Category Archive

Dear CEO Supporters, When the Center for Equal Opportunity was founded more than 30 years ago, we took a clear, principled stand against an injustice that few in Washington were willing to challenge: perpetual federal court oversight of local school districts through decades-old desegregation consent decrees. Back in the 1990s, CEO undertook a groundbreaking analysis on School Desegregation and began sending formal complaints to hundreds of federal judges across the country, urging an end to these outdated judicial mandates. We argued that federal oversight was never intended to be permanent, that local districts must be allowed to govern themselves, and …

Dear CEO Supporters, We are thrilled to share another major victory for colorblind equality and individual merit. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit delivered a decisive ruling in Diemert v. City of Seattle, reviving claims against municipal DEI policies that forced employees into racially divided training sessions and created a hostile work environment based on race. CEO played a major role in this litigation effort, driving key legal arguments and expert testimony. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling sends an unmistakable signal to government agencies and corporate employers across the nation: divisive racial mandates and compelled speech in the workplace …

Dear CEO Supporters, Winning the battle for equal opportunity and colorblind principles requires more than victories in courtrooms and policy journals; it requires shaping the public narrative through clear, persuasive, and compelling communication. We were thrilled to have John Fund, National Affairs Reporter for National Review Online and former Wall Street Journal Editorial Board member, lead a specialized CEO Civil Rights Fellowship session on persuasive writing, media strategy, and public engagement. Instruction from a Veteran of American Journalism At the Center for Equal Opportunity, media training is an integral component of our curriculum. We believe there are few people better …

Dear CEO Supporters, As the legal and educational landscape continues to adapt following the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard, the Center for Equal Opportunity continues to equip our fellows with leading insights from the nation’s top scholars and practitioners. We were honored to have Richard D. Kahlenberg, Director of the American Identity Project at PPI, lead a specialized CEO Civil Rights Fellowship session titled “Rethinking Admissions & Diversity: Educational Policy Post-SFFA.” Highlighting a National Authority on Higher Education & Merit Rick Kahlenberg is widely regarded as one of the country’s foremost experts on …

Dear CEO Supporters, The Center for Equal Opportunity’s talent pipeline program is increasingly being recognized as a major player within the conservative legal and policy movement. In an exclusive report this week published by Bloomberg Law titled “Civil Rights Recast Under Trump’s Vision of Justice Department,” CEO was cited as a talent source for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Featured alongside legacy, multi-million-dollar conservative powerhouses, CEO stands out for punching far above its weight—demonstrating that even with a lean budget, our strategic impact and talent development rival the largest organizations in Washington. This national coverage is further proof that the CEO …

Dear Supporters, CEO’s commitment to developing top legal talent doesn’t end when our summer fellowship concludes. Sustaining a premier legal pipeline requires continuous engagement, which is why we are proud to launch the CEO Fellowship Webinar Series! Our webinar series will be a year-round expansion of our flagship Civil Rights Fellowship. Throughout the year, CEO will convene our growing network of fellowship alumni for exclusive, closed-door discussions with prominent leaders in constitutional law, civil rights, and public policy. This ongoing series will provide our alumni with continuous mentorship, deep-dive discussions on emerging legal doctrine, and direct access to major figures across …

Dear CEO Supporters, Few leaders in the country understand federal civil rights enforcement like The Honorable Eric Dreiband. Having served as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and currently a partner at Jones Day, Mr. Dreiband has been at the forefront of defining and executing federal employment law at the highest levels of government. That’s why at a recent CEO Civil Rights Fellowship session, we asked Mr. Dreiband to once again lead our fellows in an insightful discussion titled “Title VII and Beyond: The Future of …

Dear Supporters, At a recent CEO Civil Rights Fellowship session, our record-breaking 2026 cohort participated in an exceptional seminar titled “Public Interest & Policy: How Nonprofits Shape the National Legal Landscape” featuring Darpana Sheth (General Counsel, Center for Individual Rights) and Gregg Nunziata (Executive Director, Society for the Rule of Law). Darpana and Gregg provided our fellows with an inside look at how nonprofit organizations drive constitutional litigation, influence public policy, and defend the rule of law outside government institutions. Both engaged in a candid, interactive Q&A—giving fellows rare access to mentorship from leaders actively shaping the national legal landscape. Like the hopeless romantics we are, @darpana and …

Dear CEO Supporters, As part of CEO’s 5th Annual Civil Rights Fellowship, our fellows spent their second session diving deep into the foundational principles that shape American liberty. Following our opening session on post-Civil War constitutional amendments led by Gail Heriot and Maimon Schwarzschild, the class gathered for a special presentation and discussion led by Senior Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on “All Men Are Created Equal”: The Contested Relevance of the Declaration Today. Having prominent jurists engage directly with our fellows is a cornerstone of the CEO Civil Rights Fellowship. From hosting Fifth Circuit …

Dear Supporters, We kicked off our 5th Annual Civil Rights Fellowship in Washington, D.C. this past week with a clear focus: equipping and mentoring the next generation of legal leaders. To defend colorblind equality effectively, aspiring lawyers must master the constitutional foundation that underpins individual liberty. That is why, for the fifth year in a row, we launched our fellowship legal sessions with Gail Heriot, Professor of Law Emeritus and former Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, alongside Professor of Law Maimon Schwarzschild. Laying the Constitutional Groundwork Professors Heriot and Schwarzschild guided our fellows through an intensive, two-part exploration of …