Kathryn Coulter Mitchell named new CISA Chief of Staff

Kathryn Coulter Mitchell has been named the new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Chief of Staff, replacing Kiersten Todt, who will return to the private sector.

“I’m really excited to have Kathryn join our team at CISA,” CISA Director Jen Easterly said. “She brings the perfect combination of experience and expertise to the job, and I look forward to working with her as CISA grows and matures as an agency.”

Coulter Mitchell presently serves as Deputy Under Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). In her new role, she will be responsible for supporting the planning, allocation of resources, and implementation of the CISA’s Strategic Plan.

“I’m thrilled to be joining CISA at this critical time for the agency and can’t wait to get to work,” Coulter Mitchell said. “I thank Director Easterly for the opportunity and look forward to working with the entire team as we lead the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to our cyber and physical infrastructure.

Easterly said Todt helped to transform CISA into America’s cyber defense agency and spearheaded a number of agency priorities that include collaboration with industry; corporate cyber responsibility; the stand up of our Cybersecurity Advisory Committee; and the co-creation of our People First culture.

“All of us at CISA are grateful to Kiersten for her tireless work over the past 22 months and look forward to her continued engagement with CISA as we execute our agency’s critical mission,” Easterly said.