Kathleen M. Styles serves as chief of Decennial Communications and Stakeholder Relations for the U.S. Census Bureau.

Styles is responsible for communications related to the 2020 Census, oversight, redistricting, and decennial budget, and has extensive experience in law, public policy, and statistical operations. 

Styles has legal experience in both private and government practice, including expertise in litigation involving the decennial census. In 2001, Styles began to work as a project manager at the Census Bureau, gaining experience with the American Community Survey and the decennial census. Prior to the 2010 Census, she was responsible for managing programs relating to communications, content, forms design, post processing, Puerto Rico and the Island areas, and translation. Because of her legal background, in 2009 Styles was asked to serve as the Chief of the Policy Coordination Office, where she focused on updating the Census Bureau’s statistical policies to reflect growing use of administrative records. 

Styles left the Census Bureau in 2011 to accept an SES position as the first-ever Chief Privacy Officer at the U.S. Department of Education where she managed enforcement and technical assistance for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as well as FOIA, Records Management, Disclosure Review and Data Policy, and Information Collection Clearance.  She rejoined the Census Bureau in 2019.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Virginia, and a law degree from the William & Mary Law School.