Dena Stroh

General Counsel & Ethics Officer | North Texas Tollway Authority

Adjunct faculty

Dena DeNooyer Stroh serves as General Counsel and Ethics Officer for the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA), one of the nation's largest toll authorities, with approximately $6 billion in assets, $8.4 billion in outstanding bonds, more than $1 billion in annual net revenues, and 850 employees. As a member of NTTA's executive leadership team, she oversees the organization's legal department and provides strategic counsel on corporate governance, litigation, procurement, financing, ethics, public policy, cybersecurity, data privacy, employment, real estate, and major infrastructure initiatives. She also leads NTTA's ethics and compliance program and manages all outside counsel.

Before joining NTTA, Dena served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Murchison Oil and Gas, where she advised executive leadership on corporate governance, financing, regulatory compliance, contracts, human resources, and strategic business matters. Earlier in her career, she was a litigation partner at Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail Shank LLP and Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal LLP, representing clients in complex business litigation, insurance coverage, construction, trade secret, employment, and commercial disputes in state and federal courts. She began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Thad Heartfield of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Dena is a recognized leader in the Texas legal community. She currently serves as Statewide Chair of the Texas General Counsel Forum and has held numerous leadership roles with the organization. Her extensive civic and professional service also includes leadership positions with the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center, the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity, the Dallas Women Lawyers Association, the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, and the Dallas Bar Association.

Her many honors include the 2025 Association of Corporate Counsel Outstanding General Counsel for a Governmental Entity Award, the TexasBarCLE Standing Ovation Award, the Dallas Business Journal's 40 Under 40, D CEO's Dallas 500, and the ACC Outstanding Community Service Award. She is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the Texas Bar Foundation, the Dallas Bar Foundation, and a Life Founding Fellow of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers Foundation. Dena is a frequent speaker on corporate governance, ethics, cybersecurity, construction risk, and the evolving role of general counsel.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Yale University and a Juris Doctor, cum laude and Order of the Coif, from SMU Dedman School of Law.

Education

B.A., Yale University
J.D., Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, cum laude