The 2005 Wayne Law graduate is counsel to the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service Office of Inspector General (CNCS-OIG). This is the federal agency that engages Americans in service and volunteerism in the United States through its grant-making efforts and is home to programs like AmeriCorps.
Each federal agency’s office of inspector general is responsible for preventing and detecting fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement in the agency’s programs and operations, and Ravas is involved in almost every aspect of that work.
The 2005 Wayne Law graduate is counsel to the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service Office of Inspector General (CNCS-OIG). This is the federal agency that engages Americans in service and volunteerism in the United States through its grant-making efforts and is home to programs like AmeriCorps.
Each federal agency’s office of inspector general is responsible for preventing and detecting fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement in the agency’s programs and operations, and Ravas is involved in almost every aspect of that work.
“The CNCS awards over $750 million in federal grants to improve lives and strengthen communities through volunteerism,” Ravas said. “That is a lot of money going to grantees and subgrantees in communities across the country for community service. Even though the purpose of CNCS’s grant funding is noble, there are organizations and individuals who are not good stewards of our federal funds.”
Ravas always knew he wanted to work for the federal government, but it was just a matter of when and where he should go.
“I grew up understanding the value of government services. Both of my parents retired as federal government employees, and my younger brother currently has over two decades of federal service,” Ravas said. “My father [Theodore Ravas ’68] worked as an attorney for three different government agencies over his career, including enforcing desegregation laws in various school districts in the southern United States.
“The federal government also brought my parents together,” he continued. “My mother and father met while working at the same federal agency. They took pride in their jobs and instilled in me a responsibility to give back.”
Attending law school wasn’t always on Ravas’ radar, though. As a child, he told himself he didn’t want to be an attorney and chose to pave his own path.
After earning a psychology degree from James Madison University, Ravas entered the workforce and found himself “gravitating toward the legal” aspects of his job. During this time, he says he allowed himself to focus on “professional self-reflection” and eventually knew law school was his next step.
Ravas felt a pull toward Wayne Law since both his father and aunt, Andrea Ravas ’82, were alumni and he had extended family in metro Detroit. He said he was very impressed with the Law School on his initial tour.
“The school was financially appealing, even for an out-of-state student, and I was intrigued by its Midtown location and the legal pipeline to the local firms, county and federal courts, and large businesses,” Ravas said.
“On the first day of Law School orientation, when Legal Writing Instructor Amy Neville taught to my section how to IRAC, I knew that law school was where I wanted to be,” Ravas added.
After commencement, Ravas clerked for the Hon. Paul D. Borman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan for two years. In 2007, he landed a job as an associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP that brought him back to his home of Washington, D.C.
Ravas worked for Cadwalader for eight years and was a member of the firm’s White Collar Compliance Group. He worked with foreign and domestic clients on a wide array of legal and compliance issues ranging from criminal investigations and prosecutions to civil litigation and enforcement actions.
“At the law firm, I saw a number of colleagues who burned themselves out and were generally unhappy campers,” Ravas said. “That observation and others like it led me to this conclusion: Find something you love to do and commit to it, but remember that personal growth is just as important as professional growth.”
This mindset led Ravas to start a rewarding career within the federal government. He also had a growing family, so he knew it was the perfect time to make the transition.
In 2015, he joined the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General and spent time as a detailee with the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia as a special assistant U.S. attorney. He then went on to work at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General before joining CNCS-OIG in the fall of 2019.
Ravas believes the best part of his job as the primary legal advisor for CNCS-OIG is working with exceptional individuals who care about the organization’s mission.
“The OIG’s mission is special: In addition to detecting and deterring fraud, waste and abuse, we are tasked with promoting economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the administration of our agency’s programs and operations,” Ravas said. “The work we do protects public funds and helps the agency identify better ways to care for those funds.
“I am on the front lines of oversight and accountability,” he continued, “and at the end of the day, I am proud of CNCS-OIG’s work.”
