Diana Villarnovo Lopez, Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Diana is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for New York State Homes and Community Renewal. In her role, Diana is responsible for all its legal operations.

Previously, Diana served in President Biden’s administration as Senior Advisor to the Administrator at the Federal Railroad Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation; General Counsel & Secretary for Gateway Program Development Corporation; and Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey leading critical aspects of the public private partnership for the redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport. Diana’s public service included serving in President Obama’s administration as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy & Business Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

Before her government service, Diana was Counsel, Mergers & Acquisitions, at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and instrumental in establishing the firm’s Latin America practice. Diana was Associate General Counsel and Vice President of Sotheby’s, Inc. Diana began her legal career as a judicial law clerk to The Honorable John E. Sprizzo, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, then joined Debevoise & Plimpton as a corporate associate.

Diana, who is a native Spanish speaker and fluent in French, earned her Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Tufts University, where she currently serves a member of the Board of Trustees; a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University, where she was the Lead Articles Editor for The Tax Lawyer; and a Master of Science in Foreign Service, also from Georgetown University.