David Romano, a 1977 graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law, is the establishing donor of the Center. David began his undergraduate career at Marshall University. He was a freshman member of the University's 1970 football team, when a tragic plane crash killed 75 people associated with the team. Due to an injury Romano sustained, he did not travel with the team on that plane. He transferred to West Virginia University his second year of college, and walked-on to their football team. 

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Established by attorney David J. Romano, who attended Marshall in the early 1970s, the project is funded by a class action lawsuit settled in 2011 for $21 million. Romano represented the Swiger family and other plaintiffs in the lawsuit against AmeriGas Propane and several of its partners. The case alleged that the gas companies improperly installed and maintained underground propane lines. A gas line explosion in 1998 resulted in injuries to members of the Swiger family and destroyed their home.

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Romano has a strong passion for the rule of law, and he has willed the Center for Consumer Law & Education into existence. He believes the Center can become a national consumer, law, policy, and education resource.