Geoffrey Blackwell
Geoffrey Blackwell brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in Indian Country and Washington, D.C. to NCAI. He has testified before Congress on seven occasions, and before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He arrived after serving for eight years as the Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel for AMERIND Risk Management Corp. In addition to a career in federal Indian law and litigation, and tribal corporate development, he has played a pivotal role in developing and advocating for broadband policy that closes the digital divide of Tribal Nations.
Blackwell was the founding Chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Office of Native Affairs and Policy, where he spearheaded the agency’s efforts to bring modern communication technologies to Tribal Nations and their communities nationwide. In 2000, during his first period of service at the FCC, he also made history as the first enrolled citizen of a federally recognized Tribal Nation to work at the independent federal regulatory commission. In 2020, was honored as a corecipient of Public Knowledge’s IP3 Internet Protocol Award. In-between his two separate prior periods of service at the FCC, he served as the Director of Strategic Relations and Minority Business Development at Chickasaw Nation Industries, Inc. He began his legal career with the Boston law firm of Hale and Dorr LLP.
In addition to his role as General Counsel and Chief of Staff, Blackwell maintains an active engagement in other national organizations. He serves on the Board of the Native American Rights Fund and serves as the Vice President of the Board of Tribal Advisors to the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University. He has also served on the boards of the National Small Business Association, National Federation of Community Broadcasters, Native Public Media, Acoma Business Enterprises, and the Indigenous Commission for Communications Technologies in the Americas. Additionally, within NCAI, Blackwell continues his leadership responsibilities as Co-Chair of both the Economic, Finance, and Community Development Committee and the Technology and Telecommunications Subcommittee.
Raised in Oklahoma and New Mexico, Blackwell is Chickasaw, Choctaw, Omaha, and Muscogee Creek. He comes from a family deeply dedicated to Indian Country through both federal service and tribal leadership. Blackwell is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia School of Law.