2018 DOT Civil Rights Virtual Symposium Speaker Bios - Session 4

Session 4 – Leading to Gain the Competitive Edge 

Amanda Seese, Chief of Staff, Office of Inspector General, USDOT

Amanda Seese Whelan became the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General’s (DOT OIG’s) Chief of Staff (CoS) in September, 2015 and is only the second person to ever serve in the role. As CoS, Amanda serves as a trusted adviser to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General and works on a wide range of initiatives involving every aspect of the agency.

Amanda joined DOT OIG in August 2010 and contributed to the audit division’s work on rail, maritime, and transit issues. As a Project Manager, she led audits involving the Federal Railroad Administration and the Maritime Administration.

In 2014, Amanda became DOT OIG’s New Hire Workforce Development Manager due to a rapid and unprecedented 15 percent staff increase. Through successful partnering across the organization, she worked to enhance new employee on-boarding processes as well as design and deliver the agency’s first-ever New Employee Orientation Program.

Prior to her time at DOT OIG, Amanda served at the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, working on reviews of major homeowner retention programs. She also has experience working on the other side of oversight and auditing, having spent time at Computer Sciences Corporation, where she worked on-site with the Missile Defense Agency to help enhance its relationships with government audit organizations.

Amanda began her career in government oversight and auditing at the U.S. Government Accountability Office in 2006 after earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast News from Kent State University.

Eileen Ennis, Assistant Inspector General for Administration and Management, USDOT

As assistant inspector general for administration and management, dr. Ennis oversees DOT OIG’s full range of administrative services including human resources, training, information technology, financial management, and acquisitions and procurements.

Prior to joining DOT OIG in February 2015, Dr. Ennis served in the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate as the Director of Administration and Support. Before her appointment at DHS, Dr. Ennis served as the Deputy Special Inspector General for Operations at the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program where she was responsible for standing up the newly created agency from a blank canvas and establishing all operational, administrative, technical, and infrastructure programs and services.

Prior to the creation of SIGTARP, Dr. Ennis was the Associate Administrator for Administration and Chief Information Officer for the Research and Innovative Technology Administration at DOT. In addition, Dr. Ennis temporarily served as the acting Director of DOT’s Volpe National Transportation Research Center where she oversaw a unique fee-for-service federal organization that conducted nearly $300 million in annual research and innovation projects addressing the nation’s transportation challenges. Also at DOT, she worked in the Office of the Chief Information Officer where she served as an Associate CIO presiding over a $3 billion IT budget.

Before transferring to DOT, Dr. Ennis was employed at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission where she was a Deputy Director/Deputy CIO. Earlier in her federal career, she worked in the DOT Inspector General’s office as a Project Manager conducting information technology and cyber security audits. Prior to public service, Dr. Ennis had a 11-year career in as a Material Control Manager for various manufacturing industries.

Dr. Ennis holds a Ph.D. in information systems from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, MA in information and resources management from Webster University, and undergraduate degrees in psychology and law enforcement/criminal justice. She is a graduate of two master’s level programs at the National Defense University, the Federal CIO and eGovernment Leadership.

Darin Tuggle, Attorney, Office of Inspector General, USDOT

Darin Tuggle is the employment law attorney for DOT OIG.  In that capacity he advises management and Human Resources on all manner of personnel matters such as reasonable accommodation requests, employee misconduct, performance improvement plans, and pay and suitability determinations.  He represents the OIG in complaints of discrimination brought before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and appeals of employment decisions brought before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).   He’s also served on external and internal working groups, such the Council of Counsels to the Inspectors General working group on new administrative leave mandates and the OIG group examining workplace inclusion and diversity.

Darin joined the staff of the O IG’s office in 2016 after serving in a similar capacity with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Prior to his tenure at HUD, Darin worked for several years at the EEOC in its Memphis and Atlanta district offices, first as a trial attorney litigating private sector complaints in federal court, and then as an administrative judge overseeing federal sector complaints of employment discrimination. 

Aside from his many years practicing employment law, Darin has served as a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, a law clerk for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, N.J., as an associate with a medical malpractice law firm in Manhattan, and a landlord tenant attorney for Essex County Legal Services in New Jersey.

Darin is a native of Memphis, T.N. where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Christian Brothers University.  He lived for many years in New Jersey where he earned his Juris Doctorate from the Rutgers School of Law in Newark.