Mr. Milam represented the United States as Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan from August 1998 to July 2001. Ambassador Milam served as U.S. Chief of Mission in Liberia from November 1995 to August 1998. He was designated as Chief of Mission instead of Ambassador because the U.S. Government did not recognize the interim government in Liberia. From November 1993 to September 1995, he was U.S. Special Negotiator for Environmental and Scientific Affairs at the Department of State. He was U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh from August 1990 to October 1993. He retired in July 2001, but was called back after 9/11 to help set up the economic reconstruction program for Afghanistan. He served as Charge of the US Embassy in Bujumbura, Burundi in July and August of 2002. In 2003, Ambassador Milam joined the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC as a Senior Policy Scholar.

From September 1985 to August 1990, prior to his appointment to Bangladesh, Ambassador Milam was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Finance and Development with responsibility for international finance and development issues, including debt and investment, as well as intellectual property protection. He served as Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon from September 1983 to August 1985. He was Director of the Office of Monetary Affairs in the Economic and Business Bureau of the State Department from July 1980 to August 1983. In his earlier career, he served as a Junior Officer in the U.S. Consulate in Martinique, French West Indies; an Economic Officer in a previous tour in the U.S. Embassy in Liberia; as a Financial Economist seconded to the U.S. Treasury in the U.S. Embassy in London, and in Washington assignments in the Bureau of African affairs, and as a Financial Economist and a Energy Economist in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.

From the Department of State, Ambassador Milam received the James Clement Dunn Award, as the outstanding Class I officer (1981) and a Superior Honor Award (1983). He received a Presidential Meritorious Service Award (1990) and a Presidential Award for Outstanding Service (1991).

Born in Arizona, Ambassador Milam grew up in Sacramento, California, but since retirement has made his home in Washington DC. He received an A.B. from Stanford University and an M.A. in economics from the University of Michigan