Sunday Read: Honoring Women Whistleblowers
This article highlighting the contributions of women whistleblowers and the importance of Women’s History Month was sent as part of NWC’s “Sunday Read” series. For more information like this, please join our mailing list.
March is Women’s History Month in the United States and several countries worldwide. National Whistleblower Center (NWC) celebrates the contributions of women whistleblowers and has promoted their stories throughout March.
These whistleblowers have taken extraordinary risks for decades. Women whistleblowers are formidable fraud fighters who persist despite facing whistleblower retaliation enhanced by systemic gender-based prejudices. Many of their experiences are compounded by several types of prejudice at once, with combinations that include whistleblower retaliation with gender-based, racial, disability, and nationality-based discrimination.
NWC has celebrated these courageous individuals through the years and has long championed women leaders in the whistleblower world. In this Sunday Read, we #EmbraceEquity and spotlight some of the many women who–by blowing the whistle or leading advocacy groups–protected the strength of our laws, inspired legislation, and helped level the playing field for all.
Jane Turner
Jane Turner is one of the most recognizable whistleblowers and advocates in the U.S. Turner was a highly decorated, 25-year veteran Special Agent with the FBI when she blew the whistle. She served in the most difficult investigatory positions and was the first woman named as the head of an FBI resident agency, combating crimes against women and children on North Dakota Indian Reservations.
From 1998 to 1999, Turner discovered and exposed failures to properly investigate child abuse cases at the FBI’s child crime program. In retaliation for exposing these failures, Turner was removed from the senior resident agent position. Turner challenged her retaliation in federal court, winning her case in 2007, and receiving the maximum compensatory damages permitted under Title VII, with the total exceeding $1.5 million. NWC Board Chair Stephen Kohn represented Turner as the lead trial attorney.
Her experience was the catalyst for the next phase of her career, helping to uphold integrity among public agencies and protect whistleblower rights.
She serves on the Board of Directors for Accountability at the FBI, is the director and chair of the NWC’s Whistleblower Leadership Council, and is a Member of its Board of Directors. She is the acclaimed host and writer of the Whistleblower Network News feature, “Whistleblower of the Week” and its companion podcast of the same name, which explore the realities of coming forward.
Turner is the leader of the campaign to make July 30th the permanent National Whistleblower Day in the U.S., which was launched on March 2, 2022 — at the beginning of Women’s History Month. Revered as an authority on whistleblowing and whistleblower experiences, Turner has been interviewed by worldwide news outlets like JD Supra, Rolling Stone and CNN on whistleblower stories.
“In the past 25 years, I have gone from a federal law enforcement agent to a whistleblower, then whistleblower advocate, and have seen some changes in how whistleblowers are perceived,” she recently said. “Significant change is possible, but it must come from the very top. We have made progress through grassroots efforts, but whistleblowers are still vilified and pushed to the fringe of society. Corporations and government agencies still incite fear and retaliation against those with the integrity to speak out against criminality. We must encourage a culture of celebrating those who step forward to prevent fraud.”
Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo
An MIT-PhD social scientist, Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo landed her dream job at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the 1990s, working with former Vice President Al Gore and assisting post-apartheid efforts in South Africa.
She tried to get the government to investigate allegations that a U.S. multinational corporation was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of South Africans mining vanadium — a vital strategic mineral. She ultimately found that the EPA was the first line of defense for the corporation. When the agency stonewalled, Coleman-Adebayo blew the whistle.
The EPA cost her career, endangered her family, and sacrificed more lives in South African vanadium mines — but also brought about unprecedented support from others in the federal bureaucracy who were fed up with its crushing repression.
Though she won a historic jury verdict, the EPA continued its retaliation. Undaunted, Coleman-Adebayo organized a grassroots struggle to bring protection to all federal employees facing discrimination and retribution from the government. The No FEAR Coalition that she organized waged a two-year-long battle with Congress over the need to protect whistleblowers — and won, resulting in the passage of the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002, better known as the No FEAR Act. The No FEAR Act requires “that Federal agencies be accountable for violations of antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws.”
Dr. Coleman-Adebayo chronicled her experiences in her 2011 memoir, No Fear: A Whistleblower’s Triumph Over Corruption and Retaliation at the EPA.
Linda Tripp
Linda Tripp is a former White House employee who, in the 1990s, made disclosures to the Office of Independent Counsel that President Bill Clinton had lied under oath, resulting in him being found in contempt of court and losing his law license and his impeachment.
Tripp successfully challenged the Department of Defense (DOD) when it illegally released confidential information from her security clearance file. This was an act of retaliation for her role in presidential impeachment proceedings and the DOD Office of Inspector General found the leak of information to be illegal.
In defense of her constitutional rights, Tripp’s attorneys — who included NWC Founder and Board President Michael D. Kohn — in 2003 obtained a settlement in her Privacy Act lawsuit with the federal government for $595,000 which included a retroactive promotion and retroactive pay at a higher salary. Her actions were extensively covered by major media outlets such as CNN, USA Today and Time. She also endured widespread backlash for blowing the whistle and retreated from the public eye for several years.
In light of the #MeToo movement, Tripp wanted to reframe her story. She made her first public address in 18 years as a featured speaker at the NWC’s 2018 National Whistleblower Day celebration on Capitol Hill. During her appearance, she revealed how workplace harassment and abuse of power happens even in the highest public office.
Commander Kimberly Young-McLear, Ph.D.
Commander Kimberly Young-McLear, Ph.D., exposed gross and unlawful misconduct at the Coast Guard.
In 2014, Young-McLear reported systemic abuses of power at the highest levels of the Coast Guard. As a result of her courage, integrity, and advocacy, the Coast Guard has since implemented more than 30 policy improvements to reduce and remove discriminatory prohibitions, such as those on dreadlocks and natural hair styles for Black women on active duty. Her courage also resulted in new protections for LGBTQ+ members of the Coast Guard.
Young-McLear remains on active duty in her 19th year of service. Yet in spite of her years of service to the nation and selfless advocacy against misconduct and discrimination, Young-McLear has faced retaliation for her whistleblowing, and continues to suffer from egregious psychological harm.
NWC has publicly supported Commander Young-McLear’s courageousness and in conjunction with several advocacy groups and allies, sent a letter to President Biden in January calling for him to recognize the her courageous work.
Young-McLear continues to serve with distinction now, as a Senior Advisor at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Commander Young-McLear’s service contributes to crafting CISA’s first Strategic Plan, agency-wide culture & innovation building, which will increase job opportunities for HBCU alumni and underserved communities. Furthermore, the national cyber workforce development will have a positive impact for national security and economic prosperity for decades.
Sherron Watkins
Former Enron vice president Sherron Watkins wrote a letter to then-CEO Kenneth Lay in Summer 2001 warning that the company’s methods of accounting were improper and that it “might implode in a wave of accounting scandals.” Watkins was uniquely positioned to make this assessment, having been with Enron for 10 years and previously employed by Arthur Andersen.
Watkins’ warning went unheeded and she came forward to Congress. Her brave actions exposed corporate misconduct and the scandal, paved the way for sweeping corporate reform laws. Congress passed the historic Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002, which protects employees of publicly traded companies who report violations of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations or any provision of federal law relating to fraud against the shareholders.
In recognition of her coming forward, Watkins and two other whistleblowers were named Time “Persons of the Year” in 2002. Watkins is now Professor of the Practice at Kenan Flagler at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Leadership and Ethics Advocate for her own company. Her journey through the Enron crisis has inspired many, and has crystallized her focus to improve the lot of whistleblowers and would-be whistleblowers.
Watkins has appeared at NWC’s National Whistleblower Day events, most recently in 2019. She is the Senior Fellow for Ethics and Policy for Whistleblower Network News where she recently voiced her public support for a permanent National Whistleblower Day.
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NWC fights to bolster whistleblower programs and raise awareness about the value of all whistleblowers. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit our awareness building work is made possible with the support of our generous donors. Please consider donating $50 today to help us continue to educate the public about whistleblower experiences and the role whistleblowers play in putting an end to fraud and discrimination.
This story was written by Justin Smulison, a professional writer, podcaster and event host based in New York.
