WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consulting firm Guidepost Solutions has announced that former Florida U.S. Attorney Donna A. Bucella will head its Washington, D.C. office.
The decision, made late last month, places Bucella, an expert in compliance and security, at the head of an office which has seen rapid growth in recent years.
“The breadth of Donna’s experience in senior leadership roles throughout the federal government is a testament to her ability to take on difficult challenges and deliver proven results,” Guidepost Solutions Chief Executive Officer Julie Myers Wood said in a press release. “I’m confident she will bring the same creative and effective skills to her new role, ensuring we continue delivering the quality of services that has allowed us to substantially grow our business in the D.C. market.”
Bucella began working at Guidepost Solutions late last year as the chief compliance officer. The compliance work veteran told The Florida Record that the learning curve for the new position has been somewhat steep, but still manageable, especially considering that the necessary leadership skills are transferrable.
“I’m used to running offices and teams and working with people and trying to be as collaborative as possible knowing that everybody brings something to the table,” she said.
Bucella’s original plan after law school was to become an insurance defense lawyer, but after receiving her Juris Doctor from the University of Miami, she was commissioned as an Army JAG Corps officer. On active duty, she worked largely on procurement cases, and after three years, she shifted to the reserves, where she spent 21 years.
Previously, Bucella was senior vice president, risk and compliance, and chief compliance officer for the Education Management Corp. The retired colonel practiced law with Foley & Lardner LLP and Steel, Hector and Davis LLP and served as senior vice president at Perot Systems Government Services and Bank of America.
Despite her vast array of experience, it was perhaps Bucella’s time as a U.S. Attorney that best prepared her for her current role. She said that her time in the Sunshine State taught her how to balance tasks, especially considering she had to work with not only the community, but law enforcement and judges as well.
“You’re dealing with multiple law enforcement agencies and two different field offices for the FBI in the Middle District of Florida,” she said. “You’re constantly racking and restacking and reprioritizing every day. That’s what happens when I come into the office in the morning.”
Although Bucella is poised to thrive in her new role, she said that at the end of the day, she hopes to someday return to Florida.
“One thing I would like to do is get back there,” she said. “A lot of my legal contacts and law enforcement contacts are down in Florida. There’s probably not a day that goes by where I’m not talking to somebody from the Southern District or the Middle District or people I worked with. So stay tuned, I’m not over yet.”