Sarah Crawford combines her experience working on both Capitol Hill and in the executive branch with her juris doctor from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University to provide tribal clients with the advice necessary to make informed decisions that reflect legal, political, and public policy realities.Ms. Crawford focuses on providing counsel to tribes on numerous key issues including code development, Indian Child Welfare Act cases, tribal housing programming and development, contract reviews, employment law, and federal funding and programing policies. She has spent considerable efforts on setting the foundations and building up key tribal programming including tribal housing and core governmental structures. She is also dedicated to the implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act and has represented tribal client interests in state court proceedings. During law school, Ms. Crawford’s strong work ethic and legal acumen earned her awards from the National Native American Bar Association, the National Order of Barristers, and the Native American Bar Association of Arizona. In April 2019, she authored “The Year of the Native Voter,” which was published in the Arizona Attorney Magazine. Ms. Crawford strove to supplement her legal education with real world experience that not only helped her to hone her skills but also made a tangible difference in Indian Country. She was a legal clerk at the Native American Rights Fund, where she focused on cases related to discriminatory voter identification laws, the protection of ancestral lands, and revisions to a tribal constitution. Ms. Crawford was also a legal intern at the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Office of the Prosecutor.Before attending law school, Ms. Crawford spent five years in Washington, D.C. working in federal Indian policy. She spent several years working for U.S. Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota. She wrote and aided in the introduction of legislation and appropriations provisions to preserve Native languages, provide tribal tax parity, eliminate barriers to economic development, ensure housing grants for Native communities, and retain the protection of Indian arts and crafts. After Sen. Johnson’s retirement, she transitioned to the National Indian Gaming Commission, where she was charged with the agency’s legislative and intergovernmental affairs. Ms. Crawford was also detailed to the White House to help plan the Tribal Nations Conference, assisting in writing high-level memoranda to federal agency secretaries and President Obama.
Listed skills include Community Outreach, Policy, Leadership, Public Speaking, and 39 others.