Khadija E. Walker, Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s pick to become the county’s next inspector general, worked for decades in the federal government as an auditor and played a role in investigating some high-profile national crises.
If confirmed, her new role would be to root out waste, fraud and abuse in county government, primarily through conducting investigations into complaints and producing reports. Recent reports produced by Kelly Madigan, the county’s current inspector general, for instance, have focused on fraud and misuse of county resources by county employees.
The job is somewhat of a shift from a career in auditing — at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where Walker has spent much of her career, audits and evaluations “generally look at groups, processes, controls or structures,” rather than individual employees, according to the agency. This type of work differs from the agency’s investigations in that it does not deal with criminal activities.
Walker’s appointment to the IG role is subject to approval by the Baltimore County Council, which will discuss her nomination Tuesday. Here’s what to know about her career.
Walker’s most recent job
Walker was most recently a deputy assistant inspector general for audits, inspections and evaluations at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Inspector General, according to social media posts from the agency.
She was sworn in to the role on Sept. 30 and had been working on overseeing USAID’s support to Ukraine.
It’s unclear when Walker left the agency, however. President Donald Trump’s administration began dismantling USAID earlier this year, placing all direct-hire personnel, aside from leadership and those deemed mission-critical, on administrative leave at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 23.
Walker’s most recent audit report for USAID was dated March 19.
A former longtime EPA auditor
Prior to her stint at USAID, Walker was with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of the Inspector General. She began her career as an auditor for the agency in 2003, according to her LinkedIn profile, and progressed through the ranks to project manager and director roles, with a focus on audits.
While there, Walker led and conducted performance audits of national environmental program areas, focusing on drinking water, clean water, contracts and grants, county officials said in a statement Thursday.
One audit Walker worked on focused on the EPA’s response to water contamination in Flint, Michigan. The report, released in July 2018, found that the EPA region there did not manage its drinking water oversight program properly, limiting its ability to respond to the situation in Flint and delaying responses, among other issues.
Walker’s other audits and evaluations have focused on the EPA’s responses to Hurricanes Katrina and Irma, as well as the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi.
Part of Walker’s tenure at the EPA was under then-Inspector General Arthur Elkins, who served in that role from 2010 to 2018.
Elkins was also a member of Klausmeier’s five-person inspector general selection panel. The panel, assembled in June, was tasked with reviewing resumes, interviewing applicants and making recommendations to the county executive about who should be the next inspector general.
Though Elkins was not present during the panel’s first round of interviews due to scheduling conflicts, according to Klausmeier’s spokeswoman, he joined in the final three interviews of Walker, Madigan and an unknown third candidate.
Career accolades and education
Walker has received multiple awards throughout her career, according to county officials.
Her accolades include an EPA Gold Medal for her work on congressional earmarks and an EPA OIG Silver Medal for Superior Service, among other nods from the EPA and the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
Walker has a degree in global policy studies from Chatham University, according to a 2018 biography from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. She also has a master’s in international development and policy from the University of Pittsburgh.
Have a news tip? Contact Natalie Jones at najones@baltsun.com.
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