Donna Downing

Donna Downing has been Jurisdiction Team Leader in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water since 2005.  Donna works on a variety of issues, with a focus in recent years on what waters are protected by the Clean Water Act (CWA) in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions.  She also serves as EPA’s staff lead for CWA section 401 water quality certification that allows states and tribes to have input into federal permitting.   Donna has been with EPA since 1998.  She previously worked for the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, and in private law practice.  She has a BA magna cum laude from Harvard University, an MPP from the University of California at Berkeley, a JD cum laude from Georgetown University Law School, and an LLM in Environmental Law summa cum laude from George Washington University Law School.  Donna has been an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School since 1996.  In what’s left of her time, she moonlights as a professional potter and an unprofessional horse trainer.