I am currently retired from the federal government; 35 years of service. I serviced with the Department of Defense for 22 years to include 3 years of active duty with the US Army from February 1984 to February 1987 as an Administrative Specialist and Postal Service Clerk. I serviced 13 years with the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). I began my federal career with VA in May 2007, as a Veterans Service Representative (VSR) with the Waco Regional Office in Waco Texas.
During which, I processed claims in both Pre and Post Determinations Teams and the Appeals section. At that time, I was awarded the opportunity to work on the Prisoners of War (POW) team. From October 2010 to December 2013, I was promoted to a Rating Veterans Service Representative (RVSR). I rated both regular and appeal claims. From December 2013 to January 2017, I was assigned as the Assistant Coach, for the Pre- Discharged and Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), based on Fort Hood, Texas. There I assisted active-duty service members, National Guard, Reservist, and Coast Guard members with their initial VA disability claims and the counseled them on the benefits that VA award to Veteran’s and their surviving families.
In 2017, I was assigned to the Policy and Procedure Staff of Compensation Service at the Veterans Benefits Administration Central Office in Washington, DC. There I served as a Program and Management Analyst; Some of my duties included being assigned as the Designated Federal Officer for the Advisory Committee (DFO) that advises the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on VA programs and benefits. As the lead analyst for the Language Change Control Board (LCCB), I facilitated and assisted with various work groups such as the Claims Counsel under the guidance of the Director of Compensation Services, and Letters to Veterans (L2V) under the guidance of the Duty Secretary of Veterans Affairs – a program designed to improve the communication between VA and Veterans with aspect to their benefit letters.
