All Relations United Board of Directors
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LORELEI HORSE STANDS WAITING: Lorelei is a former ESL teacher mentoring international students. She's assisted processing and resettling indigenous refugees from Central America seeking asylum at El Calvario United Methodist Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She also worked at domestic abuse and homeless shelters in South Dakota and New Mexico, and is familiar with many of the issues that ARU is addressing in its programs, including PTSD. Lorelei devotes much of her time to supporting and assisting Veterans who have been left behind. She is also a board member of the Akicita Lakota Veterans on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
DIRECTOR AKICITA LAKOTA VETERANS BRYAN BREWER: Bryan is a Vietnam Combat Veteran who served in the U.S. Navy, earning a Purple Heart. He directs our work assisting Veterans and their families on Pine Ridge. He is also a past Tribal President of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Bryan is founder of the Lakota Nation Invitational, bringing together youth from the nine reservations across South Dakota for a basketball tournament, hand ball, volley ball, archery, Lakota language bowl and other events to uplift the youth. Bryan also taught Lakota Culture at Pine Ridge schools, was a coach, athletic director, principle and dean of students. He is current president of the Oglala Lakota County School Board .
DIRECTOR DEPORTED VETERANS RODOLFO MOLINO JR. : "Rudy" is a Vietnam Combat Veteran who earned a Silver Star for saving the life of his squadron commander Ron Kovic (Born on the 4th of July fame), in the Battle of Mai Loc in Vietnam. He also worked for the U.S. Border Patrol/INS (Immigration Naturalization Service). Rudy sponsored the Director of the Deported Veteran Support House in Juárez for Humanitarian Parole to the U.S. He traveled to Washington DC to advocate for passage of the Veteran Recognition Act to pardon our exiled Veterans, sponsored by the ACLU of Southern California. His book, "The 13 Unsung Heroes," (cowritten with Adrian Nuñez), is a must read to understand the true events of June 20, 1968.
DIRECTOR OF ASIAN DEVELOPMENT Y'DUEN BUONDOP: Y'Duen is a Dega/Montegnaard FULRO (the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Peoples) Veteran from the Central Highlands of Vietnam. He spent 17 years fleeing in the jungle after our Allied Veterans were abandoned when the U.S,. pulled out of Vietnam. Exiled from his homeland, Y'Duen now lives in North Carolina where he's Director of the Dega Central Highlands Organization . He advocates to Congress, the President, and the United Nations for an end to human rights abuses and genocide of the Dega/Montegnaards people in Vietnam, and relocation of refugees whose lives are at risk in Thailand.
DIRECTOR DEPORTED VETERAN SUPPORT HOUSE JUAREZ BUNKER JOSE FRANCISCO LOPEZ: Francisco is a Vietnam Combat Veteran who was deported for 20 years despite his honorable service to our country. He has since been repatriated and is currently living in El Paso, Texas. All Relations United accompanied Francisco back home to the U.S. in 2023. Francisco continues to direct the Deported Veteran's Support House-Juarez Bunker in Mexico, and to advocate for the return of our Deported Veterans. He traveled to Washington DC to advocate for passage of the Veteran Recognition Act, and twice joined the President for breakfast at the White House with fellow Veterans on Veterans Day.
DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY RAÚL RODRIGUEZ. RaÚl is a Navy Veteran who served nearly 20 years as a Customs and Border Protection officer in the Rio Grande Valley. Raúl received our nation's highest award in Washington DC for his exemplary service to our country. Despite his continuing honorable service, after discovering that he was not actually born in the U.S. (even he was unaware of this), he was terminated from his job. Raúl was forced to fight deportation for five years before finally being allowed to remain in the U.S. with a green card, but without citizenship. His book "A Government Secret," relates his experiences of almost being deported into the same cartel territory where he once worked as an undercover agent for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR DEPORTED VETERANS JUAN VALENZUELA: Juan is a Deported/Repatriated Army Veteran. After 20 years of deportation, he returned to his family in El Paso, Texas. He worked as a Medical Interpretor for government agencies including FEMA and Child Protective Services while living in Juarez, Mexico. All Relations United attended and supported Juan at his immigration hearing and he now is a legal resident. He works as translator/interpreter in El Paso and is assisting our work to bring our Deported Veterans home.
BILL MEANS Bill is Founder of the International Indian Treaty Council. During his 9 years as Executive Director, he was responsible for the establishment of a system for documenting human rights violations against Native Americans. He is Co-founder of the United Nations working group on Indigenous Populations and an expert on U.S. & Indian Treaty relations.
SCOTT ROBERTSON: Scott worked for the Family Addiction Treatment Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico and the Sexual Assault Unit in El Paso. He supports and maintains traditional Native healing and cultural practices including working with addicted and traumatized youth using the sweat lodge as detox and spiritual treatment. His efforts were instrumental in bringing long-term healing to vulnerable youth.