John Tahsuda III is a Principal with Navigators Global LLC, a full-service issues management, government relations, and strategic communications firm located in Washington, D.C.  John is also the Managing Partner of Innovative Tribal Strategies LLC, a consultancy focused on providing strategic advice on federal policies and business opportunities for Indian nation leadership. 

Tahsuda’s 30-year career has focused on Tribal affairs.  In his most recent public service, he spent three and a half years at the Department of the Interior, where he served as the Senior Counselor to the Secretary and as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, the primary political appointee in charge of operational aspects of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), the Bureau of Trust Funds Management, and the Office of Self Governance. Prior to joining Navigators in 2007, John served as the Staff Director for the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. 

Tahsuda received a juris doctorate from Cornell Law School in 1993 and a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University in 1990.  He now is a Distinguished Fellow and Adjunct Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  He teaches courses on federal Indian law and Indian gaming.  As a distinguished fellow, he also advises the Boyd School’s Indian Nations Gaming and Governance Program.

John is the proud father of triplets.