Karden Kelly

Karden is a special agent with the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Office of Inspector General (OIG), where she has spent nearly 20 years dedicated to fighting fraud, waste, and abuse of government funds. She began her career at DOI OIG as a writer-editor in Washington, DC, working with both audits and investigations on report writing.  She then ventured into the field as a special agent, conducting criminal investigations involving DOI grants, contracts, and employees in the Pacific Northwest, California, and Alaska.

Since 2009, Karden has provided Fraud Awareness Briefings to DOI employees, government contractors, and tribes in Alaska and throughout the Western United States.  Karden specializes in criminal fraud and theft investigations involving tribes and tribal organizations and regularly provides training for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other Alaska Native organizations. She considers outreach to be an essential part of public service and enjoys the collaborative environment in Alaska, where she has resided since 2015.

Karden holds a bachelor’s degree in political science, and a minor in English, from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). She also earned a post-Baccalaureate degree in Criminology from Portland State University and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Boston University. She is a certified fraud examiner. Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Karden served on the Outer Continental Shelf Review Team, which received an Award for Excellence from the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency in 2011.