Choctaw Assistant Chief Jack Austin Jr. Named Distinguished Alumnus

WILBURTON, Okla. – Jack Austin Jr., Assistant Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma was inducted as a Distinguished Alumnus of Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton at the 13th Annual Sapphire Ball on April 8. Also honored as a Distinguished Alumnus was Choctaw Nation Tribal Member Kelbie Kennedy.

The event recognized outstanding alumni, employees and supporters of the college while raising funds for student scholarships.

Assistant Chief Austin began working for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma in 1991 with a position in Health Care after being honorably discharged after four years of military service in the U.S. Army. He has served as assistant chief of the Choctaw Nation since 2014, where he implements strategies to increase and sustain revenue, while directing capital expenditures and asset redeployment activities. He attended Eastern, completing his associate degree in 1998. He then earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education from East Central University. He is also a certified behavioral health case manager.

Kennedy recently became the first Tribal Affairs political appointee in the history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A 2010 Eastern graduate, Kennedy received her Juris Doctor degree and certificate in American Indian law from the University of Oklahoma, College of Law.