Mary Oates Walker was appointed Acting Chief Administrative Law Judge on January 1, 2010.  Prior to her appointment she was a partner in the Washington, DC law firm Wiley Rein & Fielding, LLP and in-house labor and employment counsel for The Hershey Company.  Judge Walker is a former Chair of the District of Columbia Public Employee Relations Board and a former member of the District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment.

Judge Walker is a graduate of Howard University School of Law where she was a Merit Fellow and Co-Captain of the National Moot Court Team.  She also received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, Cum Laude, from Howard University.