Drake Turrentine is Chief Legal Officer (General Counsel) and Secretary of Special Olympics. Under his leadership, the Legal Department is responsible for legal matters affecting Special Olympics, accreditation of all the more than 220 Special Olympics Programs, risk management, compliance with the Special Olympics General Rules, ethics and conflict of interest issues, Board support and governance matters, and human rights advocacy.
Before joining Special Olympics as its first in-house General Counsel in 1997, Turrentine was a partner for 18 years with Wiggin and Dana, one of Connecticut’s largest law firms, and chaired its international business law practice. He served as outside general counsel to the 1995 Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Connecticut and has represented numerous international businesses, including the Swedish Saab and Scania Groups.
Turrentine earned his Bachelor of Arts degree (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in 1969 from the University of Pennsylvania and his Juris Doctor degree in 1972 from Yale Law School. He served four years in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence specialist.
He resides in the District of Columbia with his wife, JoAnn.