Sam Cowles is a Manager of State and Local Government Regulatory Compliance Services. Sam currently co-leads engagements around third party compliance with Federal and State cost reporting rules, and the strategy and oversight of procurement and implementation of a fraud analytics and case management solutions. Sam co-leads a engagement around Emergency Rental Assistance focusing on application review and funding disbursement, and has a history of leading performance and compliance audits, with a deep regulatory compliance background and project management experience for clients, including the State of New York.

Mandouh Csintalan is the Security GRC Manager at RenaissanceRe where he leads areas like client due diligence, vendor assessments, security awareness, regulatory response, audit remediations, security controls strategy, and other ad-hoc projects. Previous to RenaissanceRe, Mandouh worked at Deutsche Bank where he worked across different departments such as Global Networks Services, the Chief Data Office, and the Chief Information Security Office (CISO). While in CISO, he worked closely alongside the Americas CISO to deliver new cyber capabilities, respond to regulatory requirements, deliver the company’s cyber awareness program, and much more.

He’s a graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Quantitative Finance. 

Ken Dieffenbach is the Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at the U.S. Department of Energy where he works with a team of over 75 personnel addressing fraud that impacts the Department of Energy’s $40+ billion dollar annual budget. From 2003 to July 2021, he served in various special agent and data analytics roles with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. From 1996 to 2003, he served on active duty with the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations.  Ken has led dozens of complex and sensitive fraud and internal misconduct investigations and has made well over 100 presentations about fraud to a wide variety of audiences.

He is an adjunct instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, previously coordinated DOJ’s Fraud Task Force’s Grant Fraud Working Group, and has had articles published in the ACFE’s Fraud Magazine and other publications. His work has been recognized with numerous awards including the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award. He holds an undergraduate degree from The Citadel and a graduate degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  From January 2021 to January 2022, Ken served as Chair of the ACFE Board of Regents.  In his spare time he enjoys trying to convince his wife that they do not need any additional cats.    

Michael Dudley is a lawyer with over 30 years of experience specializing in international investigations ranging from fraud and corruption to sexual exploitation and abuse.  He has particular expertise with investigation interviewing, including minors, cognition and neuroscience of deception and digital forensics.  He regularly provides investigation training for civilian, police and military investigators, oversight personnel and international sanctions monitors.  Mr. Dudley is the Principal Deputy Director of the United Nations Investigations Division and holds a BA, JD and LLM. 

Sonia Frederick is a Manager at KPMG, LLP within the Advisory Forensics State and Local Government practice. Sonia leads third party audits and regulatory compliance assessments primarily within the health and human services domain in New York State. She currently leads an engagement assessing the COVID-19 emergency procurement lifecycle in comparison to various state and federal regulations. In addition, Sonia is an elected representative within the City of Albany and chairs the Finance, Tax, and Assessment Committee of the Common Council, where she has an oversight role of the City’s ARPA funds. She has also served on the COVID Recovery Task Force in Albany, implementing strategy around use of recovery funds.Sonia Frederick is a Manager at KPMG, LLP within the Advisory Forensics State and Local Government practice. Sonia leads third party audits and regulatory compliance assessments primarily within the health and human services domain in New York State. She currently leads an engagement assessing the COVID-19 emergency procurement lifecycle in comparison to various state and federal regulations. In addition, Sonia is an elected representative within the City of Albany and chairs the Finance, Tax, and Assessment Committee of the Common Council, where she has an oversight role of the City’s ARPA funds. She has also served on the COVID Recovery Task Force in Albany, implementing strategy around use of recovery funds.

Megan Gaillard is currently serving as an Assistant City Auditor III / Quality Control Audit Manager for the City of Fort Lauderdale. In this capacity, she helps the government improve and enhance internal controls to make City operations more effective and efficient.

Megan Gaillard also is serving as an auditor and consultant for Auditing, Forensics, and Consulting, LLC. In this capacity, she completes governmental special reviews for financial and budget information. Additionally, she teaches at the graduate level for Florida Atlantic University for Accounting Fraud Examination Conduct and Procedures.

Megan Gaillard previously was the Director of Audit for the Palm Beach County Office of Inspector General. In this capacity, she directed and managed complex audits and forensic audits of departments, offices, agencies, and activities of governmental units under the OIG’s jurisdiction. These audits found over $24,000,000 in questioned, identified, and avoidable costs. The OIG jurisdiction includes 42 governmental entities and oversight for approximately $8 billion dollars of government funds.

Megan Gaillard previously served as an Internal Controls Manger for the Division of Facilities Management at the Collier County Board of County Commissioners. In this capacity, she performed reviews and evaluated internal controls. The Division worked for is responsible for Government Security, Building Operations, Real Property Management, and Capital Construction with an annual budget of $14,000,000 with an additional $27,000,000 in capital construction budgets.

Megan Gaillard previously served as a Senior Internal Auditor for the Collier County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller. In this capacity, she managed audits, forensic reviews, and investigations of Collier County Board of County Commissioner Divisions and Departments, as well as, for the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Departments. Audits were completed to evaluate internal controls and ensure the legality of payments made with taxpayer dollars.

Megan Gaillard earned her Bachelors of Science Magna Cum Laude from Florida Gulf Coast University in Accounting with a minor in Psychology. She went on to obtain her Masters of Science Summa Cum Laude from Florida Gulf Coast University in Accounting and Taxation. She has obtained the following professional designations: Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Information Systems Auditor, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Inspector General Auditor, Certified Government Financial Manager, Certified Government Audit Professional, and Certification in Risk Management Assurance. She completed the leadership program Growing Associates in Naples, FL (GAIN) in 2015.

She serves on the Association of Government Accountants Professional Ethics Board and the Professional Development Training committees. She is the Vice President for the Palm Beach County Institute of Internal Auditors Chapter.

Ms. Gaillard is a frequent speaker at national and local conferences for accountants, auditors, and government professionals on topics, such as, data analytics, fraud, information technology, internal controls, risk management and assessment, and investigations.

Josh is a Director in KPMG’s Advisory practice with almost 15 years of consulting experience. He currently works with KPMG’s ESG Climate Advisory team designing practical, tangible strategies that can be easily deployed while balancing key environmental, financial, and operational considerations. His focus is in Transportation & Transit, having successfully led and supported several large transformations helping these clients to embrace the change represented by rapid movements in sustainability throughout their industries.

Josh specializes in working with both public and private sector clients on evaluating and refining their strategies, fundamentally transforming their organization, and quickly assessing areas for performance improvement.

During a 30-year career in internal audit with Farmers Insurance, Mike Jacka was responsible for projects as far-ranging as development of fraud investigation procedures for a 100-person audit shop, oversight of Farmers’ western regional auditing operations, and designing auditor training programs for a global organization of 200+ staff members.  Currently, he is Chief Creative Pilot for Flying Pig Audit, Consulting, and Training Solutions (FPACTS), a group dedicated to advancing the skills and quality of internal auditors and all professionals. 

He is top-rated presenter, award-winning columnist, and contributor to Internal Auditor magazine including his column “The Mind of Jacka”, his blog “From the Mind of Jacka” and the magazine’s lighter side pieces such as “Alice in Auditland”, “Auditing Songs for the Holidays”, and “Auditors Anonymous”.  He is also author or co-author of numerous books including Business Process Mapping:  Improving Customer Satisfaction, Auditing Social Media: A Governance and Risk Guide; and Message, Brand, and Dollars – Auditing Marketing Operations (all currently in second editions), as well as the rather curiously titled Auditing Humor and Other Oxymorons. 

Drummond Kahn trains auditors and financial managers in the U.S. and overseas. Since 1990, Mr. Kahn served in federal, state, and local government auditing positions, including Chief of Internal Audit Services for the Oregon Department of Transportation, Director of Audit Services for the City of Portland, State Audit Administrator for the Oregon Audits Division, and in the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Mr. Kahn is a past national President of the Association of Local Government Auditors.   He teaches graduate courses at Portland State University’s Hatfield School of Government and in the University of Oregon’s Master of Accounting program.

In 2014, Mr. Kahn was named one of the 15 Most Influential Professionals in Government Auditing by the Institute of Internal Auditors’ American Center for Government Auditing, in recognition of “professionals who have positively impacted the practice of auditing in the public sector.”  In 2013, the Association of Government Accountants presented Mr. Kahn the Frank Greathouse Distinguished Leadership Award for 'sustained, outstanding leadership in financial management, resulting in notable contributions to the profession.'  In 2018, he was recognized with the Association of Local Government Auditors' Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mr. Kahn holds a master's degree from the University of Oregon and a bachelor's degree from Whitman College.  He is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Government Financial Manager, and Certified Government Auditing Professional.  He has served on the Comptroller General’s Advisory Council on Government Auditing Standards since 2009 and as Chair since 2016.

He is pleased to return to the Albany Chapters!

Mr. Larimore is a risk management expert focusing on program integrity and fraud prevention and detection in the public sector. He has extensive experience helping government agencies establish and enhance their fraud risk mitigation programs to align to leading practices, including conducting fraud risk assessments, applying data anlytics, and developing and implementing enterprise-level antifraud strategies in complex environments. He has successfully led engagements in both the public and private sectors – spanning from large federal agencies to Fortune 100 and 500 companies. His experience includes the following: 

• Led the project to develop the government-wide Antifraud Playbook published in partnership with the Department of the Treasury and Chief Financial Officers Council. 
• Facilitated workshops with executives from 14 federal agencies and Offices of Inspectors General to collect leading practices in fraud risk mitigation that were the basis of the government-wide Antifraud Playbook.  
• Coordated and led government-wide training workshops for more than 200 federal government attendees to help agencies operationalize concepts introduced in the Antifraud Playbook, as well as providing them an opportunity to network and share best practices, tools, and templates across agencies. 
• Supported the Department of the Treasury to conduct a survey of 20+ federal agencies and develop a detailed inventory of fraud data analytics programs. Collected leading practices in applying data analytics for fraud prevention and detection.  
• Led the project to enhance the organizational strategy and develop an implementation roadmap for the largest federal healthcare program integrity organization.  
• Developed leading methodologies for conducting fraud risk assessments and organizational maturity assessments.  
• Conducted fraud risk interviews, focus groups, and workshops with stakeholders at all levels of an organization spanning from Senior Executive Service (SES) and C-Suite executives to front-line employees. 
• Developed and delivered fraud risk management training for a variety of federal and commercial clients. 

Professional Certifications 

• Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Institute
• Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP), Project Management Institute 
• Certified Six Sigma Green Belt (CSSGB), American Society of Quality 

Featured Publications & Speaking Engagements 

• From Theory to Practice: Strategic Plans Accelerate Fraud Risk Management, Winter 2021 Issue of AGA Journal 
• 2020 AGA Internal Controls and Fraud Prevention Training Conference – served as Private Sector Conference Co-Chair; moderator for “Think Like a Fraudster: Enhance Risk Assessment Through Fraud Awareness” 
• 2020 AGA Professional Development Training – Moderator for “The Dark Side - How Fraudsters use the Dark Web Against the Government” 

Colin May, CFE, 3CE leads the HUD OIG Office of Investigation's Strategy and Planning Unit within the Headquarters Operations Division. He joined HUD OIG as a Forensic Auditor in January 2021 after serving as a Bankruptcy Auditor with the Office of the United States Trustee, U.S. Department of Justice since 2015. There he led the Regional Investigative Team covering four judicial districts and oversaw the appointed trustees. He was a member of the National E-Discovery and Litigation Support Working Group, as well as teaching fraud investigation, forensic accounting, and financial oversight topics at the Justice Department’s National Advocacy Center in Columbia, S.C.

Prior to joining the U.S. Trustee Program, Colin was a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement (OEE), where he was a Digital Forensic Examiner with the National Computer Forensics Lab, as well as the lead case agent on a major international terrorism, money laundering, and fraud investigation involving the illicit export of U.S.-origin commercial aircraft, engines, and parts to Iran. Colin began his career as a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Defense, conducting financial investigations. Colin served as an intern with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Albany and holds a bachelor’s degree from Siena College. He also holds a master’s degree in forensic studies from Stevenson University, a graduate certificate in forensic accounting from Northeastern University, and a graduate certificate in leadership studies from the University of Southern Maine.

A Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Cyber Crime Examiner, Colin has also authored several articles, which have appeared in Fraud Magazine, Fraud Examiner, the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Security Management,  and the Journal of Public Inquiry. He is also a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the IACP Police Research Advancement Section, and the Police Executive Research Forum. Since 2010, he has been a Professor of Forensic Studies at Stevenson University.

The Law Office of William M. McGoldrick has been engaged to provide prescription drug diversion expert consultation services in the U.S. His team of former NYS Medicaid program managers designed and created the NYC HRA Office of Medicaid Provider Fraud Audit and Investigation. His services include expert testimony, and the creation of expert reports about prescription drug diversion for cases in all 50 states.

Bill McGoldrick formed two companies to provide audit, investigation and regulatory compliance reviews for federal, New York State and New York City programs. His Medicaid fraud investigations company has been providing Medicaid fraud investigation staff, including pharmacists to various NYS agencies continuously since 1996.

Bill McGoldrick was instrumental in having New York City included in the NYS Medicaid Inspector General’s Local Demonstration Audit Program in 2006. He is a member of the Health Law Sections of the American Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. He was named to the NYS Senate Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction 2014.

Melinda Miguel is a visionary compliance strategist and international speaker on a mission to touch, educate, move, and inspire global leaders and professionals on the importance of compliance, risk, and cyber resilience strategies in today’s market.  

Melinda was appointed by Governor DeSantis on January 8, 2019, as Chief Inspector General, Executive Office of the Governor, State of Florida. She also served as Chief Inspector General for Florida Governor Rick Scott from February 2011 to April 2017 and for Florida Governor Charlie Crist from January 2007 to November 2010. In this role, she is also a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement - Florida Fusion Center as the representative for the Florida IG Community. Governor DeSantis appointed Ms. Miguel to serve on the Governor’s Cybersecurity Taskforce in 2019 where she served as vice chair of the “Identify” sub-committee fashioned after the 1^st function of NIST Cybersecurity Framework. She is also currently a member of the Florida Cybersecurity Advisory Council.    

Ms. Miguel has over 30 years of public service and has served as IG for the following Florida state agencies: 

• Florida State Board of Administration; 
• Florida Attorney General’s Office;
• Florida Department of Education; and,
• Florida Department of Elder Affairs.

Ms. Miguel has also served as the Deputy IG for the Architect of the Capitol and IG for the U.S. Government Publishing Office, both in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Miguel is the President-Elect for AGA–The Association of Government Accountants.  Her term as National President will begin July 2022. She also serves on the AGA’s National Intergovernmental Partnership.  Her service with AGA extends over twenty years in a variety of leadership roles at the local, regional, and national levels.

Ms. Miguel is the immediate past National President of the Association of Inspectors General; a former member of the national Executive Committee and member of the Legislative Issues Committee, Professional Certification Board, Professional Standards Committee, and Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is an advisor for the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators and the Director of SHELeadsTech for the Tallahassee Chapter of ISACA.

Ms. Miguel received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics and a Graduate Certificate in Florida Local Government Administration from Florida State University.

She is a Certified Inspector General, Certified Project Management Professional, Certified Internal Controls Auditor, Certified Construction Auditor, Certified Construction Control Professional, Certified Business Manager, and Certified Cyber Crimes Investigator.

Sushila Nair has served as a Chief Information Security Officer for 10 years and has over 25 years of experience in computing infrastructure, business and security. An experienced cybersecurity thought leader, she has worked in diverse areas across telecommunications, audit, risk analysis, and credit card fraud, and served as a legal expert witness. She also worked with the insurance industry in Europe and America on methods of underwriting e-risk insurance based on ISO27001. With numerous articles published in the computing press, she has also featured in various global technical events.

She plays an active role in supporting best practices and skills development within the cybersecurity community. She has held notable leadership roles in business strategy development, sales enablement and product development, and drives ongoing success through a proven approach of mentoring, industry knowledge and real-world experience.  

Internationally published and multi-award winning photographer, Author and Inspirational Speaker, Lindsay owns and operates Self Love Experience out of Troy, NY. Lindsay's work has been published in The Times Union, Shutterbug Magazine, RangeFinder Magazine and many more. Lindsay is also an active contributor to Women's Business Daily and Brainz Magazine and a Co-Author of the Amazon International Best-Seller Success Codes: The Secrets to Success You Weren't Taught In Highschool which also won a 2021 International Impact Award in the topic of Personal Growth and Development. Lindsay also won the 2021 Best of Show and Gold Metal W3 Award for Social Video-Public Service & Activism. You may have seen Lindsay as a regular guest on Good Morning Rochester and Good Morning Washington for her work in Body Image Activism.

With a focus on helping others overcome negative body image and body insecurity, Lindsay believes confidence in the skin you are in trickles into every aspect and relationship in your life and she gives us permission to feel confident, secure and centered exactly as we are.

James Ruotolo is a Senior Manager in the Fraud & Financial Crimes practice at Grant Thornton, LLP based in Hartford. Prior to joining Grant Thornton, James was a Senior Director of Product Management and Product Marketing in the Fraud and Security Intelligence Division at SAS, where he managed a portfolio of products for fraud detection, AML compliance, intelligence management, and cybersecurity primarily in the banking, insurance, government and healthcare industries. James has also worked in various sales, marketing, product, and consulting roles supporting fraud and risk management offerings.

James has dedicated his entire career to fraud investigation. He held several leadership roles in investigations and intelligence operations at a large US insurance and financial services company. Earlier in his career, James served as a Product and Markets Manager with the Fraud Solutions Group for a large data aggregator.

James holds a Master’s degree in Economic Crime Management, a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and has taught graduate courses as an adjunct faculty member of the Utica College Economic Crime and Fraud Management MBA program. James serves on the board of directors for the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center. He is the coinventor of two patented fraud detection models, a Certified Fraud Examiner, and a frequent author and speaker on fraud analytics technology.

Lorie is a Ph.D. environmental economist, modeler, and ESG specialist. She brings extensive experience in climate economics, scenario analysis, and climate risk to support clients in making strategic decisions for their businesses. Lorie assists our clients integrate climate-smart metrics, material ESG factors, and risk assessments in their investment decisions to deliver a measurable impact. Prior to joining KPMG, Lorie conducted research at the Environmental Science & Policy Center, University of California, Davis regarding the effect of climate change on the economic value of environmental benefits in the western U.S. and California. Her peer-reviewed research covers climate-related topics, such as risks and impacts associated with drought, extreme weather events, carbon emissions, air quality, climate resiliency, and environmental justice.

Prior to joining KPMG, Lorie conducted research at the Environmental Science & Policy Center, University of California, Davis focusing on the effect of climate change on the economic value of environmental benefits and costs in the western U.S. and California.

Mark is an internationally known Governance, Risk and Compliance expert specializing in information assurance, IT risk, IT strategy, service management and digital transformation. Mark has a wide array of industry experience including government, health care, finance/banking, manufacturing, and technology services. He has held roles spanning from CIO to IT consulting and is considered a thought leader in frameworks such as COBIT, NIST, ITIL and multiple ISO standards.

Areas of Expertise

• Enterprise governance of information and technology
• Risk governance and management
• Cybersecurity strategy
• Information controls assurance and compliance
• IT strategy development and implementation
• Agile, Lean and DevOps
• GRC frameworks (COBIT, NIST, COSO, ISO, ITIL)

Matt is a Senior Manager in the Audit Methodology and Standards Group, where he works as a member of the firm’s Audit Innovation team on the development and implementation of automations and analytics for use on external audit engagements. Matt also assists with Grant Thornton’s participation on various external task forces focused on the use of technology and innovation by public accounting firms.

Matt joined Grant Thornton immediately after graduating from Villlanova University, and over the first six years of his career participated on audits of accelerated SEC filers, non-accelerated SEC filers, and private companies, with a concentration in manufacturing and consumer & industrial clientele. In particular, Matt developed expertise in processes and controls relating to inventory and cost accounting.

For the past four years, Matt has helped to lead implementation of firm-wide audit tools including ideation, user acceptance testing, developing documentation and processes, and direct support of end users post launch.  He has also developed various automations and analytics utilizing regression and other statistical approaches.

Tyler Wrightson, CISSP is the author of two books published by McGraw Hill; 

• Advanced Persistent Threat Hacking, The Art and Science of Hacking Any Organization (2014) 
• Wireless Network Security: A Beginner's Guide (2012) 

Tyler is the founder of Leet Cyber Security, which helps organizations solve their technical cyber security challenges. Leet focuses on offensive security services such as Penetration Testing and Red Teaming to secure organizations against real world attackers. Tyler has over twenty years of experience in the IT security field across many industries including healthcare and financial services with extensive experience in many areas of technical security including networking, systems architecture, offensive security and penetration testing. Tyler holds industry certifications such CISSP, CCSP, CCNA, CCDA, and MCSE. Tyler has also taught classes for CCNA certification, hacking and penetration testing, wireless security, and network security. Tyler is the founder of ANYcon, Albany New York's annual hacker conference. 

He has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences including NY Bankers Association (NYBA), NYS CyberSecurity Conference, Derbycon, BSides, Rochester Security Summit, ISACA, ISSA, and others.

Follow his security blog at http://blog.leetsys.com.