Ed Smoke
Project Manager

Ed Smoke has been a member of Innovation Project Development's team since July of 2008. Ed's first project with IPD was the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Expansion Project. The project was close to his home and heart -- he is part of the Mohawk Nation in Akwesasne, and with his help the project reached a very positive conclusion. The Casino was the largest project to be built within the Territory of Akwesasne at the time and brought much-needed jobs for the people in the area.

Raised in Akwesasne in the northern part of New York in a community split between Canada and the United States, Ed says he has learned how Native communities can exist with many neighbors. "Akwesasne is home but we have to deal with so many issues that include present day problems and possibilities that we need to gain experience and skills in many disciplines." Ed proudly served as C.E.O. of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council from 1996 to 1999 and during that time he oversaw the administration and management of many of the programs and agencies providing crucial services to the Mohawk community. It was also during this time the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council initiated construction of the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino. The project was completed under his tenure in April of 1999 when the Casino opened the doors in its initial phase of operation.

During subsequent years, Ed worked as a Manufacturing Supervisor at the Northern New York General Motors Powertrain Plant. Dealing with responsibilities of schedule and budget, personnel management and conflict resolution, quality control and operating efficiency, Ed mastered a set of skills and expanded his talents in areas that later served as the basis for his success at construction project management and oversight with IPD. The lessons learned are now applied to the coordination of Architects, General Contractors, Sub-contractors and Engineers -- all necessary and critical to bring a project to a successful conclusion.

Ed has also held a number of other positions with the Tribe that have directly increased his value to IPD in the understanding and implmentation of gaming projects. Shortly after graduation from Cornell University, Ed worked several years on the newly formed St. Regis Mohawk Tribe's Gaming Commission. More recently, from September 2007 until relocating to Tucson to serve as IPD's Project Manager on the Pascua Yaqui Casino Del Sol Expansion Project, Ed was his Tribe's Ethics Officer. His mandate was to develop policies and procedures in which community members could file formal complaints. The ethics officer investigated the validity of each complaint and made a determination on whether there was sufficient evidence to organize a panel to hear the evidence as a formal Ethics Commission proceeding. This background in tribal relations and ethics has made Ed particularly valuable in mediating disputes that often arise in the implementation of TERO programs. Ed says "We work together to get a consensus on what direction to follow in detail, something that works best when it incorporates a little bit from everyone involved."