Oversight of Government Programs and Funds: Domestic and International Structures and Challenges – with Ann Calvaresi Barr
February 12, 2025 @ 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Former Inspector General Ann Calvaresi Barr led the oversight of activities conducted by USAID, the U.S. African Development Foundation, the Inter-American Foundation, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. In fiscal year 2017, USAID alone managed nearly $30 billion in budgetary resources to provide humanitarian assistance and advance economic growth and democracy around the world. Ms. Calvaresi Barr also works with the Inspectors General of the Department of State and the Department of Defense to coordinate each OIG’s activities under the Lead Inspector General for Overseas Contingency Operations initiative. Ms. Calvaresi Barr took office in November 2015 and worked tirelessly to strengthen OIG’s contributions to and support of integrity, efficiency, and effectiveness in the Nation’s complex foreign assistance programs and operations.
Ms. Calvaresi Barr previously served as the Deputy Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Transportation from 2010 to 2015. In that position, Ms. Calvaresi Barr provided leadership and direction of audits and investigations of transportation issues, as well as oversight of Office of Inspector General operational support activities.
Ms. Calvaresi Barr joined the U.S. Department of Transportation as the Principal Assistant Inspector General for Auditing and Evaluation in March 2009. She directed and oversaw all audit work on the Department’s air, highway, public transit, maritime, and rail programs, including implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which invested over $48 billion in the Nation’s transportation infrastructure. She assumed this position after a 25-year career at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
At GAO, Ms. Calvaresi Barr served as a director in the Acquisition and Sourcing Management team in Washington, DC. As a senior executive, Ms. Calvaresi Barr was responsible for directing numerous engagement teams, producing reports, and delivering congressional testimony on technology transfer, the defense supplier base, and contract management. Ms. Calvaresi Barr started her GAO career in 1984, working on healthcare and intergovernmental relations issues. From 1988 to 1993, she completed an overseas tour in GAO’s former European office in Frankfurt, Germany, where she worked largely on defense, international affairs, and national security issues. Prior to her GAO career, she worked for the City of Reading, PA, and for the City Manager of Rockville, MD.
Ms. Calvaresi Barr is a graduate of Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, where she earned a B.A. degree in political science in 1982. She also holds a 1984 master of public administration degree from American University in Washington, DC; is a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Fellows Program; and received a Massachusetts Institute of Technology fellowship in Foreign Politics, International Relations, and the National Interest.