Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law Houston
Josh Blackman is a national thought leader on constitutional law and the United States Supreme Court. Josh’s work was quoted during two presidential impeachment trials. He has testified before Congress and advises federal and state lawmakers. Josh regularly appears on TV, including NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, and the BBC. Josh is also a frequent guest on NPR and other syndicated radio programs. He has published commentaries in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and leading national publications.
Since 2012, Josh has served as a professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston. He holds the Centennial Chair of Constitutional Law. Josh is an Adjunct Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Josh has written more than seven dozen law review articles that have been cited more than a thousand times. Josh was selected as the Jurist of the Year by the Texas Journal of Law & Public Policy, received the inaugural Meese III Originalism Award, and was awarded the Inaugural Joseph Story Award. Josh was selected by Forbes Magazine for the “30 Under 30” in Law and Policy. Josh is the President of the Harlan Institute, and founded FantasySCOTUS, the Internet’s Premier Supreme Court Fantasy League. He blogs at the Volokh Conspiracyand posts@JoshMBlackman.
Founding Principal, Gupta Wessler PLLC
Deepak Gupta is the founding principal of Gupta Wessler PLLC. He focuses on Supreme Court, appellate, and complex litigation on a wide range of issues, including constitutional law, class actions, and consumers’ and workers’ rights.
Deepak is “known as a skilled appellate lawyer” (New York Times), “one of the emerging giants of the appellate and the Supreme Court bar,” a “heavy hitter,” and a “principled” and “incredibly talented lawyer” (Law 360). He is described in Chambers and Partners USA as “an excellent lawyer” with a “vibrant appellate practice focused on public interest cases and plaintiff-side representations.” Fastcase recently recognized him as “one of the country’s top litigators,” noting that “what sets him apart” is his legal creativity. The National Law Journal has singled out Deepak’s “calm, comfortable manner that conveys confidence” in oral argument.
Deepak regularly appears in the U.S. Supreme Court and appellate courts nationwide. In the 2016-2017 U.S. Supreme Court term, Deepak’s firm was counsel of record for parties in three merits cases; he was lead counsel in two, prevailing in both. Beyond the Supreme Court, Deepak has handled appeals in every federal circuit and seven state supreme courts. He is frequently sought out by trial lawyers to defend their most consequential victories or resurrect worthy claims on appeal—often after years of hard-fought litigation. He also works with co-counsel to design cases from the ground up—focusing on class actions and administrative and constitutional challenges. In one class action, Deepak represented all of the nation’s federal bankruptcy judges, recovering more than $50 million in back pay for the judges over Congress’s violation of the Constitution’s Judicial Compensation Clause. As the American Lawyer observed, “it’s hard to imagine a higher compliment than being hired to represent federal judges.”
Deepak’s clients have included national nonprofits, state and local governments, members of Congress, retail merchants, tech companies, and classes of consumers and workers harmed by corporate wrongdoing. He currently represents the American Association for Justice (on forced arbitration and civil justice issues), Everytown for Gun Safety (in Second Amendment litigation), and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (in litigation over the Emoluments Clauses).
Before founding the firm in 2012, Deepak served as Senior Counsel for Litigation and Senior Counsel for Enforcement Strategy at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. As the first appellate litigator hired under Elizabeth Warren’s leadership, he launched the Bureau’s amicus program, defended its regulations, and worked with the Solicitor General’s office on Supreme Court matters. For seven years previously, he was an attorney at Public Citizen Litigation Group, where he founded and directed the Consumer Justice Project and was the Alan Morrison Supreme Court Project Fellow. Before that, he worked on voting rights litigation at the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, prisoners’ rights litigation at the ACLU, and religion clause litigation at Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Deepak frequently engages in public advocacy and speaking, has testified multiple times before the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, and appears frequently in the national print and broadcast media. He is currently a 2018-2019 Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at Harvard Law School and has previously taught courses on public interest law and appellate advocacy as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown and American universities. He served as a law clerk to Judge Lawrence K. Karlton of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California and studied law at Georgetown, Sanskrit at Oxford, and philosophy at Fordham.
Deepak is an elected member of the American Law Institute and sits on the boards of directors of the National Consumer Law Center, The Impact Fund, and the Alliance for Justice, and the advisory boards of the University of California’s Civil Justice Research Initiative, the Biden Institute, and the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies.
Former United States Secretary of Education
Betsy DeVos is the former U.S. secretary of education from 2017-2021. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 7, 2017 after being nominated by President Donald J. Trump.
Secretary DeVos has been involved in education policy for nearly three decades as an advocate for children and a voice for parents. She is especially passionate about reforms that help underserved children gain access to a quality education.
DeVos' interest in education was sparked at an early age by her mother, a public school teacher. It grew when she sent her own children to school and was confronted with the reality that not every child in America is granted an equal opportunity to receive a great education. DeVos saw firsthand the work leaders in her hometown were doing to increase educational opportunities for students and choices for parents, and she has been involved in the fight to provide better educational options across the nation ever since.
For 15 years, DeVos served as an in-school mentor for at-risk children in the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Public Schools. Her interactions there with students, families and teachers, according to DeVos, "changed my life and my perspective about education forever."
A leader in the movement to empower parents, DeVos has worked to support the creation of new educational choices for students in 25 states and the District of Columbia.
As secretary, DeVos will work with President Trump to advance equal opportunities for quality education for all students. DeVos firmly believes that neither the ZIP code in which a child lives nor a child's household income should be the principal determinant of his or her opportunity to receive a world-class education. As secretary, she will advocate for returning control of education to states and localities, giving parents greater power to choose the educational settings that are best for their children and ensuring that higher education puts students on the path to successful careers.
Prior to her confirmation, DeVos served as chairman of The Windquest Group, an enterprise and investment management firm. In addition to her leadership in the education arena, DeVos has also served on the boards of numerous national and local charitable and civic organizations, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Kids Hope USA, ArtPrize, Mars Hill Bible Church and the Kendall College of Art and Design.
DeVos is a graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She is married to entrepreneur, philanthropist and community activist Dick DeVos, and together they have four children and six grandchildren.
Co-Founder and President, Defense of Freedom Institute
Bob is a co-founder and President of DFI. He previously served as Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Education from 2017 through 2020 and Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Education from 2005 until 2009.
During his most recent tenure at the Department, Bob served on the Secretary’s Leadership Team as a strategic and legal adviser on higher education, civil rights, and congressional oversight matters. As the Department’s Regulatory Reform Officer, he also supervised the implementation of the Secretary’s regulatory agenda and was an architect of the Secretary’s reforms concerning Title IX and the Higher Education Act. As Deputy General Counsel, Bob advised on a wide variety of regulatory, legislative, and oversight matters.
Prior to joining the Department in 2017, Bob was vice president for regulatory compliance matters for several postsecondary institutions and practiced education and employment law in Washington, D.C. Before coming to the Department in 2005, he practiced law in New Orleans, litigating commercial, employment, and bankruptcy cases in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi.
Bob earned his A.B. in History from Georgetown University, studied British government and international politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and received his law degree from Tulane University Law School. His articles have been published by National Review, Real Clear Education, Washington Examiner, and other media outlets. Fox News has featured his work.
Bob is a member of the District of Columbia and Louisiana Bars and the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.
Former Acting Assistant Secretary, US Department of Education; Partner, Jackson Bone LLP, U.S. Department of Education
Candice Jackson is an attorney who served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights and Deputy General Counsel in the US Department of Education from 2017 to 2021 where she was responsible for drafting the first-ever regulations under Title IX addressing campus sexual harassment and assault. Candice has returned to private law practice and currently represents incarcerated women in California prisons in WoLF’s lawsuit to overturn the 2021 law that allows male criminals to choose to be housed in women’s prisons based on “gender identity.” Candice lives with her wife Patricia and their 9-year-old twins Madelyn and Zachary.
Former United States Secretary of Education
Betsy DeVos is the former U.S. secretary of education from 2017-2021. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 7, 2017 after being nominated by President Donald J. Trump.
Secretary DeVos has been involved in education policy for nearly three decades as an advocate for children and a voice for parents. She is especially passionate about reforms that help underserved children gain access to a quality education.
DeVos' interest in education was sparked at an early age by her mother, a public school teacher. It grew when she sent her own children to school and was confronted with the reality that not every child in America is granted an equal opportunity to receive a great education. DeVos saw firsthand the work leaders in her hometown were doing to increase educational opportunities for students and choices for parents, and she has been involved in the fight to provide better educational options across the nation ever since.
For 15 years, DeVos served as an in-school mentor for at-risk children in the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Public Schools. Her interactions there with students, families and teachers, according to DeVos, "changed my life and my perspective about education forever."
A leader in the movement to empower parents, DeVos has worked to support the creation of new educational choices for students in 25 states and the District of Columbia.
As secretary, DeVos will work with President Trump to advance equal opportunities for quality education for all students. DeVos firmly believes that neither the ZIP code in which a child lives nor a child's household income should be the principal determinant of his or her opportunity to receive a world-class education. As secretary, she will advocate for returning control of education to states and localities, giving parents greater power to choose the educational settings that are best for their children and ensuring that higher education puts students on the path to successful careers.
Prior to her confirmation, DeVos served as chairman of The Windquest Group, an enterprise and investment management firm. In addition to her leadership in the education arena, DeVos has also served on the boards of numerous national and local charitable and civic organizations, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Kids Hope USA, ArtPrize, Mars Hill Bible Church and the Kendall College of Art and Design.
DeVos is a graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She is married to entrepreneur, philanthropist and community activist Dick DeVos, and together they have four children and six grandchildren.
Former Acting Assistant Secretary, US Department of Education; Partner, Jackson Bone LLP, U.S. Department of Education
Candice Jackson is an attorney who served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights and Deputy General Counsel in the US Department of Education from 2017 to 2021 where she was responsible for drafting the first-ever regulations under Title IX addressing campus sexual harassment and assault. Candice has returned to private law practice and currently represents incarcerated women in California prisons in WoLF’s lawsuit to overturn the 2021 law that allows male criminals to choose to be housed in women’s prisons based on “gender identity.” Candice lives with her wife Patricia and their 9-year-old twins Madelyn and Zachary.
U.S. Secretary of State
Michael R. Pompeo was sworn in as Secretary of State on April 26, 2018. He previously served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from January 2017 to April 2018.
Prior to joining the Trump Administration, Mr. Pompeo was serving in his fourth term as congressman from Kansas’ 4th District. He served on the House Intelligence Committee, as well as the Energy and Commerce Committee and House Select Benghazi Committee.
Prior to his service in Congress, Mr. Pompeo founded Thayer Aerospace, where he served as CEO for more than a decade. He later became President of Sentry International, an oilfield equipment manufacturing, distribution, and service company.
Mr. Pompeo graduated first in his class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986 and served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He also served with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the US Army’s Fourth Infantry Division.
After leaving active duty, Mr. Pompeo graduated from Harvard Law School, having been an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Former United States Secretary of Education
Betsy DeVos is the former U.S. secretary of education from 2017-2021. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 7, 2017 after being nominated by President Donald J. Trump.
Secretary DeVos has been involved in education policy for nearly three decades as an advocate for children and a voice for parents. She is especially passionate about reforms that help underserved children gain access to a quality education.
DeVos' interest in education was sparked at an early age by her mother, a public school teacher. It grew when she sent her own children to school and was confronted with the reality that not every child in America is granted an equal opportunity to receive a great education. DeVos saw firsthand the work leaders in her hometown were doing to increase educational opportunities for students and choices for parents, and she has been involved in the fight to provide better educational options across the nation ever since.
For 15 years, DeVos served as an in-school mentor for at-risk children in the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Public Schools. Her interactions there with students, families and teachers, according to DeVos, "changed my life and my perspective about education forever."
A leader in the movement to empower parents, DeVos has worked to support the creation of new educational choices for students in 25 states and the District of Columbia.
As secretary, DeVos will work with President Trump to advance equal opportunities for quality education for all students. DeVos firmly believes that neither the ZIP code in which a child lives nor a child's household income should be the principal determinant of his or her opportunity to receive a world-class education. As secretary, she will advocate for returning control of education to states and localities, giving parents greater power to choose the educational settings that are best for their children and ensuring that higher education puts students on the path to successful careers.
Prior to her confirmation, DeVos served as chairman of The Windquest Group, an enterprise and investment management firm. In addition to her leadership in the education arena, DeVos has also served on the boards of numerous national and local charitable and civic organizations, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Kids Hope USA, ArtPrize, Mars Hill Bible Church and the Kendall College of Art and Design.
DeVos is a graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She is married to entrepreneur, philanthropist and community activist Dick DeVos, and together they have four children and six grandchildren.
Former Acting Assistant Secretary, US Department of Education; Partner, Jackson Bone LLP, U.S. Department of Education
Candice Jackson is an attorney who served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights and Deputy General Counsel in the US Department of Education from 2017 to 2021 where she was responsible for drafting the first-ever regulations under Title IX addressing campus sexual harassment and assault. Candice has returned to private law practice and currently represents incarcerated women in California prisons in WoLF’s lawsuit to overturn the 2021 law that allows male criminals to choose to be housed in women’s prisons based on “gender identity.” Candice lives with her wife Patricia and their 9-year-old twins Madelyn and Zachary.
Wayne A. Abernathy, Wild Bells
Wayne A. Abernathy is a former U.S. Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions under President George W. Bush, receiving the Alexander Hamilton Award in recognition of his service. In that office he was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Prior to his work at the Treasury, Mr. Abernathy served as Staff Director of the Senate Banking Committee, under Chairman Phil Gramm.
Following his service at the Treasury, Mr. Abernathy worked for 15 years on the staff of the American Bankers Association, as Executive Vice President for Financial Institutions Policy and Regulatory Affairs.
Previous experience with the Senate Banking Committee includes serving as Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Securities during 1995-1998. From 1989 until 1994, Mr. Abernathy was a Republican economist for the committee. He previously worked as a senior legislative assistant for Senator Gramm during 1987-1989 and as an economist for the Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on International Finance and Monetary Policy during 1981-1986, under Chairman Jake Garn.
Mr. Abernathy earned his bachelor’s degree in International Studies from The Johns Hopkins University in 1978. In 1980, he received a master’s degree in International Studies from the School of Advanced International Studies of The Johns Hopkins University.
Vice President for the Program on Technology, Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties, Lincoln Network
Arthur Rizer is the Vice President for the Program on Technology, Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties at Lincoln Network. In addition to his work at Lincoln, Arthur is a visiting lecturer at University College London, and an adjunct professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. Arthur is also a member of Columbia University Justice Lab’s Executive Session for the Future of Justice Policy, the Federalist Society’s Executive Committee of the Criminal Law Practice Group, the Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and other advisory bodies.
Before joining Lincoln, Arthur was founding director of the R Street Institute’s program on criminal justice and civil liberties. Prior to that, Arthur taught at West Virginia University’s College of Law, and was a visiting professor at Georgetown University Law Center. He also served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Justice Department, primarily as a federal prosecutor in the Criminal Division, where he targeted command-and-control drug cartel leaders and narco-terrorists. He also served as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California and in the civil division. Earlier in his career, Arthur served in the U.S. Army, originally enlisting as a private before later receiving a commission. He served as an armor officer, later becoming the commander of a military police company and a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps assistant professor. He deployed to Fallujah, Iraq, with the mission to train the Iraqi Infantry and served as an MP acting battalion commander and executive officer. He retired as a lieutenant colonel from the U.S. Army (WVNG). During his Army career, Arthur received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service and Iraq Campaign medals.
Arthur is the author of three books: Lincoln’s Counsel (2010); The National Security Implications of Immigration Law (2013); and Jefferson’s Pen: The Art of Persuasion (2016).
Arthur earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Pacific Lutheran University; a master of laws, with distinction, from Georgetown University’s Law Center; and his JD, magna cum laude, from Gonzaga University School of Law. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Command Staff College. He is in the final stages of a doctorate at the University of Oxford, Faculty of Law, Centre of Criminology that focuses on policing.
Brett Tolman, the former U.S. Attorney for Utah and former chief counsel for crime and terrorism in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, founded the Tolman Group and focuses on public policy and reforming government.
Professor of Law, Widener University Commonwealth Law School
COVID-19 Business Closures, Firearms Dealers, and the Second Amendment
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