FOUNDER TO THE PROFILE
Ethics Investigator, Ingalls Shipbuilding Industries, Inc.
“I attribute my success to discipline, resilience, humility, and a willingness to continue learning. My law-enforcement career taught me perseverance, integrity, and the importance of remaining focused during difficult situations.Moving from Puerto Rico to Mississippi required me to adapt and begin again. Starting as a pipefitter taught me that no honest work is beneath anyone and that every experience can prepare us for the next opportunity. I remained patient, worked hard, and applied the investigative skills I had developed throughout my career when the opportunity arose to become an ethics investigator.I also attribute my success to my family, whose encouragement has kept me grounded and motivated. Being bilingual and understanding both Hispanic and American workplace cultures have helped me communicate with people from different backgrounds and ensure they have a fair opportunity to be heard.Ultimately, I believe my success comes from staying true to my values, treating people with respect, and being willing to start over without giving up on everything I had already learned.”
Luis Castro-Irizarry serves as an Ethics Investigator at Ingalls Shipbuilding, a Mississippi-based defense contractor. In this role, he conducts workplace investigations involving civility, harassment, discrimination, and matters that intersect with labor relations. He draws on nearly three decades of law enforcement experience, along with his expertise in investigative interviewing, evidence evaluation, credibility assessment, and bilingual communication.
Castro-Irizarry began his law enforcement career as a police officer in Puerto Rico in 1994. During his 27 years of service, he spent his final 20 years as a criminal investigator specializing in narcotics investigations. After retiring and relocating to Mississippi with his wife, he began a new chapter at Ingalls Shipbuilding as a pipefitter before advancing to his current position as an Ethics Investigator. His fluency in English and Spanish allows him to communicate effectively with employees from diverse backgrounds and helps ensure that Spanish-speaking employees can participate fully in the investigative process.
He earned an associate degree in Police Science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 1996, graduating cum laude and earning placement on the Dean’s List. His professional credentials also include law enforcement and translator certifications. He graduated with honors from the police academy and was recognized as Criminal Investigator of the Year twice—in 1998, and again in 2008. Castro-Irizarry has been an active member of the Association of Workplace Investigators since 2025.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
I attribute my success to discipline, resilience, humility, and a willingness to continue learning. My law-enforcement career taught me perseverance, integrity, and the importance of remaining focused during difficult situations.
Moving from Puerto Rico to Mississippi required me to adapt and begin again. Starting as a pipefitter taught me that no honest work is beneath anyone and that every experience can prepare us for the next opportunity. I remained patient, worked hard, and applied the investigative skills I had developed throughout my career when the opportunity arose to become an ethics investigator.
I also attribute my success to my family, whose encouragement has kept me grounded and motivated. Being bilingual and understanding both Hispanic and American workplace cultures have helped me communicate with people from different backgrounds and ensure they have a fair opportunity to be heard.
Ultimately, I believe my success comes from staying true to my values, treating people with respect, and being willing to start over without giving up on everything I had already learned.
I attribute my success to discipline, resilience, humility, and a willingness to continue learning. However, the foundation of my professional life came from the advice of my father, Luis E. Castro Sr. He taught me to always remember my values, treat people with respect, and maintain a strong work ethic. He would tell me, “If you want to do something, do it. Never let anyone tell you that you can’t.”
Those words have guided me throughout every stage of my career. They gave me the confidence to pursue a career in law enforcement, face the challenges of criminal and undercover investigations, and continue moving forward during difficult circumstances.
His advice became especially meaningful when I moved from Puerto Rico to Mississippi and had to begin again professionally. Starting as a pipefitter taught me humility and reinforced my belief that no honest work is beneath anyone. I remained patient, worked hard, and continued applying the values and investigative skills I had developed throughout my life. When the opportunity arose to become an ethics investigator, I was prepared to take that next step.
I also credit my family for keeping me grounded, motivated, and focused. Being bilingual and understanding both Hispanic and American workplace cultures have helped me communicate with people from different backgrounds and ensure that everyone has a fair opportunity to be heard.
Ultimately, I believe my success comes from honoring my father’s advice: stay true to your values, respect others, work hard, and never allow someone else to decide what you are capable of achieving.
My advice to young men entering the investigative profession is to protect their integrity above everything else. Skills can be developed through training and experience, but credibility is difficult to recover once it is lost. Be honest, remain impartial, respect confidentiality, and never allow personal opinions or outside pressure to influence your conclusions.
Learn to listen more than you speak. Do not begin an investigation believing you already know what happened. Ask thoughtful questions, separate facts from assumptions, document your work carefully, and follow the evidence wherever it leads. Treat every person with dignity, regardless of their position or role in the investigation.
I would also encourage them to remain humble and continue learning. Every assignment, including the difficult ones, provides an opportunity to improve. Seek experienced mentors, accept constructive feedback, and take the time to understand the people and working environments involved.
Most importantly, I would share the advice my father, Luis E. Castro Sr., gave me: remember your values, treat people with respect, maintain a strong work ethic, and never let anyone tell you that you cannot achieve something. Your title may open a door, but your character, preparation, and consistency will determine how far you go.
One of the biggest challenges in workplace investigations is keeping pace with how quickly the workplace is changing. Communication now takes place through text messages, social media, digital platforms, and artificial intelligence. Investigators must know how to collect and evaluate this information while determining whether it is authentic, complete, and presented in the proper context.
Another challenge is maintaining employee trust. People may hesitate to report concerns because they fear retaliation, believe nothing will change, or do not fully understand the investigative process. Investigators must remain impartial while ensuring that every person is treated respectfully and given a fair opportunity to be heard. Language and cultural differences can create additional barriers, which is one reason being bilingual has been so valuable in my work.
These challenges also create important opportunities. Technology can help investigators organize information, identify patterns, and conduct more efficient reviews, but it must support—not replace—professional judgment. Organizations also have an opportunity to strengthen workplace trust by conducting timely, consistent, and evidence-based investigations.
Ultimately, our greatest opportunity is to demonstrate that a fair investigation is more than a response to a complaint. It is a way to promote accountability, identify underlying workplace concerns, and build employee confidence in the organization’s commitment to integrity.
The values most important to me are respect, honesty, transparency, and trust. I believe respect is earned by first showing respect to others, regardless of their position, background, or circumstances. In my work as an investigator, that means listening carefully, treating everyone with dignity, and providing each person with a fair opportunity to be heard.
Honesty and transparency are equally important. An investigator’s credibility depends on being truthful, consistent, and clear about the investigative process while still protecting confidentiality. People may not always agree with the outcome, but they should have confidence that the matter was handled impartially and that the conclusion was based on the available evidence.
In my personal life, trust and respect are the foundation of strong relationships. Trust takes time to build, must be supported by actions, and can be easily damaged. Whether at work or at home, I try to live by the same principles: treat people respectfully, speak honestly, keep my word, and remain accountable for my decisions.
PERSPECTIVES
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