It was announced on October 12th that Kelbie Kennedy, a University of Oklahoma Law and Honors College alum, will serve as FEMA's new Tribal Affairs Advocate. This marks the first tribal political appointee in the agency's history. In her new role, Kennedy will advise the agency on Tribal affairs, making sure that FEMA carries out its responsibilities to the Tribal Nations.
The appointee is a part of the agency's new 2022-2026 FEMA National Tribal Strategy which includes a national study on tribal emergency management capacity and capabilities, revision of FEMA training opportunities for tribal nations, development of resources to address tribal needs, and the creation of a new FEMA Tribal Affairs Work Group.
The FEMA position is just the latest in what is an already impressive resume. Before FEMA, Kennedy worked as a tribal attorney for the Southern Ute tribe and served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Chuuk state government for the Federated States of Micronesia. She continued her work in Washington D.C. where she served as policy manager and policy lead of national security and community safety for the National Congress of American Indians. Here, she specialized in tribal border issues, Indian child and family welfare, international indigenous rights, and Homeland Security and emergency management, among other things. In May 2022 Ms. Kennedy was named one of "Native Americans 40 under 40," an award that highlights Native-American citizens for their leadership and contributions to their communities.
Ms. Kennedy is a Choctaw Nation tribe member, and she has been advocating for indigenous rights since her college days. At the University of Oklahoma, she made her voice heard by giving presentations about how tribal courts could invoke their own judgment in state courts. She also conducted research on the maltreatment of indigenous women in Guatemala, which culminated in Kennedy's invitation to Harvard University's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy to meet with Guatemalan representatives and continue her work.
Kennedy attended OU for her undergraduate education receiving a bachelor's degree in communications in 2012. She then pursued her J.D. at the University of Oklahoma, graduating in 2015. With her impressive resume and hard work, it is no surprise to us that Ms. Kennedy has gone on to accomplish so much. We are sure that there are still big things ahead for this Honors College alum!
