State Auditor Dianne Ray
Around the Capitol, Dianne Ray has a reputation for hard work and straight talk in delivering bad news to public agencies that could be better work and potentially save taxpayers’ money. Nonetheless, she’s amazingly well-liked by the people in government who are often on the business end of audits that don’t always show their work in a favorable light.That shows credibility and respect.
Friday night the state auditor will be honored as Colorado’s top public administrator by the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs at a banquet at the University Club. The Leo Riethmayer Award,
“I’m honored to be selected for this award and have our work at the OSA recognized,” Ray said Thursday.
Ray has been a member of the state auditor’s staff since 2002 and was appointed state auditor in 2011. She had been the director of the office’s Local Government Audit Division and deputy state auditor for financial audits before taking the top job.
Ray is a native of Phoenix with a degree in accounting from Arizona State and a master’s in public administration from the University of Colorado. She has been a Coloradan since 1994, and before joining the state auditor’s office she was the director of finance and administration for the city of Louisville.
She won the National State Auditors Association’s Excellence in Accountability Award in 2014, the National Legislative Program Evaluation Society’s Excellence in Evaluation Award in 2013, and the National Legislative Program Evaluation Society’s Certificate of Impact Award in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. She also was chosen as one of three “Women to watch” in the Experienced Leader category in 2012 by the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
In June she’ll be installed as president of the National State Auditors Association.
