Tyler Q. Houlton is the Vice President of Public Affairs at Convergence and has worked at the intersection of public policy, media relations and politics throughout his career in a wide variety of senior level positions in the Executive Branch, on Capitol Hill and on political campaigns.
Houlton is a skilled communicator with nearly two decades of public affairs and issue advocacy experience navigating the most difficult media environments, driving strategic communications goals, leading crisis management, and shaping and defending public policy on the international stage as well as the local, state and national levels.
Houlton is nationally recognized for his successful navigation of high-profile issues in the press. At the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Houlton served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs and Press Secretary. In this capacity he was a “trusted adviser” to multiple former Secretaries of Homeland Security and successfully “managed the department’s public response during a number of high-profile security incidents, the midterm elections and hurricane season.”
After managing the Office of Public Affairs at DHS, Houlton served as DHS Deputy Chief of Staff, where he oversaw and managed the daily operations of the Office of the Secretary. Houlton also oversaw the External Affairs of the Department, including the Office of Public Affairs, the Office of Legislative Affairs, and the Office of Public Engagement. For his service to our nation, Houlton was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Department of Homeland Security’s highest honor.
Houlton previously served at the U.S. Department of State where he advised the Department on critical foreign policy issues and helped shape our nation’s response to global challenges in both foreign and domestic media markets. Prior to his service in the Trump Administration, Houlton was a Chief of Staff in the U.S. House of Representatives and a spokesman and policy advisor for the National Republican Congressional Committee. He has a Master’s Degree from Georgetown University and a B.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Highlights:
  • Served in multiple senior level roles at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including Deputy Chief of Staff, Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, and Press Secretary
  • Senior Advisor at the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, U.S. State Department
  • Chief of Staff, U.S. House of Representatives
  • Spokesman and Policy Advisor, National Republican Congressional Committee
  • Maverick PAC’s Future 40
  • Author of Presidential Politics and the Ayatollah: The Impact of the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis on the U.S. Presidential Election of 1980.