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James W. Stewart, III has worked in the publicly funded mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse service system for over 30 years. He was first appointed as Inspector General for Mental Health, Mental Retardation & Substance Abuse Services by Governor Mark Warner in 2004 and most recently by Governor Tim Kaine in 2007.

Jim Stewart served as mental health director (1977 - 1981) and executive director (1981 - 2004) of the Henrico Area Mental Health & Retardation Services Board, one of Virginia’s 40 Community Services Boards. Throughout these years he worked actively at state, federal, and local levels to help shape policies, regulations and funding initiatives with the goal of enhancing services for individuals with mental illness, mental retardation and substance abuse problems. With a personal interest in organizational development and change, he has assisted many public and private organizations in performance improvement. Prior to coming to Virginia, Jim worked as outpatient center director and clinician in a local community mental health center and as social worker in a state hospital in Tennessee. He was an officer in the United States Navy, stationed in Norfolk, VA. Jim received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Tennessee.

Cathy L. Hill was appointed to the position of Director of Inspections for the Office of the Inspector General in 1999. She entered the position with twenty years experience in both the public and private mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse delivery system in Virginia. From 1995 until her appointment, Cathy was the Emergency Services Supervisor and Intake Coordinator at Valley Community Services Board in Staunton. In this position she supervised a twenty-four hour crisis intervention team that provided prescreening for hospitalization, brief treatment and intake for outpatient mental health and substance abuse services.  

She was employed in the Office of Licensure for the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services as a licensure specialist from 1988 to 1995. In addition, Cathy was a clinical social worker for the Virginia Department of Corrections for three years (1985-1988) and served as a Clinical Social Worker at David C. Wilson Psychiatric Hospital in Charlottesville for five years (1980-1985). 

Cathy received her Master’s Degree in Community Education Counseling at James Madison University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a nationally certified hypnotherapist.

John J. Pezzoli was appointed to the position of Senior Inspector/Project Manager with the Office of the Inspector General in April 2005.  Prior to this, John served for almost thirty years in a variety of positions at the Region Ten Community Services Board, one of Virginia’s 40 community services boards, serving Charlottesville and the counties surrounding it.  Beginning in 1975 as Director of Mental Retardation, John later moved on to supervise all of Region Ten’s mental health and substance abuse services, finally serving as Director of Mental Health Services.  During this period John served as the statewide chairman of both the Mental Health Council and the Mental Retardation Council of the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards, and in various leadership positions in mental retardation and mental health advocacy and professional associations at state, regional, and national levels. 

John has specialized in program evaluation and research, including post-graduate training at the University of Virginia.  He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Texas at Austin.  He served on the school board for the city of Charlottesville for nine years, including three as chairman.  Prior to coming to Virginia, John worked for the Austin and Texas Associations for Retarded Citizens.   John served in the United States Army Reserves.

Patricia A. Pettie was appointed to the Office of the Inspector General in 2007 and serves as Research Associate/Administrative Coordinator. Prior to this, Patricia was employed by TrailBlazer Health Enterprises, LLC, a federal Medicare Part B contractor, for over thirty years.

During her time with Medicare she gained a broad range of experience in business and healthcare operations. Patricia worked extensively with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as well as with the Medicare beneficiary and provider community. Most recently, Patricia held a position in project management, overseeing various short and long term projects. Her background also includes administrative and facilities management, records retention, system security and business continuity planning.

Patricia attended the University of Virginia at Wise, majoring in biology.