The Inspector General Todd J. Zinser

On December 26, 2007, Todd J. Zinser was sworn in as the fifth Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Commerce. As Inspector General, Mr. Zinser leads a team of auditors, evaluators, investigators, attorneys, and administrative staff responsible for promoting economy and efficiency and detecting and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse in the vast array of business, scientific, economic, and environmental programs administered by the Department and its 13 bureaus.

Mr. Zinser's appointment as Inspector General by President Bush follows his 24-years as a career civil servant. He began as an investigator for the U.S. Department of Labor in 1983. Mr. Zinser joined the Department of Transportation in 1991, serving as special agent in charge of OIG's New York regional office of investigations, deputy assistant inspector general for investigations, and assistant inspector general for investigations. He was named deputy inspector general in 2001, with responsibility for day-to-day OIG operations and management of more than 400 auditors, investigators, and evaluators monitoring the activities funded by Transportation's roughly $60 billion budget.

Mr. Zinser has received numerous awards for superior performance and leadership throughout his career, including the Secretary of Transportation's 9-11 Medal and two Gold Medals—the first for his work with the Department's Hurricane Katrina Task Force (2006); the second for his involvement in Transportation's response to the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis (2007). Also in 2007, he was awarded the Transportation IG's Bronze Medal for superior achievement as Deputy Inspector General.

Mr. Zinser holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Northern Kentucky University and a master's degree in political science from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He has also completed the Senior Managers in Government program at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.