Lisa McClennon

Lisa McClennon recently retired as the Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of the Inspector General. Her keen depth of expertise in investigations, risk management, and accountability has earned the respect of her peers in enforcement and in international development communities.

“Lisa knows what she is doing, and 9 times out of 10 what clients are doing when they are doing something they shouldn’t be doing. She has seen a lot, knows a lot, and can help clients a lot—and that’s why she will be an invaluable asset to the firm,” says Gems of Wisdom partner Sharon Freeman. Her proven ability to quickly and thoroughly review situations, investigate their root causes, and to recommend appropriate corrective actions to manage matters that have high-stakes impacts are the set of skills that will be drawn on in presenting the “Don’t Let IT Happen to You” GWCi workshop. Lisa’s experience in having conducted fraud and public corruption investigations at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s OIG, the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and on behalf of two local police departments, further enriches her insights that will be shared with participants. She is a graduate of several distinguished law enforcement academies, leadership courses, and public policy institutes. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, a Master’s degree in Human Relations and Business; she is also a Certified Fraud Examiner, Leading Professional in Ethics and Compliance, and a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP).

Sharon T. Freeman

Sharon T. Freeman, Ph.D., Founder of Gems of Wisdom Consulting, has over four decades of experience in developing, managing, and assessing international projects. Her clients have included a “who’s who” list of development agencies that include not only the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), but also the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the InterAmerican Development Bank, the IFC and many UN agencies. She is an expert in numerous economic development-related programmatic subject areas in addition to being an expert in regulatory compliance and in managing the compliance function of a leading USAID implementer. Having started her career as an Auditor with the U.S. General Accounting Office, then with Booz, Allen & Hamilton, she most recently served as the Senior Director of Compliance of Creative Associates for over six years. A prolific author who has written and published 28 books, Dr. Freeman knows how to get down to the essence of a story, a problem, and a solution. She is the author of the highly regarded Development Practitioner’s Gems of Wisdom for Managing USAID Awards (2017) that demystifies how to develop and apply the 5Ps to promote compliance and reduce performance risk. Dr. Freeman holds a Ph.D. in Applied Management and Decision Sciences from Walden University (1998), a Masters of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie-Mellon University, and two undergraduate degrees from Carnegie-Mellon.

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Michael Binder

Michael Binder is the Director of the Graduate School, USA Government Audit Training Institute. His experience includes over forty-two years in federal staff, management and executive positions in GAO and throughout the Inspector General community. Most recently he served as the Acting Inspector General of the National endowment for the Arts, Deputy Chief of Staff, Senior Resource Official, and Supervisory Forensic Auditor, U.S. EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG). He previously served as the Assistant Inspector General for Planning, Analysis and Results, and Director, Resource Management/Senior Budget Officer and Senior Supervisory Auditor in EPA and directed the EPA OIG’s internal risk assessment, audit follow-up, audit and investigative planning, budget development and execution, legislative analysis, program evaluation, policy review, performance measurement and financial reporting, internal control assessment, human resources, audit peer review, procurement, quality assurance assessments, cost accounting and customer focus program. He led EPA OIG’s Strategic Planning, and pioneered the application of logic models and SWOT Analysis for planning and performance measurement in the OIG, in EPA and within the federal IG community. He began his Federal career in 1973 as an Auditor with the U.S. General Accounting Office.

Mr. Binder has BBA (73) and MBA (76) degrees in Finance and Economics from the George Washington University, attended Harvard University, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and the Federal Executive Institute. He is a Certified Internal Auditor, a Certified Fraud Examiner, and a former national officer of the Association of Government Accountants.