2021 Getzen Lecture on Government Accountability

presented by The Honorable Mark Lee Greenblatt
Inspector General, U.S. Department of the Interior

“IF YOU WANT A FRIEND, GET A DOG: OVERSIGHT IN THE AGE OF TWITTER”

Monday, November 8, 2021 • 1:30-2:30 pm
Special Collections Library Auditorium*

A reception will immediately follow from 2:30-3:30pm

*The lecture will also be offered virtually via Zoom webinar. Registration is required to receive Zoom link.

Register to Attend in Person  |   Register to Attend Virtually

Mark Lee Greenblatt began his tenure as the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of the Interior on August 26, 2019, after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate. As the Inspector General, Mr. Greenblatt leads a nationwide workforce of more than 270 investigators, auditors, evaluators, attorneys, and support staff. Their mission is to provide independent oversight and promote excellence, integrity, and accountability within the programs, operations, and management of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Mr. Greenblatt is the senior official responsible for providing oversight of more than 70,000 Department employees and assessing the Department’s diverse programs, which include roughly $10 billion in grants and contracts, $12 billion in natural resource royalties, 30% of the nation’s energy resources, Federal trust
responsibilities to 573 Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages, and stewardship of 20% of the nation’s lands.

On January 1, 2021, Mr. Greenblatt was appointed to serve as the Vice-Chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), leading the Inspector General community’s mission to combat fraud, waste, and mismanagement.

Mr. Greenblatt has been in the Federal oversight community since 2003 as part of the legislative and executive branches. Prior to becoming the DOI Inspector General, he served as the executive director of CIGIE. He previously served in leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Mr. Greenblatt also served as an investigative counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice OIG. Over the course of his Federal career, he has received several awards, including a CIGIE award for excellence, U.S. Department of Commerce gold medal and bronze medals, and a U.S. Department of Justice OIG distinguished service award.

Mr. Greenblatt clerked for U.S. District Judge Anita Brody and was a litigator in two large, international law firms. He also served as vice chair and commissioner of the Montgomery County, MD Ethics Commission, was an adjunct professor at the American University School of Law and is a published author.

Mr. Greenblatt graduated from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University. He also completed the Senior Managers in Government Fellowship at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.*

The Getzen Lecture on Government Accountability, an annual lecture series presented by the Department of Public Administration and Policy is made possible by UGA alumni Katherine Getzen Willoughby (PhD ‘91) and Dan Hall Willoughby, Jr. (JD ‘86) in honor of her parents, Evangeline Sferes Getzen and Forrest William Getzen, lifelong advocates of public service and education.

* Any references to any private organization or individual — or activities, products, or services related to such organization or individual — do not constitute or imply endorsement by the U.S. Government or any employees acting on its behalf.