Cathleen Watkins
Senior Investigator
She / Her
Cathleen Watkins, a licensed private investigator, has over 25 years of experience conducting and supervising workplace investigations into allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation; campus investigations of sexual harassment and sexual assault involving both students and faculty; investigations of fraud, misuse of public funds, and whistle-blower complaints; and investigations of environmental violations. She has managed several large-scale investigative projects, such as monitoring the treatment of disabled inmates in Orange County jails.
A seasoned trainer and speaker, Watkins co-developed a training program on workplace complaints for public and private sector in-house investigators. She has developed and presented such training to both campus Title IX staff and external investigators.
Career Highlights
- Conducted Title IX investigations into sexual assault complaints at the collegiate and K-12 levels, including presenting findings to hearing officers and campus administrators.
- Developed and presented training on best investigative practices for Title IX teams working across the California State University system’s 23 campuses.
- Managed an investigative team charged with addressing customer complaints of racial bias brought against a nationwide restaurant chain.
- Interviewed nearly 100 disabled inmates housed in the Orange County jail system as part of a federal court monitoring program regarding ADA compliance.
- Conducted investigations into alleged misconduct by police officers, coroner’s investigators, and other law enforcement personnel.
- Investigated allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination brought against various college administrators, including medical-school faculty, college coaches, department chairs and vice chancellors.
Recent Presentations
- February 2024, Co-developer, “The Sum of the Parts- Investigative Report Writing,” two-day training for investigators at the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), Sacramento, California
- 2017 – 2023, Faculty, T9 Mastered. Developed and presented numerous programs on Investigative Planning, Interviewing and Writing Investigative Reports, both in-person and remotely.
- January 2020, Presenter, “Best Practices for Workplace Investigations,” to staff supervisors and department managers at UCLA.
Education & License
Private Investigator, California Department of Consumer Affairs
Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA), Advanced Investigator certificate
University of Southern California, B.A. Journalism/Public Relations
