Tobi Young

Midwest City native Tobi Young has dedicated her life to public service and the pursuit of justice. After graduating from Dartmouth College and George Washington University, Tobi received a law degree from the University of Mississippi in 2003. She set her sights high at the onset of her legal career as a clerk for Judge Jerome A. Holmes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

From there she served in the Department of Justice as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, entering the department as a trial attorney through the Honors Program under the supervision of Principal Deputy to the Associate Attorney General Neil Gorsuch. At the Department of Justice, Tobi focused on issues such as school desegregation and voter rights, such as ensuring Choctaw tribal citizens received voting instructions in their native language, and was a delegate to Human Rights conventions on torture in Geneva, Switzerland.

The already accomplished attorney went on to positions as an adjunct law professor at the University of Mississippi, Associate White House Counsel for President George W. Bush and General Counsel and Board Secretary for the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Over a decade after her time at the Department of Justice, Tobi's path again crossed with now United States Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. In 2018, Justice Gorsuch appointed her as a United States Supreme Court Clerk for the 2018-2019 session, making her the first enrolled citizen of a Native American tribe and only the third Oklahoman to hold the position.

Tobi carries on a legacy of public service as a descendant of Chickasaw Nation Governor Winchester Colbert, who helped broker a treaty that reestablished the tribe as a sovereign nation. She says that her father took her to a public library as a child to research their Chickasaw lineage and ensure she maintained a connection to the tribe. As an Oklahoman and a Chickasaw, Tobi is proud to represent her home state and her tribe, crediting her success to not forgetting who she is and where she comes from.