Teresa Chambers

Early life and education Chambers earned her Bachelor's Degree in law enforcement and criminology from the University of Maryland University College and earned a Master's Degree in applied behavioral science with a concentration in community development from Johns Hopkins University. She is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the FBI's National Executive Institute.

The incident has been discussed in a larger context as an example of how whistleblowers in U.S. federal agencies are silenced. As Tom Shoop wrote in Govexec.com, a business news site for U.S. federal managers and executives:

...a shoot-the-messenger attitude is beginning to prevail when it comes to [career federal service employees] challenging the conventional wisdom.

Appeal and reinstatement During the time in which Chambers awaited her federal employee appeal, she worked as the police chief of Riverdale Park, Maryland. On Tuesday, January 11, 2011 the Merit Systems Protection Board ordered the Park Police to reinstate Chambers within 20 days. The United States Department of Interior, the parent agency for the United States Park Police, was also ordered to pay her retroactively dating back to July 2004. She was granted reimbursement for legal fees. On January 21, 2011, Chambers resumed her position as Chief of the U.S. Park Police after the incumbent chief agreed to step aside. Chief Chambers retired from this post in December 2013.