Non-profit

Center for Equal Opportunity

Website:

ceousa.org

Location:

Falls Church, VA

Tax ID:

52-1543156

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2019):

Revenue: $519,137
Expenses: $511,437
Assets: $55,182

Type:

Anti-Affirmative Action Advocacy

Founded:

1995

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The Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) is a right-of-center think tank that focuses on issues of nondiscrimination and opposes affirmative action programs. 1

Linda Chavez, a former Reagan White House staffer whom President George W. Bush later unsuccessfully nominated to be Secretary of Labor, founded the organization in 1995. 2 Though Chavez describes herself as a “Never-Trump conservative,” the president of the organization is a former Trump administration official, Devon Westhill. 3 4

The organization has been critical of bilingual education in public schools 5 and the promotion of critical race theory. 6

Background

The Center for Equal Opportunity is a conservative think tank that focuses on affirmative action, immigration, and bilingual education. 7 The organization includes opposition to affirmative action as part of broader opposition to all discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, and religion. 8

The group says it supports a colorblind, equal opportunity society and contends many of the affirmative action programs have harmed Americans they were intended to help. 9

Former Reagan administration official Linda Chavez founded the organization in 1995. Under Chavez’s leadership, the Center for Equal Opportunity released dozens of studies documenting the extent to which race is a factor in college admissions at more than 60 colleges and universities. 10

Advocacy

In 2019, as a result of a complaint made by the Center for Equal Opportunity, Texas Tech University entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education to stop using race as a factor in medical school admissions. 11

The organization also researches the effectiveness of bilingual education programs to teach English. 12

Center for Equal Opportunity argues that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 should be only to stop discrimination and should not be used to promote racial gerrymandering of congressional and legislative districts. 13

Devon Westhill, the president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, said in late 2021 that he would not reveal whether he has received the COVID-19 vaccine and supports the privacy rights of other Americans as well. 14

CEO has criticized critical race theory as a threat to constitutional government, asserting it rejects traditions of equal protection under the law and offers a revisionist view of American history. 15

Leadership

Linda Chavez is the founder and chairwoman of the board for the Center for Equal Opportunity. Chavez is a former chairwoman of the National Commission on Migrant Education from 1988-1992; the former White House Director of Public Liaison in 1985; staff director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights from 1983-1985; and a member of the Administrative Conference of the United States from 1984-1986. Chavez was also the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Maryland in 1986. She served a four-year term as U.S. Expert to the U.N. Sub-commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. President George W. Bush initially nominated Chavez to be his first Secretary of Labor; however, her nomination lacked support in the Senate. 16 Chavez has called herself a “Never-Trump” conservative and in November 2021 faulted some Republican supporters of Trump as favoring “election nullification.” She also asserted that radical-left interests pose an equal threat to democracy. 17

Devon Westhill is president and general counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity. Westhill previously served as the top civil rights official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the Trump administration. Before that, he worked at the U.S. Department of Labor during the Trump administration. 18

Rudy Gersten, who is Chavez’s son, is the executive director of the Center for Equal Opportunity. He has written for the Washington Post, National Review, and Townhall. He previously interned with the Center for Equal Opportunity before joining the staff full-time in 2001. 19 20

Roger Clegg, an immediate past president and general counsel for the Center for Equal Opportunity, is a member of the CEO board of directors. Clegg was a deputy assistant attorney general in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administration. During the Bush administration from 1991 to 1993, he worked in the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. From 1985 to 1987, he was the Assistant Solicitor General; the Associate Deputy Attorney General from 1984 to 1985; and the Acting Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy in 1984. 21

John J. Miller, a member of the CEO Board, is director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College, national correspondent for National Review, and the founder and executive director of The College Fix. 22

Jason Riley, a board member of CEO, is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a columnist for the Wall Street Journal. 23

Rosalie Pedalino Porter, a board member of CEO, has advised school districts, as well as the U.S. Congress, on the education of immigrant children. 24

References

  1. Hackman, Michelle. “U.S. Requires Texas Tech Med School to End Use of Race in Admissions Decisions.” Wall Street Journal. April 9, 2019. Accessed January 29, 2022. https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-to-require-texas-tech-to-end-use-of-race-in-admissions-decision-11554829163
  2.  Center for Equal Opportunity. Library of Congress. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0000112/
  3. Chavez, Linda. “Threats to Democracy Come From the Left and the Right.” Real Clear Politics. October 28, 2021. Accessed January 29, 2022. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/10/28/threats_to_democracy_come_from_the_left_and_the_right_146639.html
  4. “Staff.” Center for Equal Opportunity. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.ceousa.org/staff/
  5. Center for Equal Opportunity. Library of Congress. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0000112/
  6. Chavez, Linda. “Threats to Democracy Come From the Left and the Right.” Real Clear Politics. October 28, 2021. Accessed January 29, 2022. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/10/28/threats_to_democracy_come_from_the_left_and_the_right_146639.html
  7. Center for Equal Opportunity. Library of Congress. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0000112/
  8.  Center for Equal Opportunity. Cause IQ. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/center-for-equal-opportunity,521543156/
  9. “Mission Statement & Purpose.” Center for Equal Opportunity. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.ceousa.org/mission-statement-purpose/
  10. Center for Equal Opportunity. Library of Congress. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0000112/
  11. Associated Press. “Texas Tech medical school to stop using race in admissions.” NBC News. April 10, 2019. Accessed January 29, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-tech-medical-school-stop-using-race-admissions-n992901
  12. Center for Equal Opportunity. Cause IQ. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/center-for-equal-opportunity,521543156/
  13.  Clegg, Roger. “Let’s keep the Voting Rights Act focused on actual racial discrimination.” Constitution Center. August 3, 2015. Accessed January 29, 2022. https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/lets-keep-the-voting-rights-act-focused-on-actual-racial-discrimination
  14. Westhill, Devon. “Our Vaccine Status Is None of Their Business.” Real Clear Markets. November 5, 2021. Accessed January 29, 2022. https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2021/11/05/our_vaccine_status_is_none_of_their_business_802246.html
  15. Chavez, Linda. “Threats to Democracy Come From the Left and the Right.” Real Clear Politics. October 28, 2021. Accessed January 29, 2022. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/10/28/threats_to_democracy_come_from_the_left_and_the_right_146639.html
  16. “Staff.” Center for Equal Opportunity. January 28, 2022. https://www.ceousa.org/staff/
  17. Chavez, Linda. “Threats to Democracy Come From the Left and the Right.” Real Clear Politics. October 28, 2021. Accessed January 29, 2022. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/10/28/threats_to_democracy_come_from_the_left_and_the_right_146639.html
  18.  [1] “Staff.” Center for Equal Opportunity. January 28, 2022. https://www.ceousa.org/staff/
  19. “Staff.” Center for Equal Opportunity. January 28, 2022. https://www.ceousa.org/staff/
  20. Center for Equal Opportunity. Library of Congress. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0000112/
  21. “Board of Directors.” Center for Equal Opportunity. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.ceousa.org/board-of-directors/
  22. “Board of Directors.” Center for Equal Opportunity. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.ceousa.org/board-of-directors/
  23. “Board of Directors.” Center for Equal Opportunity. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.ceousa.org/board-of-directors/
  24. “Board of Directors.” Center for Equal Opportunity. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.ceousa.org/board-of-directors/
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: August 1, 1988

  • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2019 Dec Form 990 $519,137 $511,437 $55,182 $25,000 N $509,457 $0 $65 $213,629 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $520,056 $564,537 $42,616 $59,613 N $519,951 $0 $105 $238,323 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $527,048 $523,445 $88,932 $59,613 N $526,943 $0 $105 $287,371 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $518,942 $480,590 $87,328 $138,321 N $518,908 $0 $34 $303,158 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $501,864 $532,608 $42,060 $131,405 N $501,862 $0 $2 $277,853 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $494,541 $493,178 $27,884 $110,821 N $488,774 $0 $6 $290,939 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $424,876 $440,161 $30,509 $114,809 N $424,870 $0 $6 $263,504 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $423,629 $497,052 $30,387 $99,402 N $423,627 $0 $2 $262,899 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $516,250 $628,065 $33,656 $29,248 N $508,175 $8,066 $9 $338,237 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Center for Equal Opportunity

    7700 Leesburg Pike #231
    Falls Church, VA