Councilman At-Large
Robert Brevelle
Robert is the councilman at-large and registered agent of the Adai Caddo Indian Nation. He assists the chief and the tribal council on special projects and assignments including government relations and regulatory compliance. At council meetings, he serves as parliamentarian.
Robert is a genealogist and Louisiana historian. He grew up in the CENLA communities of Marksville and Leesville – Fort Polk.
He is a direct lineal descendant of one of the early French explorers of La Louisiane and his Native American wife. Isle Brevelle, the birthplace of Creole culture, is named for his family. His ancestors helped establish the oldest towns, missions, and forts in Texas and Louisiana. Today, their descendants are Creoles, Cajuns, and members of the Adai Caddo, Choctaw Apache, Natchitoches, and Tunica Biloxi Indian Nations.
After graduating with honors from Leesville High School, Robert earned a BS summa cum laude and MS in computer science with a minor in military science and history from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He went on to complete a MA in history and MBA from Southeastern University and the University of Texas at Dallas, where he was also a doctoral candidate. Robert completed postgraduate work and professional programs at Southern Methodist University. He is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program from Cornell University.
As an amateur archaeologist, Robert participated in excavations of Civil War and Native American sites across CENLA. The Louisiana Archaeological Survey and Antiquities Commission published, “a number of colonial European families can boast of Caddoan ancestors: Grappes, Brevelles, Balthazars…”. His family is listed on the First Families of Louisiana registry by the Genealogical & Historical Society. He worked with the Araldica Italiana Roma and Vatican Apostolic Library to trace his French ancestry and coat of arms to 1300s Normandy. After studying genealogy and heraldry at the Roman Catholic Church, Presentation College, and Art Institute of Dallas, Robert became a certified genealogist and heraldist. He is a credentialed Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute, Louisiana Certified Genealogist (LCG), and Fellow of the Louisiana Genealogical and Historical Society (FLGHS).
As an accomplished engineer, entrepreneur, and business leader, Robert has led multiple private and public companies in the US and abroad. He was the managing partner of a Top 10 nationally-ranked accelerator and served as entrepreneur-in-residence for Intellectual Ventures with over 75,000 patents and six billion in investments. He was featured on the cover of the Dallas Business Journal and in other publications, including NASDAQ News, Yahoo Finance, Electronics Weekly, Reuters, and Aviation Week. The industry and his peers have recognized him with multiple awards, including the Top 100 Innovators and Entrepreneurs, NASA Innovation and Leadership, Top 10 Angel Investors in Dallas, Strategic and Nuclear Deterrence C2, and DoD Team of the Year.
As an adjunct professor for 9 years, Robert taught courses in business and engineering. He presents at conferences on topics such as venture capital, early-stage technologies, Native American history, and Louisiana history.
He is deeply committed to professional and community organizations. Robert is the chairman of the LGHS and recipient of the society’s highest honor, the Order of Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. Robert serves as the president of the Baton Rouge Genealogical and Historical Society (BRGHS) and director of several scholarship programs and conservation trusts, which have earned him lifetime achievement awards. He is the former president of the Association of Old Crows Dallas Chapter and former chairman of the global RTX Diversity Initiative. He has been recognized for his unwavering support of military veterans through the Veteran Jobs Mission, Fisher House Foundation, and various corporate programs.
Robert is a life member of the Association of the U.S. Army, National Guard Association, Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary, Society of American Military Engineers, National Rifle Association of America, Association of Old Crows, BRGHS, LGHS, and Century Club of the Leesville High School Alumni Association. He is a member of Mensa, Intertel, Christ the King Catholic Church, the U.S. Air Force Big Safari Association, and founding sponsor of the National Museum of the U.S. Army.
Robert is proud of his Adai Caddo and colonial Louisiana heritage. He grew up hiking, fishing, and hunting his ancestral lands from Toledo Bend to the Red River. He is happiest there when the bass are spawning and the whitetails are in rut. Now, he is accompanied by his toddler son Tristan, forging his bond with the land just as his father lovingly did for him.
