Lise Valentine

Lise Valentine is Deputy Inspector General for Audit and Program Review at the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General. Prior to joining the office in December 2011, she served as Vice President and Director of Research at the Civic Federation, a non-partisan governmental research organization in Chicago. She has taught State and Local Public Finance for the Master’s in Public Administration Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Lise has served as a trustee of the Governmental Research Association and an elected Commissioner and Treasurer of the Park District of Oak Park, IL. She is a member of the AIG Board of Directors and is Vice President of the the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council, representing the Association of Local Government Auditors. Dr. Valentine earned a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa, M.S. in Accountancy from DePaul University, and B.A. in Humanistic Studies McGill University in Montreal. Lise is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, and a Certified Inspector General Auditor®.

Kathleen Head

Joseph Maleszewski

Joe received his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the Florida State University School of Business where he also has degrees in Finance and Marketing. He currently serves as the Vice President for Audit at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (an Inspector General equivalent post). He previously served as City Auditor for the City of Tallahassee and before that Inspector General and Director of Compliance for the State University System of Florida Board of Governors. Joe has over 29 years of service in State of Florida government, serving primarily in Offices of Inspector General and serving as Inspector General for four state agencies.

Joe is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Inspector General (CIG), Certified Inspector General Investigator (CIGI), Certified Inspector General Auditor (CIGA), Certified Government Auditing Professional (CGAP), and Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP). Joe is an active member of several professional organizations including the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), ISACA, Association of Government Accountants (AGA), Association of Inspectors General (AIG), and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

Joe and his wife Tracey reside in Tallahassee, Florida. In his personal life he prides himself on being a devoted husband and father of four, third degree black belt in TaeKwonDo, proficient woodworker/handyman, avid runner, triathlete, and obstacle course racer.

Kalinthia Dillard

Kalinthia Dillard, Esq. has practiced law in Florida since 1998. After graduating from Clemson University and the Florida State University College of Law, she moved to Palm Beach County to clerk at the 4th District Court of Appeal. Thereafter, she practiced civil litigation at two law firms and worked for the School District of Palm Beach County, the 10th largest school district in the country, where she negotiated contracts and litigated before state and federal courts and the Florida Division
of Administrative Hearings. Currently, she serves as General Counsel/Deputy Inspector General to the PBC Office of Inspector General. She is a Certified Inspector General (CIG), Inspector General Auditor (CIGA), and Inspector General Investigator (CIGI).

Ms. Dillard balances time between her profession, volunteering, and enjoying life with her husband and daughter. She served three terms as President of the YWCA of Palm Beach County. She was the youngest president of the F. Malcolm Cunningham, Sr. Bar Association and is a Past President of the West Palm Beach (FL) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated and the Virgil Hawkins-Florida Chapter National Bar Association. She served as Chair of The Florida Bar’s Law Related Education Committee, Education Law Committee, and a Grievance Committee. Additionally, she was Chair of the PBC Bar Association's Law Related Education Committee, Co-Chair of the Committee for Diversity and
Inclusion, and Co-Chair of the Professionalism Committee. She is a Diamond Life Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and a graduate of Leadership PBC. She was recently accepted into Leadership Florida Cornerstone Class 39.

Ms. Dillard received the Giraffe Award from the Women's Chamber of Commerce of Palm Beach County in 2016, National Black Lawyers’ Top 100 Lawyers for 2016, Attorney of the Year Award from the Florida Law Related Education Association at the 2018 Florida Bar Convention, and the International Athena Leadership Award from the Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce in 2020.

Erica Smith

Erica Smith graduated from the University of Florida with her Master of Accounting in 2005 and Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 2003. Erica Smith started her career as an auditor
with KPMG, LLP in Miami, Florida. She transferred to the New Orleans office in 2008. In 2010, she joined the City of New Orleans Office of Inspector General (OIG) and has served as
the Deputy Inspector General for Audit since March 2016. During her tenure, the audit department has identified approximately $21 million in savings to the City of New Orleans.

Erica Smith is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and a Certified Inspector General Auditor (CIGA). She is also an adjunct instructor at the University of New Orleans and University of Holy Cross in New Orleans where teaches Advanced Accounting, Auditing, and various other accounting related courses. Erica has presented to the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), and the Association of Inspectors General (AIG) on various fraud-related topics.

Maxene Bardwell

Maxene Bardwell is a well-credentialed and experienced Chief Audit Executive with over 20 years’ experience leading audit functions, supervising diverse groups of employees, developing and executing risk-based audit plans, implementing professional auditing standards, conducting fraud, waste and abuse investigations, creating operational policies and procedures, and overseeing ethics programs.
Since 2006, Ms. Bardwell has served as the Assistant Inspector General for Audit for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC). During her time at WSSC, she spearheaded the establishment of their first Audit Committee, saving WSSC and its ratepayers millions of dollars. Ms. Bardwell streamlined WSSC’s internal audit processes with the adoption of software which enabled Internal Audit employees to operate more efficiently and effectively. Ms. Bardwell established WSSC’s first Fraud, Waste & Abuse (FW&A) Hotline and implemented mandatory ethics training for all new hires and interns, along with mandatory annual ethics training for all WSSC employees. She reinstated the filing of Conflicts of Interest (COI) Statements for all employees and established an Ethics Officer position as a dedicated resource to provide ethics expertise to internal and external stakeholders.
Ms. Bardwell previously served as the Director of Internal Audit and Senior Auditor for the Municipal Employees Credit Union of Baltimore. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Notre Dame of Maryland University where she received her Master’s in Finance, Magna Cum Laude.
Ms. Bardwell is a Certified Public Accountant; Certified Internal Auditor and is certified in Risk Management Assurance through the Institute of Internal Auditors; Certified Inspector General Auditor; Certified Fraud Examiner; and a Certified Information Systems Auditor through the Certified Information Technology Professional, American Institute of CPAs.

Joseph Maleszewski

Joe received his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the Florida State University School of Business where he also has degrees in Finance and Marketing. He currently serves as the Vice President for Audit at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (an Inspector General equivalent post). He previously served as City Auditor for the City of Tallahassee and before that Inspector General and Director of Compliance for the State University System of Florida Board of Governors. Joe has over 29 years of service in State of Florida government, serving primarily in Offices of Inspector General and serving as Inspector General for four state agencies.

Joe is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Inspector General (CIG), Certified Inspector General Investigator (CIGI), Certified Inspector General Auditor (CIGA), Certified Government Auditing Professional (CGAP), and Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP). Joe is an active member of several professional organizations including the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), ISACA, Association of Government Accountants (AGA), Association of Inspectors General (AIG), and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

Joe and his wife Tracey reside in Tallahassee, Florida. In his personal life he prides himself on being a devoted husband and father of four, third degree black belt in TaeKwonDo, proficient woodworker/handyman, avid runner, triathlete, and obstacle course racer.

Erica Smith

Erica Smith graduated from the University of Florida with her Master of Accounting in 2005 and Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 2003. Erica Smith started her career as an auditor
with KPMG, LLP in Miami, Florida. She transferred to the New Orleans office in 2008. In 2010, she joined the City of New Orleans Office of Inspector General (OIG) and has served as
the Deputy Inspector General for Audit since March 2016. During her tenure, the audit department has identified approximately $21 million in savings to the City of New Orleans.

Erica Smith is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and a Certified Inspector General Auditor (CIGA). She is also an adjunct instructor at the University of New Orleans and University of Holy Cross in New Orleans where teaches Advanced Accounting, Auditing, and various other accounting related courses. Erica has presented to the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), and the Association of Inspectors General (AIG) on various fraud-related topics.

Flavio Martinez

Mr. Martinez is a Senior Analyst with GAO’s Forensic Audits and Investigative Service team. He has led and performed a variety of performance audits of federal programs, including those managed by the United States Federal Communications Commission, Food and Nutrition Service, Small Business Administration, Administration for Children and Families, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Transportation Security Administration, and the Department of Education. He has over 13 years of auditing experience with GAO. He also became a certified GAO instructor in 2020 and teaches GAO auditors on the application of Standards of Internal Controls in the Federal Government (i.e., “The Green Book’). He is also a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Inspector General Auditor. He is also a member of the Association of Inspectors General (AIG) and served on the Board of Directors and Training Committee for AIG’s District of Columbia (DC) chapter, which provided a number of inexpensive auditing and investigative training to the IG community within the DC area. He received his MPA degree from the Inspectors General Program at John Jay College and graduated with a BA from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Kathleen Head

Kalinthia Dillard

Kalinthia Dillard, Esq. has practiced law in Florida since 1998. After graduating from Clemson University and the Florida State University College of Law, she moved to Palm Beach County to clerk at the 4th District Court of Appeal. Thereafter, she practiced civil litigation at two law firms and worked for the School District of Palm Beach County, the 10th largest school district in the country, where she negotiated contracts and litigated before state and federal courts and the Florida Division
of Administrative Hearings. Currently, she serves as General Counsel/Deputy Inspector General to the PBC Office of Inspector General. She is a Certified Inspector General (CIG), Inspector General Auditor (CIGA), and Inspector General Investigator (CIGI).

Ms. Dillard balances time between her profession, volunteering, and enjoying life with her husband and daughter. She served three terms as President of the YWCA of Palm Beach County. She was the youngest president of the F. Malcolm Cunningham, Sr. Bar Association and is a Past President of the West Palm Beach (FL) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated and the Virgil Hawkins-Florida Chapter National Bar Association. She served as Chair of The Florida Bar’s Law Related Education Committee, Education Law Committee, and a Grievance Committee. Additionally, she was Chair of the PBC Bar Association's Law Related Education Committee, Co-Chair of the Committee for Diversity and
Inclusion, and Co-Chair of the Professionalism Committee. She is a Diamond Life Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and a graduate of Leadership PBC. She was recently accepted into Leadership Florida Cornerstone Class 39.

Ms. Dillard received the Giraffe Award from the Women's Chamber of Commerce of Palm Beach County in 2016, National Black Lawyers’ Top 100 Lawyers for 2016, Attorney of the Year Award from the Florida Law Related Education Association at the 2018 Florida Bar Convention, and the International Athena Leadership Award from the Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce in 2020.

Darwyn Jones

Darwyn Jones currently serves as the Chief Performance Analyst for the City of Chicago, OIG. In 1991, after graduating from Southwest Missouri State University with a degree in accounting; Mr. Jones started his career with Walmart, where he served as a staff auditor, senior auditor, regional audit supervisor for internal audit, audit manager, information systems business analyst, and information systems international business analyst. In 2001, Mr. Jones became the IT Audit Manager for Thomas and Betts Corporation. Since 2007, Mr. Jones has been employed by the City of Chicago OIG where is currently serves as their Chief Performance Analyst. Mr. Jones serves as the Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the AIG Illinois Chapter; is a Certified Inspector General Auditor and has twice been recognized for managing audits by the Association of Local Government with the Distinguished Knighton Award.

Flora Miller (Tran)

Flora Miller started her career in state government in 2000 (Public Assistance Eligibility and Public Assistance Fraud Investigations), joining the Office of Inspector General in approximately 2003, serving as a Regional Investigator and Regional Investigator Supervisor. She currently serves as both a Regional Investigator (covering portions of the Central, Northeast, SunCoast, and Southeast Regions), as well as the Accreditation Manager for her agency.

Mrs. Miller is a Team Leader for Inspector General Assessments for the Florida Commission for Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFA) and has completed over 25 assessments (mock, onsite, and technical assistance) as both Team Leader and Team Member. She has also completed approximately 20 Peer Reviews, serving as both Team Leader and Team Member for the Association of Inspectors General Peer Review Committee, and is the current Chair of the AIG's Peer Review Committee. Mrs. Miller is an instructor for the Florida Police Accreditation Coalition (FLA-PAC) and the AIG Institute. She holds certifications as a Certified Inspector General Investigator (CIGI) through the AIG and Certified Accreditation Professional (CAP) through the FLA-PAC. In her downtime, Mrs. Miller is active in the martial arts community with her husband sanctioning amateur competitive events through the Florida Boxing Commission, as well as in the Bahamas.

Flavio Martinez

Mr. Martinez is a Senior Analyst with GAO’s Forensic Audits and Investigative Service team. He has led and performed a variety of performance audits of federal programs, including those managed by the United States Federal Communications Commission, Food and Nutrition Service, Small Business Administration, Administration for Children and Families, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Transportation Security Administration, and the Department of Education. He has over 13 years of auditing experience with GAO. He also became a certified GAO instructor in 2020 and teaches GAO auditors on the application of Standards of Internal Controls in the Federal Government (i.e., “The Green Book’). He is also a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Inspector General Auditor. He is also a member of the Association of Inspectors General (AIG) and served on the Board of Directors and Training Committee for AIG’s District of Columbia (DC) chapter, which provided a number of inexpensive auditing and investigative training to the IG community within the DC area. He received his MPA degree from the Inspectors General Program at John Jay College and graduated with a BA from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Lise Valentine

Lise Valentine is Deputy Inspector General for Audit and Program Review at the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General. Prior to joining the office in December 2011, she served as Vice President and Director of Research at the Civic Federation, a non-partisan governmental research organization in Chicago. She has taught State and Local Public Finance for the Master’s in Public Administration Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Lise has served as a trustee of the Governmental Research Association and an elected Commissioner and Treasurer of the Park District of Oak Park, IL. She is a member of the AIG Board of Directors and is Vice President of the the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council, representing the Association of Local Government Auditors. Dr. Valentine earned a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa, M.S. in Accountancy from DePaul University, and B.A. in Humanistic Studies McGill University in Montreal. Lise is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, and a Certified Inspector General Auditor®.

Lise Valentine

Lise Valentine is Deputy Inspector General for Audit and Program Review at the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General. Prior to joining the office in December 2011, she served as Vice President and Director of Research at the Civic Federation, a non-partisan governmental research organization in Chicago. She has taught State and Local Public Finance for the Master’s in Public Administration Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Lise has served as a trustee of the Governmental Research Association and an elected Commissioner and Treasurer of the Park District of Oak Park, IL. She is a member of the AIG Board of Directors and is Vice President of the the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council, representing the Association of Local Government Auditors. Dr. Valentine earned a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa, M.S. in Accountancy from DePaul University, and B.A. in Humanistic Studies McGill University in Montreal. Lise is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, and a Certified Inspector General Auditor®.

Erica Smith

Erica Smith graduated from the University of Florida with her Master of Accounting in 2005 and Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 2003. Erica Smith started her career as an auditor
with KPMG, LLP in Miami, Florida. She transferred to the New Orleans office in 2008. In 2010, she joined the City of New Orleans Office of Inspector General (OIG) and has served as
the Deputy Inspector General for Audit since March 2016. During her tenure, the audit department has identified approximately $21 million in savings to the City of New Orleans.

Erica Smith is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and a Certified Inspector General Auditor (CIGA). She is also an adjunct instructor at the University of New Orleans and University of Holy Cross in New Orleans where teaches Advanced Accounting, Auditing, and various other accounting related courses. Erica has presented to the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), and the Association of Inspectors General (AIG) on various fraud-related topics.

Darwyn Jones

Darwyn Jones currently serves as the Chief Performance Analyst for the City of Chicago, OIG. In 1991, after graduating from Southwest Missouri State University with a degree in accounting; Mr. Jones started his career with Walmart, where he served as a staff auditor, senior auditor, regional audit supervisor for internal audit, audit manager, information systems business analyst, and information systems international business analyst. In 2001, Mr. Jones became the IT Audit Manager for Thomas and Betts Corporation. Since 2007, Mr. Jones has been employed by the City of Chicago OIG where is currently serves as their Chief Performance Analyst. Mr. Jones serves as the Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the AIG Illinois Chapter; is a Certified Inspector General Auditor and has twice been recognized for managing audits by the Association of Local Government with the Distinguished Knighton Award.

Maxene Bardwell

Maxene Bardwell is a well-credentialed and experienced Chief Audit Executive with over 20 years’ experience leading audit functions, supervising diverse groups of employees, developing and executing risk-based audit plans, implementing professional auditing standards, conducting fraud, waste and abuse investigations, creating operational policies and procedures, and overseeing ethics programs.
Since 2006, Ms. Bardwell has served as the Assistant Inspector General for Audit for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC). During her time at WSSC, she spearheaded the establishment of their first Audit Committee, saving WSSC and its ratepayers millions of dollars. Ms. Bardwell streamlined WSSC’s internal audit processes with the adoption of software which enabled Internal Audit employees to operate more efficiently and effectively. Ms. Bardwell established WSSC’s first Fraud, Waste & Abuse (FW&A) Hotline and implemented mandatory ethics training for all new hires and interns, along with mandatory annual ethics training for all WSSC employees. She reinstated the filing of Conflicts of Interest (COI) Statements for all employees and established an Ethics Officer position as a dedicated resource to provide ethics expertise to internal and external stakeholders.
Ms. Bardwell previously served as the Director of Internal Audit and Senior Auditor for the Municipal Employees Credit Union of Baltimore. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Notre Dame of Maryland University where she received her Master’s in Finance, Magna Cum Laude.
Ms. Bardwell is a Certified Public Accountant; Certified Internal Auditor and is certified in Risk Management Assurance through the Institute of Internal Auditors; Certified Inspector General Auditor; Certified Fraud Examiner; and a Certified Information Systems Auditor through the Certified Information Technology Professional, American Institute of CPAs.

Daniel Ahern Jr

F. Daniel Ahern, Jr., President of Clarus Group, has a long record of mission-driven, results-oriented leadership in government and national professional organizations. For more than 30 years, his career has been devoted to strengthening performance, integrity, and accountability in the public and nonprofit sectors.

His expertise spans a broad array of issues, including public and nonprofit management and governance, public procurement and privatization, and corruption prevention. Dan has directed interdisciplinary teams of analysts, lawyers, engineers, and investigators in numerous policy analyses, management reviews, performance audits, and investigations. He has also led the development and implementation of professional training and certification programs.

He has been a speaker at national and regional professional association meetings; has served on the editorial boards of Public Administration Review, Public Integrity Annual, and Chinese Public Administration Review; and has been an article reviewer for Public Budgeting and Finance.

In recent years, Dan has presented a paper (later published as an article in Chinese Public Administration) in Guangzhou, China on anticorruption strategies and addressed the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe.

Prior to co-founding Clarus Group, Dan served as the First Assistant Inspector General for Management in the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General, an independent state agency mandated to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in government. He has also been a performance auditor for the Virginia General Assembly, an independent consultant to state agencies in Massachusetts and Virginia, and an adjunct professor at Clark University and at Northeastern University, where he has taught courses on nonprofit organization and management, personnel administration, and public administration.

Dan is a Fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration, a Past President of the American Society for Public Administration, and a founder and Board member of the Association of Inspectors General. He is a Certified Government Financial Manager, Certified Inspector General, Certified Fraud Examiner, and Massachusetts Certified Public Purchasing Official. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northeastern University.

Watch Dan discuss his public service experience and perspective recorded as part of Ask Me Why I Care: Public Service Stories, a project of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at the University of Nebraska Omaha.

Daniel Ahern Jr

F. Daniel Ahern, Jr., President of Clarus Group, has a long record of mission-driven, results-oriented leadership in government and national professional organizations. For more than 30 years, his career has been devoted to strengthening performance, integrity, and accountability in the public and nonprofit sectors.

His expertise spans a broad array of issues, including public and nonprofit management and governance, public procurement and privatization, and corruption prevention. Dan has directed interdisciplinary teams of analysts, lawyers, engineers, and investigators in numerous policy analyses, management reviews, performance audits, and investigations. He has also led the development and implementation of professional training and certification programs.

He has been a speaker at national and regional professional association meetings; has served on the editorial boards of Public Administration Review, Public Integrity Annual, and Chinese Public Administration Review; and has been an article reviewer for Public Budgeting and Finance.

In recent years, Dan has presented a paper (later published as an article in Chinese Public Administration) in Guangzhou, China on anticorruption strategies and addressed the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe.

Prior to co-founding Clarus Group, Dan served as the First Assistant Inspector General for Management in the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General, an independent state agency mandated to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in government. He has also been a performance auditor for the Virginia General Assembly, an independent consultant to state agencies in Massachusetts and Virginia, and an adjunct professor at Clark University and at Northeastern University, where he has taught courses on nonprofit organization and management, personnel administration, and public administration.

Dan is a Fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration, a Past President of the American Society for Public Administration, and a founder and Board member of the Association of Inspectors General. He is a Certified Government Financial Manager, Certified Inspector General, Certified Fraud Examiner, and Massachusetts Certified Public Purchasing Official. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northeastern University.

Watch Dan discuss his public service experience and perspective recorded as part of Ask Me Why I Care: Public Service Stories, a project of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at the University of Nebraska Omaha.

Darwyn Jones

Darwyn Jones currently serves as the Chief Performance Analyst for the City of Chicago, OIG. In 1991, after graduating from Southwest Missouri State University with a degree in accounting; Mr. Jones started his career with Walmart, where he served as a staff auditor, senior auditor, regional audit supervisor for internal audit, audit manager, information systems business analyst, and information systems international business analyst. In 2001, Mr. Jones became the IT Audit Manager for Thomas and Betts Corporation. Since 2007, Mr. Jones has been employed by the City of Chicago OIG where is currently serves as their Chief Performance Analyst. Mr. Jones serves as the Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the AIG Illinois Chapter; is a Certified Inspector General Auditor and has twice been recognized for managing audits by the Association of Local Government with the Distinguished Knighton Award.