Secretary Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette of The North Carolina Department of Military & Veterans Affairs

Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette is the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. As a third-generation service member, Jocelyn was honored to accept Governor Josh Stein’s nomination to serve in this role. As Secretary, Jocelyn leads the Department in its mission to support the military community in North Carolina, including the active duty personnel and their families, installations, and adjacent communities; and to support the State’s veterans and their families. The Department provides access to a full spectrum of resources that further enhance North Carolina’s military and veteran friendly environment—from collaborative opportunities for business development to access to healthcare.

As the daughter of Goldsboro natives, Jocelyn received her congressional nomination to the United States Air Force Academy from North Carolina Congresswoman Eva Clayton. After graduating from the Air Force Academy, Jocelyn served for ten years in the United States Air Force. First, she served as an Admissions Officer at the Air Force Academy. Then, her academic coursework in Arabic helped her secure a mission critical assignment as an intelligence officer, during which she briefed pilots in South Carolina and in Germany. Jocelyn cross-trained into the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps after graduating from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Jocelyn served as a prosecutor and general practice attorney in the JAG Corps at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. After her ten years of active-duty military service, Jocelyn started her civilian career as an attorney by clerking for the Honorable Barbara A. Jackson of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Following her clerkship, Jocelyn spent six years at the international law firm of McGuireWoods, where she represented Fortune 500 companies in complex commercial litigation. After a three-month sabbatical—which included one month of living in Mexico City with her family and homeschooling her children—Jocelyn and her husband embarked upon a new adventure. They took a leap of faith and leveraged their decades of experience in the public and private sectors to start a federal government contracting business, which her husband now owns and operates full-time.

As an active member in her community, Jocelyn currently serves as the Chair of the Advisory Board of the Southeast Raleigh YMCA. She also is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and the Junior League of Raleigh.

She is married to Harold A. Mallette, who is a licensed architect, and she is the proud mother of two hilarious and lively toddlers.