'Connect and Engage'

When John and I were at base camp, he would come down to my hootch after dinner, sunglasses on, carrying a samsonite briefcase. We would play loud music like Bob Seger, the Grateful Dead, and the Charlie Daniels Band and pass a bottle of Wild Turkey to deaden the pain, rarely speaking. One night, I asked John what was in the briefcase. He said ‘my brothers.’ I saw a pile of obituaries when he opened the briefcase. John was a medic and conscientious objector who served two tours in Vietnam.

I am a member of American Legion China Post 1, which supports many watering holes around the world, and I was fortunate enough to visit some of those in Europe and the Middle East during my years working for the State Department.

When I returned home, I did volunteer work at Veterans homes and hospitals. In 2008, I became a member of the MITRE Corporation team that was selected to work with the VA. For the next 17 years I worked as an individual contributor and project manager on VBA and OIT projects to help Veterans in civilian life. Those projects are listed to the right.

For 25 years I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Dr. Paul Lawrence, who served as the Undersecretary of VBA from 2016 to 2020, and who currently serves as the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. There is no greater servant leader in government.