(Falls Church, VA) On January 21, 2021, the Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) welcomed Devon Westhill as its new president and general counsel. Immediately prior to his selection as president and general counsel of CEO, Westhill served as the top civil rights official at the United States Department of Agriculture.
Westhill began his legal career as a criminal trial lawyer in Florida where his practice included defending clients accused of criminal offenses and university conduct violations, and those subjected to civil asset forfeiture. Westhill has also worked at the nonprofit, nonpartisan Federalist Society and the United States Department of Labor where, in both capacities, his work centered on advancing economic opportunity, individual liberty, and limited, constitutional government through local, state, and federal deregulation.
CEO Chairman and founder Linda Chavez said of Westhill’s selection: “We are very pleased that Devon has joined us. I know he has a passion for the issues we work on and his past accomplishments demonstrate that he has the ability to lead CEO into its next 25 years.”
Immediate past president and general counsel Roger Clegg commented: “Devon is the right leader for CEO. He and I have worked together on projects and I can attest to his energy and commitment. I look forward to seeing CEO continue to thrive under Devon’s leadership.”
Commenting on his new role, Westhill said: “I am honored to be trusted with leading an organization that has done such important but difficult work for a quarter of a century. I look forward to taking head-on today’s biggest issues and thank those CEO leaders past and present on whose shoulders I now stand.”
After an enlistment in the United States Navy, Westhill earned his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D. from the University of Florida.
While in law school, Westhill was a Florida Supreme Court extern for former Republican Congressman Justice Charles T. Canady, a law and policy intern for U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, and an Executive Editor of Volume 37 – Issue 1 for the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. He also served as president of the UF Law chapter of the Federalist Society and as Chairman of the Federalist Society’s 33rd Annual National Student Symposium held at the University of Florida.
The Center for Equal Opportunity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational organization that studies issues relating to race and ethnicity nationwide.
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