Community Legal Services’ CEO Jeffrey Harvey graduates Army War College
Lt. Col Jeffrey D. Harvey, chief executive officer of Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, walks through the receiving line after graduating from the Army War College July 26 in Pennsylvania. The keynote speaker for this year’s graduation was the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army Mario Diaz.
Jeffrey D. Harvey, chief executive officer of Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida (CLSMF) and a lieutenant colonel in the Florida Army National Guard, is a member of the 2024 Army War College Distance Education Class that graduated July 26 at the Wheelock Bandstand on Carlisle Barracks’ historic parade ground in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Classmates Col. Alan Wilson, the attorney general of South Carolina, and Lt. Col Jeffrey Harvey of Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida.
This year’s class consisted of 398 graduates, including 303 Army officers, 11 Navy, 26 Air Force, 14 Marines, 35 civilians, and nine international fellows. As part of the program, students receive a master’s degree in strategic studies, which officers need to be eligible for future service as a general officer.
Harvey has been CEO of CLSMF since 2020. A Central Florida native, Harvey graduated from Boston College in 2001 and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army where he completed training as a Ranger. While in the Army, Harvey completed his Master’s in Human Development and Leadership at Murray State University and finished multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, leading hundreds of combat missions without loss of life.
After active duty, Harvey entered the Florida Army National Guard as a field artillery officer and graduated with his JD from Stetson University College of Law. Lt. Col Harvey is currently the deputy commander of the 164th Air Defense Brigade.
Harvey’s law career has also been marked with service and leadership. He founded the Justice Fred Karl Veterans Scholarship Endowment to aid veterans in their pursuit of a law degree at Stetson and co-organized the Veterans Law Institute, providing pro bono legal services to veterans throughout Florida. In 2019, he was named a “Veteran of Influence” by the Orlando Business Journal.
Following a period in private practice, he returned to service coming to CLSMF as the director of operations in 2015, progressing to the chief executive officer.
He frequently is asked to speak on topics of leadership, professionalism in law, cybersecurity, and the similarities between the military and the profession of law, and is co-host of WFTV’s Law Talk.
Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida has over 100 attorneys, advocates, and support staff located in 12 Central Florida counties dedicated to providing free legal aid to low-income families. The team provides advice and representation helping more than 20,000 people each year.
