Samantha Dravis is Vice President, Government Relations at NextDecade Corporation. She is a seasoned legal, policy and public affairs strategist with a proven track record of results in government, policy, and advocacy. A political appointee in the first Trump Administration, she served as counsel and chief regulatory reform officer charged with implementing EPA’s deregulatory agenda. She navigates the intersection of law, policy and communications, leading high-impact government affairs and strategic communications campaigns, advising clients on policy engagement and coalition building. She is an experienced public speaker, and is frequently featured on cable TV networks as a political and legal analyst. In 2024, she was named a “Top Lobbyist” by The Hill Newspaper.

Samantha served for nearly six years at a top government and public affairs shop as a Principal and Chief Operating Officer of the firm. In the first Trump Administration, Samantha served as Associate Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she was responsible for leading policy for the agency’s regulatory and permitting programs and providing analysis and oversight of all the agency’s major regulatory actions. Samantha also led the process of EPA’s coordination with the White House, the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs as well as all other federal agencies.

Prior to her work at EPA, Samantha served as President of the Rule of Law Defense Fund and General Counsel of the Republican Attorneys General Association, where she advanced policy issues important to the Republican attorneys general on the national stage – this included coordinating support for various amicus briefs, providing research and briefings for state attorney generals and their staffs; and organizing major policy conferences on issues like healthcare, state and federal environmental regulation, and financial services rules.

Samantha also worked as Associate Director of Political Affairs at The White House during the administration of President George W. Bush, and as legal counsel for Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce.

Samantha serves on the Board of RightNOW Women, and is a volunteer mentor at College to Congress. Samantha attended the University of Notre Dame Law School, serving as the Solicitation Editor of the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy.