Christopher L. Clark Deschene is an American politician, attorney, and energy development expert. A member of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

, Deschene was the Democratic Party's candidate for Secretary of State in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

in 2010, and served as a Department of Energy official in the Barack Obama administration.

Biography

Deschene was born in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, but moved with his parents, a homemaker from

Dennehotso, Arizona Dennehotso () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 746 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all land. Demograph ...

, and a welder from

Tuba City, Arizona Tuba City () is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated town and census-designated place in Coconino County, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation, United States. It is the second-largest community in Coconino County. The population of the census-design ...

. Deschene spent his youth in LeChee, Arizona, and attended high school in

Page, Arizona Page is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, near the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 7,247. History Page was founded in 1957 as a housing community for workers and their f ...

. After graduating from high school in 1989, Deschene attended the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

, graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and a commission as a second lieutenant in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. He was deployed on several missions overseas, including the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. After completing two tours of active duty, Deschene continued on as a

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person ca ...

for a total of 10 years of military service. After leaving the Marines, Deschene earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (ASU Law) is the law school at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is in the Beus Center for Law and Society on ASU's downtown Phoenix campus. Created in 1965 as the Arizona State Unive ...

, and a Master's of Science degree in engineering from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. His grandfather was a Navajo code talker during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Career

He subsequently co-founded Law Office of Schaff & Clark Deschene, specializing in questions of energy infrastructure. Deschene worked at this firm for a decade before joining the Obama administration in 2015. Deschene served as a member of the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Arizona Senate, Senate. The House convenes in the le ...

from 2009 to 2011, representing District 2. He was member of both the Committee for Natural Resources and Rural Affairs and the Committee for Water and Energy. Prior to his election to the legislature, he was the chair of the Apache County Democratic Party from 2007 to 2008 and the chair of the Native American Democratic Caucus. In 2010, he won the Democratic Party's nomination for Secretary of State, beating Sam Wercinski with 62.7% vs. 37.3% of the votes. He lost the general election to Ken Bennett. In the Navajo Nation presidential election of 2015, he ran for president of the

, though he was later disqualified by the Navajo Nation Office of Hearings and Appeals for failing to show fluency in the

Navajo language Navajo or Navaho ( ; Navajo: or ) is a Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan language of the Na-Dene languages, Na-Dené family, through which it is related to languages spoken across the western areas of North America. Navajo i ...

. In 2015, Deschene joined the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...

as the director for the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, serving under Secretary

Ernest Moniz Ernest Jeffrey Moniz, Order of Prince Henry, GCIH (; born December 22, 1944) is an American nuclear physicist and former government official. From May 2013 to January 2017, he served as the 13th United States secretary of energy in the Obama admi ...

. He served in the role through the end of the administration and aided in the transition effort. In June 2017, he joined Rosette, LLP as a partner in their

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

office, where he practices energy law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deschene, Chris Living people Democratic Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Navajo Nation politicians Navajo lawyers United States Naval Academy alumni United States Marine Corps officers People from Tuba City, Arizona 1970 births 21st-century Native American politicians 21st-century members of the Arizona State Legislature