Former civil rights trial attorney Roger Severino has been appointed by The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has a new leader by The Trump Administration. Mr Severino will lead the HIPAA enforcement efforts of the Office for Civil Rights.
Severino joins the OCR organization from the Heritage Foundation’s DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society, Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity, where he has been working as Director since May 2015.
An official announcement about the appointment of the new OCR Director has yet to be released; however, the Heritage Foundation has confirmed that Severino is no longer a member of its staff and his name has already been added to the HHS website. The OCR has also confirmed that Severino will be the new director and Severino’s public LinkedIn profile now includes his new position as OCR chief.
Severino has a experience in civil rights litigation, having worked as a trial attorney for the Department of Justice for seven years in the Housing and Civil Enforcement division. During his time spent at the DOJ, Mr Severino enforced the Fair Housing Act, Title II and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Severino has also worked as Legal Counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in the past.
