Tovah R. Calderon, Esq., is a 20-year veteran of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. She is currently serving as an Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General responsible for reviewing the work of two offices that enforce laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

Before being detailed to the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in January 2021, Ms. Calderon was serving as a Deputy Chief in the Division’s Appellate Section, where she enforced federal civil rights laws in the U.S. Courts of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. This practice included criminal and civil enforcement responsibilities covering all areas of civil rights, including hate crimes, human trafficking, police misconduct, access to justice, employment discrimination, fair housing, voting rights, and disability issues. She has briefed and argued cases at all stages of appellate litigation and has received numerous Department awards for her achievements, including the Attorney General’s John Marshall Award for Providing Legal Advice and the Civil Rights Division’s Walter W. Barnett Memorial Award for Excellence in Advocacy.

Ms. Calderon also has significant policy experience, having served on detail to The White House Domestic Policy Council, the Civil Rights Division’s Policy and Strategy Section, and the Senate Judiciary Committee. In each of these roles, she worked to expand civil rights protections.

Ms. Calderon received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and her Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law. Following law school, Ms. Calderon clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.