John Castillo, Ph.D. – Executive Director
jcastillo@walkingshield.org

John Castillo, Ph.D., is Walking Shield, Inc.’s Executive Director.  Dr. Castillo, who is of Apache heritage, has worked for Walking Shield since 1999. Prior to coming to Walking Shield, Dr. Castillo was the Executive Director of the Southern California Indian Center for 9 years. He coordinated multiple programs and services to assist the largest urban Indian community in the United States. He has received numerous awards for his work and leadership in Indian Country including the California State Chapter of the National Society of the American Revolution’s Outstanding American Indian, the Freedom Foundation of Valley Forge’s George Washington Honor Medal, the County of Los Angeles’ Affirmative Action Volunteer of the Year and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s National Fellowship.  Dr. Castillo has taught graduate courses in social work as well as undergraduate courses on Indian Studies at California State University, Long Beach.  He has published several articles about American Indians and is a sought out speaker at functions across the country.  With decades of experience in program coordination and a Ph.D. in organizational development, Dr. Castillo is fully dedicated to improving the quality of life on American Indian reservations. 

Amanda Roggow, M.S.W. - Medical Projects and Grant Maintenance
Program Manager
aroggow@walkingshield.org

Amanda Roggow, Program Manager for Medical Projects and Grant Maintenance, received her Masters of Social Work from the University of Southern California with a concentration in community organizing, planning and administration.  Ms. Roggow has nearly 10 years of non- profit experience including department management, program development and foundation relations.  She is responsible for grant program compliance and reporting as well as all aspects of the agency’s medical/dental projects. 

Marvin Thurman - Finance/Administration and Infrastructure
Program Manager
mthurman@walkingshield.org

Marvin Thurman is Walking Shield’s Finance Administration Manager as well as Program Manager for IRT Infrastructure and Housing Relocation. His expertise includes budgeting, forecasting and problem solving. He has many years of professional accounting experience with corporations such as Disney, Toshiba and Unisys. Mr. Thurman is responsible for monitoring and evaluating Walking Shield's performance based funding requirements as well as coordinating housing relocation from Military bases and IRT infrastructure with Department of Defense.