Kevin H. Winters
Inspector General
Mr. Winters became the Inspector General of Amtrak on January 31, 2019. Amtrak's Office of Inspector General (OIG) provides nationwide independent and objective oversight of Amtrak’s programs and operations. The OIG’s oversight landscape—through audits and investigations—primarily includes a nationwide rail network, employing over 22,000, and serving more than 500 destinations in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 Canadian provinces, on more than 21,400 miles of routes, carrying over 34.4 million passengers in fiscal year 2025. In addition, his team provides targeted oversight over an unprecedented multi-billion-dollar capital projects portfolio as well as major rolling stock acquisitions such as NextGen Acela. Approximately 500 capital projects are ongoing, to include the replacement of the Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel in Baltimore, the Chicago Hub Improvement Program, Seattle’s railyard upgrades, and Amtrak’s participation in the Gateway Program, which includes the Hudson Tunnel. Mr. Winters is also responsible for the oversight of Amtrak’s independent public accountant to ensure they conduct their annual consolidated financial statement audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Previously, Mr. Winters served as a senior executive with NASA OIG from 2005 through 2015. As NASA’s Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, his staff of special agents, investigative auditors, and computer forensic examiners focused on allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse affecting NASA’s programs. In coordination with the Department of Justice, his staff recovered more than $650 million in civil and criminal fraud-related penalties, and his Computer Crimes Division spearheaded many successful investigations into international computer intrusions affecting NASA, which resulted in holding cyber criminals accountable in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Before joining the OIG community, Mr. Winters served in the United States Marine Corps, retiring as a Brigadier General. His initial service was as an armor officer with the Second Marine Division, and then as a Marine judge advocate after attending law school through the Funded Law Education Program. Subsequent domestic and overseas assignments included duties as a prosecutor and defense counsel; a faculty member at the US Army’s JAG School in Charlottesville; a battalion commander at Parris Island Recruit Depot; and as a senior uniformed legal advisor to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, where his office was also responsible for providing legal support to over 172,000 Marines and their families. As an adjunct faculty member for the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies, Mr. Winters led instruction teams in the rule of law and civilian control of the military for senior civilian and military officials in the Republic of the Congo, Czech Republic, Philippines, Estonia, and the Republic of Ghana.
His final Marine Corps assignment was as an Assistant Judge Advocate General of the Navy, where, among other duties, he was a principal advisor for military justice policy for the Department of the Navy. He was also in the Pentagon on 9/11 and later served in Iraq.
Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Mr. Winters has a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Louisville and a Master of Laws from the University of Virginia.