Inspector General Cathy Helm retires Sept. 1

Assistant Inspector General for Audits Joan Mockeridge will serve as the Acting Inspector General after Helm’s departure until a new IG is selected by the Board of Regents.

Cathy L. Helm

Helm has served as the Inspector General since 2014, coming to the Smithsonian after nearly 35 years at the U.S. Government Accountability Office. She served in various roles at GAO, in Washington, D.C., and Frankfurt, Germany, including as deputy inspector general, assistant director for the Office of Inspector General, assistant director for the Human Capital Office, and assistant director for the Natural Resources and Environment Team.

As Inspector General for the Smithsonian, she has conducted audits and investigations that helped the Smithsonian Board of Regents and management meet their stewardship and fiduciary responsibilities, support congressional oversight, and provide information to the public. She contributed greatly to audits conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Smithsonian’s information security program and practices in accordance with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) and has assisted the Chief Information Officer in achieving a Level 4, Managed and Measurable, out of the five-level maturity model. Under her leadership, the Smithsonian OIG consistently received an External Peer Review rating of pass, the highest rating an audit organization can receive.

During Helm’s distinguished career she also served as the Vice Chair of the Audit Committee for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) and the Chair of CIGIE’s working group of inspectors general for small Offices of Inspectors General (OIG). She also served on the Comptroller General’s Advisory Council on Government Auditing Standards.

Cathy L. Helm, inspector general of the Smithsonian Institute, testifies before the House Administration Committee on Oversight of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington in 2019. (Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)

The Inspector General is appointed by, reports to, and is under the general supervision of the Smithsonian Board of Regents. “The search for the next Inspector General will be conducted by the Board of Regents and will begin in the coming weeks,” said Risa J. Lavizzo-Mourey, chair of the Board of Regents. “Please join me in wishing Cathy well as she looks forward to a long and relaxing retirement and congratulating her on her many accomplishments at the Smithsonian.”

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