March 24, 2026 – WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ken Dieffenbach, executive director of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), won the 2026 Newton Award for Distinguished Service from the National Grants Management Association (NGMA). He was recognized for his decades-long dedication to fraud prevention in grants management through effective leadership and collaboration and engaging educational presentations.
Dieffenbach leads the PRAC’s efforts with its 20-member federal inspectors general to support and coordinate comprehensive oversight of the pandemic response, enhance transparency on how $5 trillion in relief was spent, and use data to detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement of funds. He and his team manage a data analytics platform, provide support to over 800 investigations focused on potential fraud losses, and foster collaboration across the federal oversight community, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), tribal, state, and local and partners, and the PRAC’s board of 18 inspectors general.
Prior to his current role, Dieffenbach served as deputy assistant inspector general for investigations at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inspector General (OIG) and in various roles related to investigations and data analytics at the DOJ OIG. Dieffenbach is a widely recognized subject matter expert on internal and external fraud risks related to federal grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, conflicts of interest and other integrity issues and is a sought-after public speaker and educator.
Dieffenbach’s past recognitions include the U.S. Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, the Council of Inspectors General’s Alexander Hamilton Award, and the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division’s Exceptional Service Award. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and is certified as a Corporate Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP). Dieffenbach earned an undergraduate degree in business from the Citadel and a graduate degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“The NGMA Board of Directors is honored to recognize Ken Dieffenbach for his commitment to bringing transparency and integrity to grants management,” said Lashon Brown, NGMA President. “Through effective leadership, including clear and engaging communication and education, he continues to elevate the grants management profession. We are proud to work alongside him and are delighted to present him with the much-deserved Newton Award for Distinguished Service.”
The NGMA Newton Award recognizes outstanding service and leadership in grants management by an NGMA volunteer or partner. The winner of this award shows a commitment to the NGMA mission of cultivating a community of excellence in grants management through education, certification, integrity and professional connections, and contributes to the success of the Association’s programs. The winner of this award is selected by the NGMA Board of Directors. Dieffenbach and the winners in the other NGMA Award categories (Impact Award, Public Sector and Impact Award, Private Sector) were recognized at the 2026 Annual Grants Training (AGT) held on March 22-25, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
The National Grants Management Association (NGMA) provides education, tools and resources for grants professionals to support and maintain high levels of grants management competency and to establish standards of excellence for the profession. For more information, visit https://www.ngma.org/.