Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security
Terrance C. Cole
Terrance C. “Terry” Cole joined the Administration with over 28 years of law enforcement experience and success, 22 years of which with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
During his tenure with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Terry advanced through the ranks, including tours in Oklahoma, New York, Texas, and Washington D.C., as well as foreign assignments in Colombia, Afghanistan, Mexico, and the Middle East. Before joining the DEA, Terry also serves as a Naval Academy Blue and Gold Officer.
Terry served as the Chief of Staff and Executive Officer at the DEA/ Department of Justice Special Operations Division, the DEA representative to the National Security Council, and Chief of Staff and Executive Officer for the DEA Chief of Global Operations. He retired from federal service as the Acting Regional Director of Mexico, Canada and Central America in 2020.
Since retirement, Terry led the Financial Threat Matrix Division and the Government Solutions Division of Aperia Solutions, Inc. (Aperia), a Dallas, Texas based software and services company that provides secure transaction processing and regulatory compliance support to the financial services sector.
Terry graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) with a B.A. in Criminal Justice and has certificates in Leadership from the University of Virginia and the University of Notre Dame Mendoza School of Business, as well as continuing education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for Artificial Intelligence and Cornell University for Cryptocurrency, Block Chain Technology, and Cryptology.
Above all, Terry is most proud and committed to being a husband and father. He has been married to Joy Cole for 29 years and they have four adult children together.