FTA Acting Chief Counsel

Dana Nifosi currently serves the Acting Chief Counsel of the Federal Transit Administration. She first joined FTA in February 2012 as Deputy Chief Counsel. In her role, she advises the FTA leadership on all legal matters that come before the agency, including authorization and appropriations, grants, procurement, planning, environment, emergency relief, safety, innovative finance, Buy America requirements and litigation. Ms. Nifosi also serves as FTA’s ethics officer.

Prior to joining FTA, Ms. Nifosi was a partner and associate with Venable LLP in Washington, D.C. from 2000-2012, where she was a member of the firm’s Environmental and State and Local Government Practice Groups. She was involved in counseling and litigation on behalf of state and local governments and private entities in a wide variety of matters involving infrastructure development, environmental, land use, environmental and telecommunications matters, including compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and related environmental statutes, development of airport, highway, transit, energy and telecommunications facilities, project finance and public-private partnerships. From 1992 to 2000, Ms. Nifosi was an associate with Cutler & Stanfield, LLP in Washington, D.C., where her practice focused on litigation relating to infrastructure development and environmental law.

Ms. Nifosi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations and history from Tufts University and her law degree from the George Washington University School of Law. After law school she received a fellowship from the Henry Luce Foundation to live and work in Bangkok, Thailand for a year on environmental issues.