My Nonprofit Reviews

I blew the whistle on $40 million of waste, fraud and abused during the Clinton Administration and filed a class-action over 3,000 unprocessed EEOC claims at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which remain unresolved. My case ultimately exposed professional misconduct by U.S. Attorneys and Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the John Ashcroft Justice Department and contributed to the early retirement of disgraced federal district judge Thomas Penfield Jackson.

As a result of this experience, I am a federal whistleblower and I became leading public interest advocate. Consequently, I have interacted with the National Whistleblower Center (NWC) both as an individual whistleblower and as a public advocate. Due to the complex procedural history involved in my case, I was never able to get formal assistance from NWC—and I understand the frustration of people in dire need seeking help. However, as an advocate and member of the whistleblower community, the National Whistleblower Center is an important—
if not irreplaceable— partner and resource.

Marcel Reid and I co-founded and organize the Annual Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival (www.WhsitleblowerSummit.com), which is recognized as the largest gathering of whistleblowers, on Capitol Hill. The Whistleblower Summit was recently recognized as a “Best Festival” for innovation in Arts, Film & Culture (www.festforums.com/best-of-the-fests). The National Whistleblower Day Luncheon, which is sponsored and hosted by the NWC is a highlight if not the capstone event during the summit.

We anchor the Whistleblower Summit during the week of July 30th to draw public attention to National Whistleblower Day. The National Whistleblower Center does an excellent job of seeking Senate recognition of this date every year. Likewise, the summit has successfully sought state recognition of National Whistleblower Appreciation Day by the Arkansas Legislative Assembly and most recently by the District of Columbia.

Whenever we call on the whistleblower community for support, the National Whistleblower Center has always answered our requests for assistance. A few years ago, the summit hosted, and NWC helped sponsor, a mini-summit at the Clinton Presidential Library and School of Public Service. More recently, the summit organized, and NWC helped sponsor, the first TEDx Salon on Whistleblowers and the First Amendment. (http://whistleblowersummit.com/tedx_salon_2016/)

To make a long story short, collectively the whistleblower community has accomplished some amazing feats over the last ten to fifteen years; and the National Whistleblower Center is an important community pillar and strategic ally in making this happen.

Michael McCray, co-founder
Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival