Elizabeth Sullivan is the incoming 2025-26 Chair of the North American Board and a 2025-26 Director of the Global Board of Directors of The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).

Elizabeth is the Vice President, Chief Risk and Audit Officer at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and heads its Audit and Compliance department. With over 28 years of audit, risk management, financial industry, and public sector experience, she leads the internal audit function in providing assurance and advisory services that enable change for strong organizational governance and effective risk management and internal control systems.

At WMATA, in addition to the internal audit function, Elizabeth oversees external assurance and regulatory compliance, risk and business advisory services, and intergrated risk management systems. Her department facilitates WMATA’s enterprise risk management (ERM) program, which is designed to enable proactive management of risks to help achieve strategic, operational, financial, and compliance objectives. Prior to joining WMATA, Elizabeth spent 18 years in the financial industry, providing progressive leadership in corporate risk management and internal audit.

Elizabeth began her service to The IIA at the chapter level, and continued through to the Global Member Competency and Learning faculty and the North American Board. She is the current Chair of the American Public Transportation Association’s Committee of Audit Professionals and is committed to establishing and promoting standards of performance and conduct for audit organizations within the transit industry.

Elizabeth is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), and holds a Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) and a Certification in Control Self Assessment (CCSA).

Recognized by some of the world’s most influential organizations, Dean Newlund is a consultant, facilitator, coach, speaker, author, and leadership expert who is awakening organizations to fulfill their purpose. With a career spanning over 30 years, Dean has worked across five continents to build the capacity for transformative leadership, mindful organizations, strategic collaboration, and thriving cultures.

As the Chief Executive Officer at Mission Facilitators International (MFI), a boutique consulting firm headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Dean has dedicated his career to helping leaders, teams, and their organizations grow their people, clarify their visions, and implement their plans. His work has touched the lives of tens of thousands of employees, leaders, and board and community members, helping them resolve complex challenges and discover new opportunities.

Under Dean’s leadership, MFI has worked with scores of Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, educational institutions, and family-owned companies nationally and in 19 countries. Grounded in age-old wisdom, modern-day learning models, neuroscience, business acumen, organizational development, and consulting, the MFI approach has helped companies increase sales and engagement, create high-performing teams, cultivate leaders, and improve company cultures.

Dean is also a skilled trainer, speaker, and author. He has been a columnist for major newspapers and has authored dozens of articles and white papers. In 2019, he presented on the TEDx stage, and he hosts a popular podcast called Leadovation: Reimagine. Facilitate. Flourish.

Dean is driven by the belief that understanding our purpose, acknowledging our truth, honoring our intuition, and forging genuine connections with others empowers us to transform our lives and workplaces. He envisions a world where, as each person cultivates new mindsets and skills, the fabric of our society is gradually repaired.

• Began career in public accounting; primarily with EY & PwC
• Served as CFO in two companies and worked in a variety of financial leadership roles including global head of financial reporting compliance for Viacom
• Fortune 500 CAE for ≈ 15 years; transformed entire function
• Former Chair for CAE Roundtable and Cybersecurity Collaboration Conference
• Served the professional association (IIA) at the chapter, district/region, North American and Global level over ten+ years
• Featured presenter on Audit Reporting Transformation at GAM
• Board Chair for private company
• Credentials: CIA, CPA (inactive), Qualified Assessor