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Janet St. Laurent

Deputy Director, Center for Audit Excellence

Areas of Expertise:

  • Deputy Director of the Center for Audit Excellence
  • Training and technical assistance for auditors

Ms. Janet St. Laurent is the Deputy Director of the Center for Audit Excellence. Her key responsibilities include assisting the Center Director in managing Center operations and coordinating the Center’s work on international projects.

From October 2015-January 15, 2022, Ms. Janet St. Laurent served as the Director of the Center for Audit Excellence. As Director of the Center, Ms. St. Laurent was responsible for leading the development of Center training and technical assistance services and projects; developing relationships and partnerships with domestic and international organizations with similar goals to build institutional audit capacity; recruiting and supervising Center staff; and developing and implementing sound business processes and internal controls to manage Center activities and facilitate achievement of the Center’s mission.

From January 2008 to January 2014, Ms. St. Laurent served as Managing Director of GAO’s Defense Capabilities and Management team. Her principal duties included managing GAO’s work on defense issues including force structure, readiness, logistics, infrastructure, defense budget, emerging threats, and military and civilian personnel issues. During her tenure, she led her team to achieve more than $30 billion in financial savings as a result of recommendations made to and implemented by the Department of Defense. She testified numerous times before Congressional Committees, including the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. As Managing Director, she also mentored and supported the professional development of 250 staff members by developing team-based training, serving as an Adjunct Faculty member in GAO’s Learning Center, and hiring and promoting staff.

While serving as Managing Director, Ms. St. Laurent was also appointed by the Comptroller General to co-lead GAO’s first two congressionally-mandated annual reports examining duplication, overlap, and fragmentation among federal government programs. In that capacity, she worked with numerous GAO teams and testified before the bi-partisan Presidential Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (Simpson-Bowles Commission).

Ms. St. Laurent received a Masters degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University and a Master of Science degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Ms. St. Laurent has received numerous awards at GAO including the Comptroller General Leadership Award. In 2015, she received the Distinguished Public Administration Alumni Award from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. In 2011, she was selected as a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalist in recognition of her work on national security issues. She has participated in numerous public speaking engagements, including appearances on CSPAN, Bloomberg News, and public radio.

Multimedia

Duplication and Overlap Across the Federal Government