Director, Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)

Alina Semo

Alina M. Semo became the Director of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) in December 2016. OGIS serves as the nation’s FOIA Ombudsman. Its mission is to improve the FOIA process through resolving disputes between Federal agencies and FOIA requesters; reviewing agencies’ FOIA policies, procedures and compliance; and making recommendations to Congress and the President to improve the administration of FOIA.

Prior to joining OGIS, Ms. Semo served as the Director of Litigation in NARA's Office of General Counsel for two and a half years. Before coming to NARA, Ms. Semo led the FOIA Litigation Unit in the Office of the General Counsel at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for over 10 years, and prior to that served as an Assistant General Counsel in the FBI’s Litigation Branch for nearly 5 years. Ms. Semo began her Federal Government career as a U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney and later senior counsel in the Federal Programs Branch, Civil Division, from 1991 to 1999; and from 1988 to 1991, Ms. Semo worked as a litigation associate at Hopkins & Sutter in Washington, DC. Ms. Semo earned her law degree in 1988 from Georgetown University Law Center and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with high honors in Government and Politics. Ms. Semo is licensed in the District of Columbia and Maryland.