Donna A. Brucella
Director, Terrorist Screening Center

Donna A. Bucella is the Director of the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) assigned from the Department of Homeland Security Transportation Security Administration. Prior to the TSC, she was the Southeast Area Director of Aviation Operations in the Transportation Security Administration in Washington, D.C. was responsible for the daily operations at the commercial airports in the Southeast. Ms. Bucella has had an extensive career in public service.

Ms. Bucella began her legal career in 1984 in the Unites States Army Judge Advocate Generals Corps where she was a Defense Counsel assigned to the Trial Defense Service at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Later, she was a Procurement Attorney in the Litigation Division of the Office of the Judge Advocate General.

In 1987, she became an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Florida where she prosecuted drug, corruption and complex white-collar crimes. She later became a supervisor in the Major Crimes Section.

In 1993, Ms. Bucella became the Director of the Office of Legal Education, Department of Justice, and was responsible for training over 11,000 Department of Justice employees and Executive Branch Attorneys annually.

In 1994, Ms. Bucella became the Principal Deputy Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, the second highest position responsible for operating the 94 United States Attorneys offices, composed of over 10,000 employees and an appropriation of over $1 billion.

In May of 1994, she became the Interim United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida where she was the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for 35 counties in Central Florida. Her jurisdiction spanned from Naples to Orlando to Jacksonville, Florida. Ms. Bucella returned to the Executive Office for United States Attorneys and in October 1995 resumed her duties as the Principal Deputy Director.

In April 1995, she responded to the Oklahoma City Bombing and was one of the first prosecutors on the ground responsible for the investigation and prosecution. For her extraordinary work on the Oklahoma City Bombing investigation among other achievements, she received the Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award, the highest award given by the Attorney General to one or two recipients annually out of over 100,000 employees.

In 1997, Ms. Bucella was selected to be the Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys where she worked closely with the Attorney General and provided legal, management, operational, policy, and security oversight and support to the 94 United States Attorneys Offices.

In 1999, Ms. Bucella was appointed by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate to be the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida where she was responsible for the prosecution of all Federal Criminal and Civil offenses and the defense of all civil actions against the United States.

Prior to being appointed to her current position, Ms. Bucella was a Partner at the Law Firm of Steel Hector & Davis LLP, in Miami, Florida where her areas of practice included Corporate Compliance and Complex Civil and Criminal Litigation.

Ms. Bucella has served in the United States Army Reserve since 1987 and is currently a Colonel in the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

She is a licensed member of the Florida and Virginia Bar Associations and is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, The United States District Court for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida and the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Ms. Bucella received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Virginia in 1978 and her Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Miami, School of Law in 1983.