Gail S. Ennis

Gail S. Ennis has been the Inspector General at Social Security Administration since January 2015. Prior to that, they served as Counsel to the Inspector General from July 2010 to January 2015. In this role, they served as the chief legal advisor and chief legal representative of the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG), which is charged with preventing and detecting fraud, waste, and abuse in SSA programs and operations. Gail supervised fifteen employees in the Office of the Counsel to the Inspector General (OCIG).

Ennis provided executive leadership and independent authoritative legal advice and counsel to the Inspector General and senior staff on a wide variety of issues, including advice on criminal law, criminal investigative procedures and techniques, the legal implications of SSA OIG’s audit work, SSA program law, labor and employment law, ethics, tort law, contract and procurement law, federal information law, appropriations law, and legislation. Gail provided executive direction over staff attorneys providing legal advice, and litigation support to Assistant United States Attorneys, and to State government counterparts in criminal and civil litigation cases. Gail was also responsible for administering the Civil Monetary Penalty Program (CMP), including the proposed imposition of penalties and assessments, and the settlement and litigation of CMP cases. Ennis exercised final responsibility for the CMP regulations and the development of operating policies and procedures for this program.

Ennis provided advice and support to OIG staff regarding personnel matters and directed, coordinated, and oversaw the litigation of OIG personnel actions before the Merit Systems Protection Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and subsequent levels of appeal. Gail also served as the first Whistleblower Protection Ombudsman for the entire agency (serving more than 65,000 employees). In addition, Ennis served as the SSA OIG’s Deputy Ethics Counselor and conducted the SSA OIG's ethics program.

Gail S. Ennis has an LLM in Law and Economics from George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School, a JD in Law from Regent University School of Law, and a B.S. in Government from Liberty University. Gail also has a certification from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan Executive Certificate in Leadership and Management and the Federal Executive Institute Leadership for a Democratic Society Certificate.

Donald E. Jefferson, Jr. - Assistant Inspector General, Benjamin S. Alpert - Deputy Inspector General report to Gail S. Ennis. They work with Florence A. Felix-Lawson - Executive Secretary, Tiffany Flick - Deputy Chief of Staff, and Oren H. McKnelly - Counselor to the Commissioner. Their manager is Kilolo Kijakazi, Commissioner.