Cathy L. Milhoan is the Director of Communications for the U.S. Secret Service. In this role she is responsible for the planning, coordination and administration of the agency’s public affairs program. She is the primary spokesperson for the Secret Service and oversees a team of public affairs professionals. Mrs. Milhoan was appointed to the Senior Executive Service (SES) in April 2016.
Prior to joining the Secret Service, she was the Director of DoD Production at the Defense Media Activity (DMA), Fort Meade, Maryland. DMA is the Department of Defense's direct line of communication for news and information to U.S. forces worldwide. The agency presents news, information and entertainment on a variety of media platforms, including radio, television, internet, print media and emerging media technologies.
From 2010 to 2013, Mrs. Milhoan was the deputy assistant director of the Office of Public Affairs (OPA) at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In this position, she was responsible for OPA’s day-to-day operations and she had direct oversight of the administrative and strategic communications branches.
Mrs. Milhoan previously served at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Washington, D.C. where she served in both the Office of Public Affairs and the International Operations Division. While assigned to the National Press Office, Mrs. Milhoan handled international and national-level media inquiries and served as a senior spokesperson for the FBI on matters related to cyber crime including child exploitation and operational technology. She is an adjunct instructor at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Mrs. Milhoan designed and led the FBI’s Media Training for Executives Program and has trained law enforcement executives from around the world on media and crisis communications.
Prior to joining the FBI, Mrs. Milhoan was the Chief of Public Affairs at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. In that role, she was responsible for working several high profile events including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the media access to the Department of Defense’s Port Mortuary, and the U.S. Air Force’s first media embed to Baghdad International Airport, Iraq. Mrs. Milhoan remains a member of the military as an Air Force Reservist at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Before joining the federal government, Mrs. Milhoan was an award-winning journalist working for newspapers in Delaware and North Carolina.
Mrs. Milhoan is a graduate of Wilmington University where she earned a master’s degree in Administration of Justice – Leadership and Administration and a bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science.