Administrative Law Judges

• Joan W. Wilson, Chief

  Bio Forthcoming.
• Cheryl Mandala, Deputy Chief

  Cheryl Mandala is the Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge, and manages OAH's Anchorage office. Prior to joining OAH in 2015, ALJ Mandala was an Assistant Attorney General in the Torts Section of the Department of Law. She also spent seven years in private law practice, where she handled a variety of employment, tort, and administrative matters at the trial and appellate level for clients throughout Alaska. ALJ Mandala graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Macalester College, holds a master's degree in Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota, and graduated Order of the Coif from Stanford Law School. She served as a law clerk for Alaska Supreme Court Justice Alexander O. Bryner.
• Beth Goldstein

  ALJ Goldstein joined OAH’s Anchorage office in October 2024. Prior to joining OAH ALJ Goldstein was a Deputy Director and Supervising Attorney at the Alaska Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) and spent 18 years with OPA in many roles. Prior to coming to Alaska, ALJ Goldstein served as Sr. Licensing Counsel for NCR Corporation, an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Ohio, and Patent Counsel for Procter & Gamble. She holds a JD from Franklin Pierce School of Law, University of New Hampshire and a BS in Genetic Engineering from Cedar Crest College.
• Christopher M. Kennedy

  ALJ Kennedy joined OAH in 2005 and was OAH's first Deputy Chief, a role he filled for fourteen years. He now serves as one of OAH's Tax-Qualified ALJs. Prior to joining OAH, ALJ Kennedy was a Senior Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Law. In his 11 years the Department of Law, ALJ Kennedy worked in the Environmental, Torts, and Oil, Gas & Mining Sections. He previously served as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge James A. von der Heydt, and spent five years in private practice, where he handled energy, procurement, and utilities litigation; corporate restructuring; and commercial transactions. ALJ Kennedy is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University and a graduate of Berkeley Law, where he was an S.K. Yee Scholar and served on the California Law Review.
• Danika B. Swanson

  ALJ Swanson joined OAH's Anchorage office in 2019. She has previously represented public agencies, served as a public defender, and served as a Magistrate Judge. Judge Swanson was a law clerk for Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton. She holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and earned her JD from the New England School of Law, where she held a merit scholarship, served as president of the Public Interest Law Association, and served as Executive Managing Literary Editor for the Journal of Criminal and Civil Confinement.
• Eric M. Salinger

  ALJ Salinger joined OAH’s Anchorage office in 2023. He has previously served as a public defender, a Medical-Legal Partnership attorney, and most recently as the Director of the Employment Law Project at Alaska Legal Services. He holds a BA from DePaul University and earned his JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he held a merit scholarship and was on the mock trial team.
• Max D. Garner

  ALJ Garner joined OAH’s Anchorage office in 2023. His legal career began with 8 years of service as an assistant district attorney in the communities of Kotzebue and Palmer before spending 18 years in private practice where he represented Alaska contractors, design professionals and local governments in construction disputes. He also handled a variety of other administrative and litigation matters including property tax and assessment disputes, public procurement matters, tort claim defense, and complex commercial litigation. ALJ Garner then returned to state service where he spent 6 years with the Department of Law’s Civil Division where he served as a Senior Assistant Attorney General, and later as Section Chief, with the Transportation Section. ALJ Garner obtained his bachelor’s degree from Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO, before graduating with honors from the University of Denver College of Law.
• Rebecca D. Kruse

  ALJ Kruse joined the Anchorage office in 2021 and is one of OAH’s Tax-Qualified ALJs. Prior to joining OAH, ALJ Kruse was associate general counsel with an Alaska Native Corporation. Before that, she served the State for more than a decade as a Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Oil, Gas, and Mining Section of the Department of Law and as Unit Section Chief with the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas. Prior to State service, ALJ Kruse spent eight years in private practice litigating complex commercial matters. ALJ Kruse earned her J.D. from University of California Berkeley School of Law, M.A. from Emerson College, and B.S.S. from Cornell College.

About OAH

Created by statute in 2004, the Office of Administrative Hearings is Alaska's independent hearing panel for most types of executive branch agency administrative hearings, as well as hearings on decisions by other governmental bodies. OAH handles more than 85 different types of cases, with disputes ranging in value from $40 to $800 million, and with roughly 1,500 new cases filed annually. (Past decisions are browsable by case type under the Decisions tab, above).

OAH's administrative law judges conduct prehearing and hearing proceedings to hear and resolve disputes. The nature and scope of these proceedings vary by case type. In most types of cases, the OAH judge prepares a proposed decision for the final executive branch decisionmaker, such as a commissioner, board, or commission. In some other cases, OAH functions as the final administrative decisionmaker. In either instance, the end product is a final agency decision that can be appealed to Superior Court.

Whether adjudicating public benefits disputes for self-represented litigants or multimillion-dollar business disputes, OAH strives to deliver high-quality adjudication services that ensure fair hearings conducted in a timely, efficient, and cost-effective manner.

Introduction to the Hearing Process

A hearing before OAH begins with a hearing request to the agency whose decision is being challenged. That agency then sends a case referral to OAH.

Once OAH receives the hearing request from the referring agency, the parties receive a Notice of Assignment, identifying the administrative law judge assigned to hear the case, as well as the specific statutes and/or regulations that govern the proceeding. OAH staff will also send you a notice scheduling either the hearing itself, or a case planning conference, depending on the type of case.

Certain types of cases - generally, cases concerning Medicaid eligibility and benefits - may be automatically eligible to participate in OAH's optional prehearing mediation process, to see whether the dispute can be resolved without a hearing. In those cases, the parties will also receive a notice of mediation session. In other cases, mediation may be available if requested by both parties.

Parties with questions about procedures or scheduling can contact OAH staff at (907) 269-8170 or by email at doa.oah@alaska.gov.

Statutes and Regulations

• OAH's Statute (AS 44.64)
• OAH's Regulations:
  • Article 1, Code of Hearing Officer Conduct
  • Articles 2 and 3, Hearing Procedures and General Provisions
• DHSS hearing regulations for fast-track hearings:
  • 7 AAC 45.585 (Administrative Disqualification Hearings)
  • 7 AAC 49.010 - 49.900 (Fair Hearings regulations)