Anne Sprightley Ryan has been named the Inspector General for the Smithsonian Institution, effective immediately. Ryan has been the Institution’s acting Inspector General since June 2006.

The Office of the Inspector General in the Smithsonian Institution is an independent unit within the Institution, reporting directly to the Smithsonian Board of Regents and Congress. Ryan was appointed by the Board of Regents.

As set out in the Inspector General Act, the Office of the Inspector General conducts and supervises audits and investigations relating to Smithsonian programs and operations; promotes economy, efficiency and effectiveness within the Institution; prevents and detects fraud, waste and abuse in Institution programs and operations; reviews and makes recommendations regarding existing and proposed legislation and regulations relating to Smithsonian programs and operations; and keeps the Regents and the Congress fully and currently informed of problems in Institution programs and operations.

Ryan, 44, has worked in the IG’s office since October 2003. Since her arrival, she served as Counsel to the Inspector General and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations.

From 2000 to 2002, Ryan was an adjunct professor of law at the College of William & Mary School of Law. From 1995 to 2000, she was a prosecutor in the Environmental Crimes section of the Department of Justice. She was an associate with Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. in Washington, D.C., from 1991 to 1995.

Ryan received her bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1984 and her law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley in 1989.

She is a member of both the District of Columbia and California bars.