Taneka Harris Blacknell obtained her undergraduate degree from Tulane University, where she double majored in Political Science and Sociology.  She is also a graduate of Indiana University School of Law, where she obtained a Juris Doctorate, and she is licensed to practice law in good standing in New York State.  Since joining the FBI, Special Agent Blacknell formerly worked in the Baltimore Division - Wilmington, Delaware Resident Agency, New Orleans Division - Baton Rouge Resident Agency, and at FBI Headquarters as an Attorney Adjudicator in the Office of Professional Responsibility and most recently as a Program Manager in the National Security Covert Operations Unit.  Special Agent Blacknell is currently serving as a supervisor of Squad 8 in the Memphis Division which addresses Public Corruption, Civil Rights, Crimes Against Children, and Human Trafficking.  SSA Blacknell is a Cyber level 3 certified Agent and formerly worked a variety of criminal investigations. During Supervisory Special Agent Blacknell’s 18.5-year career with the FBI, she has conducted investigations in the following areas: Innocent Images – child pornography, Extortion, Drugs, White Collar Crime, Innocence Lost - child prostitution, Health Care Fraud, and Civil Rights – Color of Law, Hate Crime, and Human Trafficking.  While a Field Agent, SSA Blacknell collaterally served the FBI as a Mediator for the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, a Legal Advisor for the New Orleans Division, as the Coordinator for the Baton Rouge Child Exploitation Task Force, and as an Instructor on Child Exploitation, Civil Rights, and Human Trafficking matters for various police academies and community organizations.  SSA Blacknell formerly served on the FBI Director’s Equity Working Group, and currently serves as an Assistant Inspector in Place, a Special Agent Assessor, and the Civil Right PCOR for the Memphis Division.  Lastly, SSA Blacknell is a Diamond Life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, a member of the National Council of Negro Women, and a member of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church.