Governor Shapiro Appoints Attorney General Michelle Henry to Serve as Pennsylvania's State Inspector General

HARRISBURG, PA - On December 19, 2024, Governor Josh Shapiro announced the appointment of Attorney General Michelle Henry to serve as Pennsylvania’s State Inspector General, effective January 21, 2025. With decades of experience as a prosecutor and now as our Attorney General, Michelle Henry will be prepared on day one to lead the Office of State Inspector General (OSIG) and continue protecting Pennsylvanians’ taxpayer dollars.

OSIG protects the integrity of Commonwealth agencies by investigating fraud, misconduct, and abuse in executive agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction. OSIG has four bureaus including the Bureau of Inspections and Financial Integrity (BIFI), which aims to help taxpayer-funded grant programs, contracts, and procurements save money and mitigate risk, and the Bureau of Fraud Prevention and Prosecution, which works closely with the Department of Human Services (DHS) to investigation public benefit fraud and collect misused taxpayer funds.

“I’d like to thank Inspector General Miller for his service to the Commonwealth, and I’m proud to nominate Attorney General Michelle Henry to serve as Pennsylvania’s next State Inspector General,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “Michelle is an experienced prosecutor who has spent decades in public service protecting consumers’ rights, standing up for public safety and the rule of law, and fighting for people all across Pennsylvania. As our next Inspector General, I have complete confidence in her ability to hold bad actors accountable for fraud and misconduct and root out waste and abuse. I look forward to continuing to work with her to ensure state government is delivering for the good people of Pennsylvania.”

“I am honored to serve as Pennsylvania’s next Inspector General and humbled by the trust Governor Shapiro has placed in me,” said Attorney General Michelle Henry. “As Attorney General, I worked to root out fraud and protect Pennsylvanian taxpayers from deceptive practices – and as Inspector General, I will continue to hold bad actors accountable and to protect the Commonwealth from waste, fraud, and abuse. Working with Governor Shapiro, we will make sure that the Office of Inspector General always has Pennsylvanians’ backs.”

Inspector General Lucas M. Miller has resigned effective January 2, 2025. First Deputy State Inspector General Clarke Madden will serve as Interim State Inspector General between January 2 and January 21, 2025.

Read more about Michelle Henry below.

Michelle Henry

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Michelle A. Henry, a lifelong public servant and 26-year veteran prosecutor, is Pennsylvania’s Attorney General. Widely recognized for her work ethic and singular dedication to public service, Michelle rose from intern in the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office to now serve as the chief law enforcement officer for the Commonwealth.

Michelle was raised in Westmoreland County, graduated from Greensburg-Salem public schools and remains a proud Golden Lion. Her life and career have crisscrossed and impacted all of Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Allegheny College and the Widener University School of Law, worked for the Westmoreland County Legal Aid Office, and clerked for now retired Lancaster County President Judge Michael Georgelis.

Before serving as First Deputy Attorney General, Michelle dedicated over 20 years of her career to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office – taking on critical jobs including Chief of Major Crimes, Chief of Child Abuse, and First Assistant. She was appointed Bucks County District Attorney with a bipartisan vote in 2008. In Bucks County, colleagues credited her for leading by example and being first in line for the toughest cases. Michelle was admired as an excellent attorney who also pushed major initiatives – she was instrumental in helping start the county’s children’s advocacy center and took a leading role in educating junior prosecutors from across the Commonwealth. 

As First Deputy Attorney General under former Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Henry was responsible for overseeing all of the Office’s legal matters, including criminal cases to seek justice for victims, civil suits representing the Commonwealth and public protection cases fighting for the rights of Pennsylvania consumers. During her tenure as First Deputy, Henry was recognized for her tireless work safeguarding the Office’s mission to protect and serve Pennsylvanians as the legal advocate for the Commonwealth. Chief among those honors was Henry’s admittance to the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America; and the receipt of Widener University Commonwealth Law School’s 2017 Excellence in Public Service Alumni Award for her “extraordinary contributions” to public service.