulting practice specializing in mediation, customer service, team building, business communication, management skills and leadership practices. During the recent foreclosure crisis, he was appointed by the Nevada Supreme Court to mediate home owners and lenders. Additionally, he has successfully run a mediation practice that offering divorce, victim-offender, employment and business mediation. Throughout his career, he has designed and delivered a number of training efforts for organizations in the gaming, hospitality and retail industries and has assisted a number of startup and existing operations establish successful management and customer relations policies and procedures.
Kostan R. Lathouris, an enrolled member and elected Tribal Council Member of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, received his Juris Doctor from the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is a member of both the State Bar of Nevada and the State Bar of California, and is also admitted to practice in various federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States, and in several tribal courts. In 2015, Kostan formed Lathouris Law PLLC, which almost exclusively practices federal Indian law and tribal law, including rendering legal options, developing tribal policies and codes, representing tribal interests in tribal-state gaming negotiations, and asserting and defending tribal sovereignty in tribal and federal court litigation for various tribes. Kostan has experience with both the federal and state governments, having served as an intern for the Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Division of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C., during the summer of 2014, and also being appointed and reappointed by multiple Nevada State Governors to the Nevada Indian Commission. He has been a consultant for Falmouth Institute Inc. since 2018.
Lisa Harjo works as the Executive Director for Native American Cancer Research. She is the Principal Investigator on a project with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and provides administrative leadership and oversight for the organization. She supervises staff and maintains all corporate documents and standards. She also provides health education, training, recruits American Indians for cancer screening, and supports cancer survivors through education and outreach in the Denver Metro Area.
After receiving her Bachelors of Science in Native American Education and Child Development in 1974, Ms. Harjo spent the next twenty years teaching all ages from preschool through higher education. She also worked for many years in the field of non-profit organization management and development. She received her Masters of Education in Elementary Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Colorado at Denver in the early nineties. She co-authored several books in the field of education. She has worked for decades with American Indian tribes and other organizations, facilitating group meetings and trainings, and assisting communities in building consensus and unity of visions.
Ms. Harjo lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, three daughters, grandson, and three granddaughters.
Marissa J. Gehley is the founder of KNOW consulting, Kids Need Our Wisdom. She has more than 30 years of experience in education as a former teacher, counselor, child welfare and attendance specialist and coordinator of school safety and the Burbank OutReach Center. Additionally she is a trainer for the California School/Law Enforcement Partnership.
Ms. Gehley is proud to have contributed to several articles published in the nationally syndicated column “A+ Advice for Parents” by Leanna Landsmann. She has presented hundreds of workshops for community leaders, educators, parents and students in areas such as bully awareness/prevention, suicide prevention, effective communication techniques, school and neighborhood safety, diversity, relationship violence, child abuse and neglect and developing effective community partnerships. She holds a BS in history and social science and an MA in counseling.
Karla Bylund, MS-IO, SHRM-SCP is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Karla has over twenty years of experience in the human resources profession, the majority of which has been in Indian Country.
She holds a Master of Science degree in industrial and organizational psychology from Kansas State University, a Diversity and Inclusion certification from Cornell University and a Senior Human Resource certification from the Society of Human Resource Management. Karla is a contributing member of the Forbes Human Resource Council. In 2015 Karla started her own HR consulting business.
Adam Bailey, an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, joined the law firm Hobbs Straus as an associate in February 2013. He is a 2011 graduate of the UCLA School of Law, where he received his J.D. with a specialization in Critical Race Studies. During law school, Mr. Bailey was an active member and officer of NALSA. He worked on UCLA’s Journal of Environmental Law and Policy and the Dukeminier Awards Journal on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and the Law. Mr. Bailey was a term-time clerk for the Hualapai Court of Appeals and the Hopi Tribal Appeals Court. He was also a member of the UCLA Law Review, where he was selected to be a Senior Editor. He authored his student note entitled Threading the Needle: The Fort Peck Tribe’s Associate Membership: A Modern Model for Tribal Affiliation.
Mr. Bailey has returned to Hobbs Straus, having worked for four years in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a legislative specialist before enrolling in law school. Prior to his previous work at the firm he served as a legislative associate for the National Congress of American Indians. Immediately after graduation from the UCLA School of Law, Mr. Bailey practiced labor and employment law for Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton.
Mr. Bailey graduated with honors from Harvard University. His thesis exploring President Clinton’s executive order on tribal consultation received magna cum laude.
Mr. Bailey enjoys fishing and hunting, hiking, cooking, traveling, keeping current on news and politics.
Mr. Bantum is the President of Bantum Consulting Services, which specializes in providing Information Technology consulting services to faith based, non-profit, for profit, governmental and healthcare organizations. He has over 25 years of accounting and technology consulting experience, including experience in providing consulting, database and forensic accounting services to the healthcare industry. Mr. Bantum is a CPA, a CITP (Certified Information Technology Professional) and a CMC (Certified Management Consultant). He has served in the U.S. Air Force and received a Top Secret Security clearance while in service to his country. He was also an auditor with the accounting firm of Deloitte and Touche. He is a member of the AICPA, the Maryland Association of CPA’s, and the National Association of Black Accountants.
