The SANDAG board of directors on Friday morning unanimously approved the appointment of Courtney Ruby as the agency’s next independent performance auditor.
A certified public accountant and fraud examiner, Ruby will replace Mary Khoshmashrab to lead the Office of the Independent Performance Auditor, which investigates potential fraud, waste and abuse identified by SANDAG staff or stakeholders.
“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.”
Khoshmashrab made headlines across the region after releasing a two-part contracts audit report for SANDAG, raising questions over the agency’s handling of hundreds of millions of dollars in on-call and sole-source contracts.
Ruby announced her resignation as the city of Oakland’s city auditor on Oct. 13 and will join SANDAG in November. During her tenure as city auditor in the East Bay, Ruby turned around a troubled agency and made it a model of accountability, transparency, and results, according to a release.
In 2008, she sponsored the Whistleblower Act, legislation to protect local government employees in California who expose 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 Gov. Gavin Newsom for the position of California State Auditor.
In April, Ruby was selected through a recruitment process initiated by the SANDAG board and Audit Committee.
Ruby has over twenty years of experience working in governmental and political organizations, including as the chief financial officer for the Association of Bay Area Governments, the State of Illinois Department of Human Rights, and East Bay Conservation Corp. She is a graduate of American University.
