Javier Kinney, Director of Office of Self-Governance, Yurok Tribe

Javier I. Kinney is a Yurok Tribal citizen and serves as the Director of Office of Self-Governance for the Yurok Tribe. He has attained a Bachelor of Arts Degrees in History and Native American Studies from the University of California, Davis, a Master of Arts degree in Law & Diplomacy, specializing in Development Economics and International Law from Tufts University-Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, and a Juris Doctorate from Suffolk Law School. Mr. Kinney has extensive experience advising Tribal governments with expertise in areas of strategic action and climate change, natural resource management, mediation, negotiations, public policy, economic development, youth empowerment, land acquisition, tribal governance, philanthropic partnerships, protection of tribal cultural resources and water policy.

Kinney has been an invited to serve as a key note speaker and guest lecturer at various universities and colleges focusing on leadership, natural resource management, education, youth empowerment, and indigenous affairs. His visionary work and interests have provided him the opportunity to travel with indigenous delegations and other missions to Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Mexico, Jamaica, Hungary, Canada and Germany. His commitment as a change-maker to global consciousness and visionary change motive him to create opportunities of collaboration and partnerships domestically and with indigenous communities worldwide. As a graduate student at the Fletcher School, Kinney was selected as a delegate to the inaugural International Achievement Summit held in Budapest, Hungary. Most recently, he has presented at the Nexus Global Youth Summit held at the United Nations, and recently represented the Yurok Tribe as a delegate to the United Nations Council of Parties 23, Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany. Kinney currently serves on the board of the Yurok Justice Advisory Board and the Yurok Tribe’s non-profit organization, Kee-Cha E Nar.