National Archives Announces New External Affairs Appointment
Press Release · Thursday, October 20, 2005

Press Release
October 20, 2005

National Archives Announces New External Affairs Appointment

Washington, D.C. . . . Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein announced today the appointment of David McMillen to the newly created position of External Affairs Liaison. Dr. McMillen will assume the position on October 30, 2005.

In making the announcement, Professor Weinstein said, "When I became Archivist I made it clear that I was going to make it a personal priority to open the doors to dialogue and collaboration with all of the organizations that share interests and relationships with the National Archives. Today I am taking an important step in ensuring that we accomplish this priority by appointing Dr. McMillen. He is a widely respected professional whose expertise spans the worlds of information policy and systems, intergovernmental relations, Presidential libraries, electronic government and regulatory review. I am confident that he will help us strengthen existing relationships and build new ones with genealogists, veterans, historians, archivists, technologists, information policy experts and others."

As External Affairs Liaison, Dr. McMillen will manage the planning and execution of a continuous program of liaison and partnering with allied professional, scientific, and technical organizations. He will be responsible for assuring that NARA mission, goals, services, and policies are clearly communicated with professional audiences and that partnering opportunities are appropriately explored and executed. He will be the full time liaison to all of our stakeholder and customer communities.

David McMillen comes to the National Archives from the professional staff of the House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform where he served as from 1995 to the present. He previously held a similar position with the corresponding Senate Committee from 1991 to 1995. He advised Members of Congress on a broad range of information policy issues including the Freedom of Information Act, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Presidential Records Act, the Privacy Act, electronic government, confidentiality of information collected by the government on individuals and businesses, and the laws governing the operation of the National Archives and Records Administration. He managed the reauthorization of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission in both the Senate and the House.

For nine years prior to joining the Legislative Branch, Dr. McMillen was a demographer and statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau. His responsibilities included serving as a liaison with members of the academic community who analyze complex household survey data.

Dr. McMillen holds BA degree in History and Literature from West Liberty State College in West Virginia, a MA in Literature and Linguistics from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Ph.D. in Applied Social Statistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has published widely in professional journals on issues relating to the census, electronic information, and privacy and data sharing. He has been an invited speaker at the Brookings Institute, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Political Science Association, the National Conference of State Legislators and the American Society of Access Professionals, among others.

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For press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs Staff at 202-501-5526.

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