Sheryl Walter

Walter has worked in all three branches of the federal government for more than 25 years. She earned a B.A. at Grinnell, a J.D. from the University of Minnesota's School of Law, and an M.P.A. from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She currently serves as general counsel of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the first woman to hold this position. Prior to that she served was director of the U.S. State Department's global Office of Information Programs and Services.

She also held various positions spanning more than a decade at the U.S. Department of Justice, including as acting assistant attorney general for legislative affairs and as the first executive officer of its National Security Division, which she helped plan and establish in 2006. During her time on Capitol Hill, she worked for then-Sen. Joe Biden Jr. and the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. She co-authored "Linking Security Assistance and Human Rights" for the Lawyers Committee on Human Rights as part of its 1988 Project on Human Rights and U. S. Foreign Policy. In 2007, Walter received the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security.