SANDAG Board Appoints New Independent Performance Auditor

On Friday morning, the SANDAG Board of Directors unanimously approved the appointment of Courtney Ruby as the agency’s next Independent Performance Auditor.

Ruby will lead the Office of the Independent Performance Auditor (OIPA) team to ensure SANDAG is effective and efficient in its operations. The OIPA is the official body of SANDAG that investigates potential fraud, waste, and abuse identified by SANDAG staff or other stakeholders.

Ruby announced her resignation as Oakland’s City Auditor, effective October 13, and will join SANDAG as the Independent Performance Auditor on Monday, November 13.

“I am grateful for Mary Khoshmashrab's service at SANDAG, and I look forward to working with Ms. Ruby,” said SANDAG and San Diego County Supervisor Chairwoman Nora Vargas. “Ms. Ruby brings decades of experience in ensuring organizations manage their financial resources effectively and I look forward to working with her in making sure the agency is held accountable every step of the way.”

Ruby was selected through a competitive recruitment, initiated by the Board and Audit Committee in April.

“I am thrilled to be joining SANDAG as the Independent Performance Auditor. I step into this role with enthusiasm for SANDAG’s mission and ready to serve the Board in this critical oversight role,” said Ruby. “It will be my honor to work with the Audit Committee and Board to bring increased accountability and transparency to SANDAG, and as I have always done in every organization I have served, I will bring my strategic leadership style to bear — assessing critical operations, ensuring our recommendations are relevant and implemented, and guiding my new team as we dive into this important work.”

During her tenure as Oakland’s City Auditor, Ruby turned around a troubled agency and made it a model of accountability, transparency, and results. In 2008, she sponsored critical State Legislation, The Whistleblower Act, to protect local government employees in California who exposed fraud, waste, and abuse. In August 2022, Ruby was nominated as one of three candidates by the joint Legislative Audit Committee to be considered by the Governor for the position of California State Auditor.

Ruby has more than twenty years of experience working in governmental and political organizations, including Chief Financial Officer for the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), Chief Financial Officer for the State of Illinois Department of Human Rights, and Chief Financial Officer for the East Bay Conservation Corp.

Prior to becoming Oakland’s elected City Auditor, Ruby served as the Director of Administration and Facilities at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the transportation planning, financing, and coordinating agency for the Bay Area’s nine counties.

Ruby is a graduate of American University, a Certified Public Accountant, and a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Learn more about the SANDAG Office of the Independent Performance Auditor.