Javier Kinney

Javier I. Kinney
Executive Director, Yurok Tribe

Javier I. Kinney is a Yurok Tribal citizen and serves as the Executive Director 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 actions, climate change, natural resource management, gaming, mediation, negotiations, public policy, economic development, youth empowerment, land acquisition, tribal governance, philanthropic partnerships, protection of tribal cultural resources and water and law policy. Kinney’s 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, Brazil, Norway and Germany. His commitment as a change-maker to global consciousness and visionary change motives him to create opportunities of collaboration and partnerships with indigenous communities at the domestic and worldwide levels. 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 Headquarters, and represented the Yurok Tribe as a tribal delegate to the United Nations Council of Parties 23 Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany and this spring traveled to Macapa, Brazil, Oslo, Norway and Acre, Brazil regarding climate change and resiliency initiatives. Kinney currently serves on the board of the Yurok Justice Advisory Board, advisor to the Yurok Tribe’s Community Development Financial Institution, and the Yurok Tribe’s non-profit organization, Kee-Cha E Nar.