Kathryn Coulter Mitchell

Kathryn Coulter Mitchell is the Chief of Staff for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). As the Chief of Staff, she is responsible for the planning, allocation of resources, and development of long-range objectives in support of the department's goals and milestones; she provides strategic vision, guidance, and direction to ensure CISA's Director is prepared to interdict or respond to threats to the homeland.

Prior to her role at CISA, Kathryn served as the Deputy Under Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) where she oversaw the operational and organizational needs of the $1 billion, 500-career-employee Directorate. She guided the creation of a DHS strategic vision and roadmap for research and development (R&D), the reestablishment of Integrated Product Teams to prioritize and manage DHS R&D investments, and the crafting of strategies for organizational effectiveness. She previously served S&T as the Acting Under Secretary as well as the Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Senior Communications Adviser for the Under Secretary and Deputy Under Secretary.

Prior to supporting the government, Kathryn was a senior-level public affairs specialist at a top Washington, D.C. public relations firm. She also served as the Director of Policy for an association of over 350 federal contracting companies. Kathryn also spent five years on Capitol Hill leading legislative efforts in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

Kathryn holds a master’s degree in Communications from Johns Hopkins University, a bachelor’s Degree from the University of Maryland at College Park, and a professional certification in Executive Coaching from the University of Cambridge, UK.