At its quarterly meeting last week, TECO Energy's Board of Directors elected Sheila McDevitt to the position of senior vice president, general counsel and chief legal officer. Previously, McDevitt was the company's vice president and general counsel. McDevitt became TECO Energy's vice president and general counsel in 1999. She joined Tampa Electric as government affairs counsel in 1981 and was soon promoted to corporate counsel. She served as senior corporate counsel before being promoted to assistant vice president, and then to vice president and assistant general counsel in 1993. McDevitt received her bachelor's and law degrees from Florida State University and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1978. She has been admitted to practice in all Florida courts and the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. In 1989, McDevitt was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. McDevitt has served as a member of U.S. Senator Connie Mack's Judicial Advisory Commission. She has also served as a member of The Florida Bar Judicial Administration and Selection and Judicial Nominating Procedures Committee. McDevitt is currently the vice chairman of the St. Leo University Board of Trustees and is on the Board of Visitors of Florida State University's College of Law. She also serves on the legal planning committee of Edison Electric Institute and the Board of Advisors for the Centre for Women. She is a past chair of the Board of Trustees of the Lowry Park Zoological Society and is currently a member of its Board of Trustees. She has been a member of the Board of West Coast Easter Seals, the Board of Directors of The University of Tampa's Center for Ethics and the Board of Directors of The Florida Aquarium. Earlier this year, McDevitt was appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush to the Judicial Nominating Commission for the 13th Judicial Circuit. In 2000, she was appointed by Gov. Bush to serve as a member of The Florida Humanities Council. TECO Energy's TECO Transport subsidiary this year honored her with the naming of its most recent vessel acquisition after her: the M/V Sheila McDevitt.
