FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, October 20, 2017

Peace Corps Office of Inspector General Receives Three Awards for Excellence

The Peace Corps Office of Inspector General (OIG) received the Glenn/Roth Award for Exemplary Service and two awards for excellence at the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency’s (CIGIE) 20^th Annual Awards Ceremony held on October 19, 2017.

CIGIE annually awards the Glenn/Roth Award for Exemplary Service to a CIGIE member organization that demonstrates exemplary value to the Congress. Peace Corps OIG, along with staff from the Department of State, Department of Justice, and Small Business Administration, were recognized for significant contributions to support Congress in its effort to strengthen oversight leading to passage of the Inspector General Empowerment Act. This Act restored the right of unfettered OIG access to agency information, allowing OIGs to perform critical oversight of the Federal government. The Act will have a lasting benefit for the inspector general community and the American people who rely on inspectors general to provide independent oversight.

CIGIE presented the Award for Excellence in Evaluations to a Peace Corps OIG team for its “Peace Corps Rwanda Country Program Evaluation.” This evaluation examined the management controls; programming; and Peace Corps volunteer support, training, and site placement to make recommendations designed to help Peace Corps/Rwanda effectively support the Peace Corps mission. This evaluation made recommendations designed to help Peace Corps/Rwanda lay a solid foundation for volunteers to integrate successfully into their Rwandan host communities and culture, and thus help volunteers to have generally safer, healthier, and more productive service. Assistant Inspector General for Evaluations Jerry Black and former evaluator Greg Yeich received the award.

Another OIG team received an Award for Excellence in Multiple Disciplines for its “Evaluation of The Peace Corps’ Sexual Assault Risk Reduction and Response Program.” The evaluation brought together a cross-discipline team to assess the progress the Peace Corps has made toward providing compassionate and comprehensive care in response to sexual assault as well as its progress toward developing an effective risk reduction program. Assistant Inspector General for Evaluations Jeremy Black, Senior Evaluator Kris Hoffer, Evaluator Kaitlyn Large, Program Analyst A’Daris McNeese, Senior Evaluator Paul Romeo, former Senior Evaluator Bruce Shahbaz, Lead Auditor Rebecca Underhill, Administrative Specialist Kelsey Griffiths, Outreach Specialist Kate Pote, and Program Analyst Alexandra Miller received the award.

 Inspector General Kathy A. Buller stated, “The breadth of work that was honored today exemplifies the passion, skill, and depth of knowledge housed in our small office. I am so proud of these teams and their efforts to help the Peace Corps achieve its mission and to strengthen oversight for Offices of Inspector General across the government.”

The Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, established OIGs within federal agencies to combat fraud, waste, abuse, and to improve economy and efficiency. The inspector general community has more than 14,000 audit, investigation, inspection, and other professionals across 72 IGs.

CIGIE is an independent entity within the executive branch representing 72 OIGs in the federal government. CIGIE’s mission is to promote integrity, economy, and effectiveness in government agencies as well as to increase the professionalism and effectiveness of personnel in the community of inspectors general. For more information on the IG community, visit http://www.ignet.gov.

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