Tom Devine is legal director of the Government Accountability Project, where he has worked since January 1979. Mr. Devine has assisted over 5,000 whistleblowers in defending themselves against retaliation and in making a difference, such as shuttering accident-prone nuclear power plants, checkmating repeated industry ploys to deregulate government meat inspection, and blocking the next generation of the bloated and porous “Star Wars” missile defense systems. He has been a leader in the campaigns to pass or defend 20 major national or international whistleblower laws, including every one enacted over the last two decades. These include the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 for federal employees; seven breakthrough laws since 2002 creating the right to jury trials for corporate whistleblowers; and new U.N., World Bank and African Development Bank policies legalizing public freedom of expression for their own whistleblowers. Mr. Devine has served as “Ambassador of Whistleblowing” in over a dozen nations on trips sponsored by the U.S. State Department. He has authored or co-authored numerous books, including Courage Without Martyrdom and The Whistleblower’s Survival Guide, law review articles, and newspaper op-eds, and is a frequent expert commentator on television and radio talk shows. Mr. Devine is the recipient of the “Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award” and the “Defender of the Constitution Award” bestowed by the Fund for Constitutional Government. In 2006 he was inducted into the Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame. He is a Phi Beta Kappa honors graduate of Georgetown University and earned his J.D. from the Antioch School of Law.
