Cody J. Martinez is a hands-on and engaged tribal leader providing strong direction to the members of his tribe and the nearly 3,000 employees of Sycuan and its affiliated business entities.

Elected as Chairman in December 2014, and overwhelmingly re-elected in 2018, Martinez has moved swiftly to ensure transparency and accountability to his constituents of the Sycuan Tribe. Creating efficiencies and streamlining operations, the tribal government has already seen improved services and reduced costs. Martinez and the Tribal Council oversee more than a dozen governmental services including police and fire, education, medical and dental, and cultural programs, collectively employing nearly 400 employees with annual budgets of $75 million.

During his tenure, Chairman Martinez has emphasized teamwork, accountability, and creativeness in his oversight of the Sycuan Casino and Resort, the U.S. Grant Hotel, and other properties and businesses owned or operated by the tribe and/or its Sycuan Tribal Development Corporation (STDC). Protecting the tribe’s sovereignty is paramount in all his executive decisions.

Major accomplishments during his first term include winning unanimous approval by the state legislature and governor for access to a stable and reliable source of drinking water; re-negotiation of the tribal-state gaming compact, ensuring the continued success of the tribe’s business enterprises; and spearheading the design, financing and construction of a $260M hotel and resort, which opened in March, 2019. This best-in-class facility will compete for 4 star/4 diamond ratings, offer seven new food and beverage outlets, state of the art and convenient meeting and entertainment venues, and add more than 700 new jobs to the local economy. Chairman Martinez also oversaw the planning and development of the Sycuan Market that opened to the public and surrounding community on October 1, 2019.

Prior to his election as Chairman, Martinez worked for the tribal community development department. He played an instrumental role in developing new and improved infrastructure for the residents of the reservation by guiding an $18 million capital project and securing federal grant funds. With conservation and the protection of natural resources being close to his heart, Martinez helped create a first-in-the-nation Natural Resource Management Plan for nearly 1500 acres of land acquired by the Sycuan Band. Through this plan, Sycuan entered into unique and one-of-a-kind partnerships with the County of San Diego, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the State of California to preserve and protect sensitive wildlife habitat while ensuring the tribe’s future stability by providing room for future economic development and protection of cultural and archaeological resources.

Chairman Martinez also served as Tribal Treasurer from 2007-2010. In this capacity, he demonstrated a quick grasp of the nuances of budgeting and the need for a balance approach to ensuring costs and revenues meet. Prudent debt management and strategic reduction in government expenses aided Mr. Martinez in navigating Sycuan through the last economic recession.

Prior to his service on the tribal council as Treasurer, Chairman Martinez served on the Sycuan Gaming Commission. As the primary regulator of the gaming operations, Chairman Martinez helped ensure strict compliance with tribal ordinances, the tribal-state compact and federal rules and regulations. Protecting the assets of the tribe while preserving the integrity of the gaming experience for customers was always front and center.

Chairman Martinez is a fourth generation descendent of Soloman Paipa, an original allottee when the Sycuan reservation was established in 1875. Born and raised on the Sycuan Indian Reservation, Martinez attended all local schools. The proud parent of two sons, he makes education and community involvement a personal emphasis. Business diversification, cultural preservation and sound management are core values held by Chairman Martinez.

Joshua Muse was elected Vice Chairman of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation in the December 2022 General Council elections and began his four-year term on January 3, 2023, joining Chairman Cody J. Martinez and five other councilmembers in guiding the Tribe’s sovereign government and business enterprises.

As Vice Chairman, Muse works with the Tribal Council to steward essential public-service departments—including public safety, education, health, cultural preservation and natural-resource management—while safeguarding the Band’s sovereignty and treaty rights in all intergovernmental negotiations. He helps shape policy and budget priorities that sustain Sycuan’s more than 300 enrolled members and support nearly 4,000 employees across government programs and tribally owned businesses.

Muse brings more than a decade of economic-development experience to the Council. As Board Chairman of the Sycuan Tribal Development Corporation (STDC), he helped launch the Sycuan Square project, a mixed-use retail and community services hub whose first phase created a convenience store, gas station and future medical-and-dental center—strengthening long-term revenue streams for critical government services.

Beyond Sycuan, Muse represents Southern California tribes on the Executive Committee of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), where he was re-elected Southern District At-Large Representative in 2023. In this role he advances statewide policy initiatives that protect tribal gaming compacts and promote responsible, tribally driven economic growth.

Muse is also an active voice in Sacramento. In July 2024 he testified before the Legislature on SB 549 (the Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act), advocating for equitable legal protections for tribal governments. His public-policy engagement complements a strong commitment to philanthropy: in February 2024 he joined fellow council leaders in presenting a $50,000 Sycuan donation to the MESA Foundation, supporting San Diego State University student-athletes’ community service efforts.

Grounded in Kumeyaay tradition and forward-looking economic vision, Vice Chairman Joshua Muse continues to champion cultural preservation, community wellbeing and sustainable prosperity for the Sycuan Band and Indigenous peoples across California.

Cody J. Martinez

Chairman, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation

Joshua Muse

Vice Chairman, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation