Danny DeWalt

Vice President and Chief of Staff

Daniel J. DeWalt is vice president and chief of staff of Pepperdine University.

DeWalt joined Pepperdine full time in 2014 as the first assistant director of the Parris Institute for Professional Excellence at the Pepperdine School of Law, formerly the Parris Institute for Professional Formation, dedicated to the professional development of first-year law students. That same year he became associate dean of Pepperdine Law, where he also served as chief counsel of the Sudreau Global Justice Program. As an adjunct professor at Pepperdine Law since 2009, DeWalt's areas of focus include nonprofit corporations, relational intelligence, and the role of faith in the legal field. He is now the executive director of the Sudreau Global Justice Program in addition to his role as chief of staff.

DeWalt serves as vice president of Love Does, formerly Restore International, a nonprofit organization established in 2003 with his law partner, diplomat, and bestselling author Bob Goff. Love Does focuses on human rights efforts in Uganda, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Nepal, and other countries around the world, emphasizing the restoration of oppressed children. An honorary consul of Uganda since 2011, DeWalt helped design and build the organization's Restore Leadership Academy, located in Gulu, Uganda.

Prior to joining Pepperdine, DeWalt was a partner at Goff & DeWalt, LLP for 16 years, directing the Washington-based law firm's expertise in construction defect litigation, condominium law, and homeowner association law.

Along with his wife, Amy, DeWalt is the author of two books on marriage and family, including High Octane Marriage: Experience the Power of God's Design and Training Up the Next Generation: The Power of Truth in Parenting.

DeWalt holds a juris doctor degree, magna cum laude, from California Western School of Law. He also holds a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, a master of arts degree in marriage and family therapy from Pacific Lutheran University, and a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and psychology from California State University, Bakersfield.