Manisha D. Patel

Manisha Patel lead WSP’s Environmental Process and Policy Practice Team. Prior to joining WSP, Ms. Patel served as the Deputy General Counsel for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. With almost three decades of experience and expertise, Ms. Patel provides strategic advice on how to position infrastructure projects for accelerated environmental reviews and permitting approvals under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and related environmental regulations. She has extensive experience in establishing and implementing national environmental, energy and natural resources policy as it relates to transportation. Her mastery of NEPA and acumen for solving complex multi-jurisdictional problems, including working with a broad and diverse range of stakeholders, has yielded some of the fundamental federal environmental and energy efficiency regulations and policy of the last decade. 

Her accomplishments include the development of federal rules, Executive Orders, and Presidential Memoranda that establish standards for federal agencies to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy efficiency, increase the use of renewable energy, reduce water consumption, accelerate infrastructure permitting, improve natural resources conservation, manage flood risks, and improve regulatory processes. She also played an integral role in the drafting and implementation of key environmental provisions of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act and the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. Her demonstrated understanding of governmental processes and superior skills for leading change and building consensus have led to the successful development and implementation of innovative and effective policies and initiatives.  She successfully navigates environmental reviews and government processes for clients to deliver projects across all modes of transportation on cost and budget, driving economic growth while preserving and protecting our Nation’s resources.

Ms. Patel has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center. She is also an alumnus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Executive Energy Leadership Academy.