Karen E. Mayberry

Karen E. Mayberry currently serves as the Acting Chair of the Departmental Appeals Board (DAB). She was appointed as a Board Member in July 2022 and previously served as an Administrative Appeals Judge on the DAB’s Medicare Appeals Council.

As Acting Chair, Judge Mayberry leads the DAB’s three adjudicatory divisions: the Appellate Division, the Civil Remedies Division, and the Medicare Operations Division. Each division has its own areas of jurisdiction and distinct groups of Secretary-appointed judges, supported by attorneys and administrative staff. She also oversees the DAB’s broader operations and represents the DAB in interagency and external engagements. In addition, Judge Mayberry presides over the Board, which is a body of judges conducting appellate review of disputes involving HHS programs and various types of Administrative Law Judge decisions. Judge Mayberry is a full-time member of the Medicare Appeals Council, which reviews decisions concerning Medicare entitlement and requests for Medicare payments filed by healthcare providers and beneficiaries. Under authority granted by the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996, Judge Mayberry serves as the designated Dispute Resolution Specialist responsible for implementing Alternative Dispute Resolution across the Department.

Judge Mayberry’s distinguished legal and judicial career spans over 35 years, reflecting a longstanding dedication to both military and civilian service. Before joining the DAB, Judge Mayberry held several senior judicial and leadership roles. She served as an Assistant Chief Immigration Judge at the Executive Office for Immigration Review at the Department of Justice, where she oversaw court operations and supervised a cadre of judges and legal staff at two immigration courts. She retired from the U.S. Air Force with the rank of Colonel after 30 years of service, most recently holding the position of the Chief Appellate Military Judge for the U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals.

Her military legal career encompassed a broad range of assignments, including Chief Defense Counsel for the Department of Defense Military Commissions, Deputy Staff Judge Advocate and Staff Judge Advocate to several Air Force commands, Chief of Air Force Trial Defense Services, and multiple legal roles on the Joint Staff and Air Staff at the Pentagon. She also served in deployed and joint-force environments including assignments in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. She led large legal teams, managed high-stakes litigation, and provided legal counsel on national security, military justice, and international law.

Judge Mayberry holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University. She is admitted to practice law in Kansas and Texas, and before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.