First Director of New Whistleblower Ombudsman Office Named

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has appointed Shanna Devine to serve as the first Director of the Whistleblower Ombudsman Office of the House of Representatives. The office was created in the House Rules package passed at the outset of the 116th Congress to assist the House in developing best practices for whistleblower intake and to provide trainings to House offices on how to safely and confidentially receive information from whistleblowers.

According to a press release from Speaker Pelosi’s office, “The Office of the Whistleblower Ombudsman is an independent and nonpartisan office.  The Director is nominated by the Speaker of the House in consultation with the chairs and ranking minority members of the Committees on House Administration and Oversight and Reform.”

On Friday, Speaker Pelosi announced Shanna Devine would serve as the inaugural director for the office.

The release explains that Devine has worked with Congress to strengthen whistleblower protections, led campaigns to pass landmark whistleblower laws, and has extensive experience conducting trainings on best practices for working with whistleblowers.

Devine worked on the unanimous passage of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 and in 2015 and 2016 on the creation of the bipartisan Congressional Whistleblower Protection Caucuses. Most recently, Devine advocated for whistleblower and other occupational rights for Public Citizen, a public interest organization.

“Shanna Devine comes highly recommended from the whistleblower advocacy community for her extensive experience working with Congress, advocacy groups and the public to strengthen protections for whistleblowers, as well as developing and leading trainings for public interest groups, federal agencies, Congress and relevant working groups and leadership councils.  Her deep policy experience will be vital, as the first-ever Director of the Office of the Whistleblower Ombudsman, as she works to ensure that the House has the support and tools to carry out our legislative oversight responsibilities for the American people,” Speaker Pelosi said in the release.

Various whistleblower and government accountability groups have also come out in favor of Devine’s selection. Danielle Brian, Executive Director of the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), described herself as “elated” to hear of Devine’s appointment and noted that she and Devine have worked together for over a decade. Brian described Devine as a “tireless advocate” for whistleblowers.

Pete Sepp, President of the National Taxpayers Union, noted that Devine maintains “remarkable depth of knowledge, coalition skills, and managerial talent.” Sepp concluded that “taxpayers will be grateful for Shanna Devine's leadership in making this vital initiative the success it needs to be.”

“I am honored to be appointed by Speaker Pelosi to lead the newly established House Office of the Whistleblower Ombudsman,” said Devine.  “I look forward to working collaboratively with the House community to provide offices with the tools, trainings and best practices to effectively work with and support whistleblowers.”