Barry W. Brandon
Executive
Director
Native American Financial Services Association
Barry Brandon, a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, brings a wealth of experience and expertise in Native American law and policy to the Native American Financial Services Association. After 20 years as a litigator, corporate executive, policy strategist, and regulatory advisor, Brandon is a highly regarded authority on federal Indian law and policy.
Brandon served as a senior trial attorney with the United States Department of Justice before becoming an advisor in the Secretary’s Office at the United States Department of the Interior. He then served as the Chief of Staff and General Counsel at the National Indian Gaming Commission, the federal agency responsible for overseeing the multi-billion dollar Indian gaming industry.
After leaving the National Indian Gaming Commission, Brandon transitioned to the private sector as a partner in Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, one of the Nation’s top law firms. While there he helped found the firm’s American Indian Law and Policy Practice Group.
In 2004, Brandon became the Senior Vice-President and General Counsel at Seneca Gaming Corporation, a company he was instrumental in creating. As Senior Vice-President and General Counsel, Brandon oversaw the legal, compliance, and risk management departments of the corporation, which employs over 4000 people and generates $600 million in annual revenues.
After leaving Seneca Gaming, Barry founded Hvmken Consulting, a firm that provides legal, policy, and regulatory advice to Native businesses, Indian tribes, and their non-Native partners. His clients included an international resort and casino developer and one of the largest manufacturers of gaming machines and equipment in the country. Barry continues to serve as President of Hvmken Consulting.
Brandon is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and a descendant of the Seneca Nation of Indians. He received his undergraduate degree in political science at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA and his law degree at the University of Washington in Seattle.