Tommy Jones - Energy Analyst and Project Monitor to the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs (Contractor)
Dr. Tommy Jones is from Jones, OK, and is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Naknek Village Council, and a Native shareholder of Bristol Bay Native Corporation. Prior to becoming a federal contractor to the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, he interned through the Office’s internship program at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque and in the headquarters office in Washington, DC.
Dr. Jones received separate bachelor’s degrees from Oklahoma City University in Biology and Spanish. He received a master’s degree in Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and received certifications for Administration and Management of American Indian Natural Resources and Native Nation Building from the University of Arizona. Most recently, he received his Ph.D. in Natural Resources Studies and American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona. The focus of his research analyzed the relevance of Native Nation Building Theory with regard to the development of renewable energy projects on tribal lands and the analysis of the barriers and challenges to renewable energy development on tribal lands.