PRC Names David A. Trissell to General Counsel Post

Washington, DC – Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman, Ruth Y. Goldway, announced today that David A. Trissell has been selected by the Commission to assume the role of General Counsel in the Commission’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) effective March 24, 2014. Trissell succeeds Stephen Sharfman, who retired after 23 years as general counsel to the Commission.

The General Counsel leads the PRC’s regulatory and legislative programs, counsels on and drafts rules and regulations, advises on litigation and serves as the agency’s ethics officer. Chairman Goldway explained, “After a lengthy search and a unanimous decision by the Commission, I am pleased to welcome David to the PRC and proud to have such an experienced, energetic and well-respected attorney take the helm of our Office of General Counsel, and to step in to be the key advisor to each commissioner.”

Trissell comes to the Commission from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At FEMA, he spent over eighteen years in various roles, including seven years as Chief Counsel where he led a team of more than 130 attorneys and staff in all of the agency’s legal support activities, including agency litigation in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice. During his tenure, he also led FEMA as a member of the Office of Management and Budget’s Transition Planning Office to create DHS, and most recently served as FEMA’s Senior Counselor to the Administrator, and was responsible for implementing agency-wide climate adaptation priorities nationwide; and identifying and eliminating existing regulatory, legal, policy or structural impediments to achieving national disaster risk reduction.

He also served as the FEMA Attaché and Senior Counselor to the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels. In this capacity, he represented the interests of the U.S. government with regard to emergency management, including disaster preparedness, mitigation and resiliency within the European Union and advised the FEMA Administrator and the U.S. Ambassador on international emergency management matters.

Mr. Trissell received his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Oklahoma.