Janie Simms Hipp, J.D., LL.M. (Chickasaw) is Founding Director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative at the University Of Arkansas School Of Law.  Ms. Hipp is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.  Ms. Hipp served in the Obama Administration as the Senior Advisor for Tribal Relations to Secretary Tom Vilsack and as founding Director of the Office of Tribal Relations in the Office of the Secretary.  She previously served in the Bush administration within the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA) as the National Program Leader for Farm Financial Management, Risk Management Education, Trade Adjustment Assistance, and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and within USDA Risk Management Agency as national Risk Management Education Director.  She is a graduate of University of Oklahoma, received her J.D. at Oklahoma City University, and her LL.M. in Agriculture and Food Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law.  She has been a licensed attorney in Oklahoma for over 30 years and specializes in food and agriculture law and Indian law.  She was honored in 2014 by the University of Arkansas Alumni Association as one of three Distinguished Alumni of the University of Arkansas and by the American Agricultural Law Association as a Distinguished Agricultural Law Professional.