Mr. Blackwell joined Chickasaw Nation Industries, Inc.’s (CNI) corporate staff on October 3, 2005, to coordinate strategic relationships across CNI’s lines of business to identify, evaluate, support, and maximize economic development opportunities with private sector companies, federal agencies, Tribal nations and entities, and small, minority, women-owned and disadvantaged businesses. CNI is comprised of federally chartered 8(a) Tribal businesses created for the purpose of promoting the economic development and long-term financial viability of the Chickasaw Nation through its broad and diverse capabilities. CNI’s objectives are achieved by the development or acquisition of financially sound, well managed business entities that comprise the divisional structure of the corporation. These divisions include construction, property management, information technologies, professional services, manufacturing and retail. Mr. Blackwell also serves as a Co-Chair of the Telecommunications Subcommittee of the National Congress of American Indians, the oldest and largest inter-Tribal government organization in the nation. Mr. Blackwell is based in Washington, DC.

Prior to joining CNI, Mr. Blackwell worked at the Federal Communications Commission, within the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs of the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, as a Senior Attorney and as the Commission’s Liaison to Tribal Governments. He provided counsel throughout the Commission on matters involving Tribal issues and federal Indian law, and he coordinated with various sectors of the communications industries. Joining the Commission in January 2000, he was responsible for coordinating various FCC outreach efforts to Tribes, Tribal representatives, and Tribal consumers, as well as Commission government-to-government Tribal consultations. Mr. Blackwell was also responsible for various “in-reach” coordination to educate Commission staff about Tribal governments and cultures, Tribal sovereignty rights, federal Indian law and policy, and Tribal communications needs. He assisted Commission staff on various matters involving wireline, wireless, satellite and broadcast services, including rulemakings and adjudicatory proceedings concerning Indian Country and wireless spectrum access and Universal Service Fund programs. Mr. Blackwell also assisted in the drafting and implementation of the Commission’s 2000 formal Statement of Policy on Establishing a Government-to-Government Relationship with Indian Tribes.

With respect to environmental and cultural preservation matters at the Commission, Mr. Blackwell provided counsel to the Commission and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau’s NEPA Team on several rulemaking, adjudicatory, and National Historic Preservation Act Tribal consultation matters. These include the Nationwide Programmatic Agreement for Review of the Effects of Towers on Historic Properties, the FCC’s Memorandum of Understanding with the United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc. (USET) on Best Practices Guidance for Participation of FCC Applicant’s and USET member Tribes in Historic Preservation Review, the FCC-USET Best Practices guidance itself, and the FCC’s Tower Construction Notification System.

Mr. Blackwell is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, and is also of Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Omaha descent. Prior to joining CNI and his most recent federal service, Mr. Blackwell worked in the Litigation Department of Hale and Dorr, LLP, of Boston, as his spouse, Dr. Mary Elizabeth Blackwell, completed her doctoral degree in Biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health. Previously, Mr. Blackwell was in private law practice assisting Tribes with the development of their governmental systems and codes of environmental laws. Raised in New Mexico and Oklahoma, Mr. Blackwell was graduated from Tulsa Memorial High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mr. Blackwell was graduated with an A.B. in Government from Dartmouth College, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law.

During undergraduate and law school studies, Mr. Blackwell clerked with the United States Attorney’s Office in Seattle, WA; and worked for Oklahoma’s U.S. Senator David L. Boren in Washington, DC; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma Office of Property Management; the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee on the staff of Senator Daniel K. Inouye; and, the Smithsonian Institution Office of Symposia and Seminars. Beth, Geoff, their feisty three year old Megan and her often crawling nine month old sister Jennifer, reside in Rockville, Maryland.