Paralyzed Veterans of America Blog

A recent report, Strengthening Democracy: A Progress Report on Federal Agency Action to Promote Access to Voting, reviewed federal agencies’ progress in meeting the goal to expand citizens’ opportunities to participate in the electoral process. On March 7, 2021, the Administration issued an Executive Order (EO) 14019 on Promoting Access to Voting. The EO directed […]

In honor of National Voter Registration Day, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced expanded opportunities for veterans who use certain VA facilities to register to vote. PVA members are honorably discharged veterans who have a spinal cord injury (SCI) or disorder. Many of them use VA medical centers for recovery, rehabilitation, and their ongoing […]

Darah Gerou has dedicated her professional career advocating for people with disabilities and Veterans. Her passion for disability advocacy, as well the fact that she was raised by not one but two Marine Corps Veterans, gave her important skills she brought to her position as the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for PVA’s Veteran Career Program. Hi […]

What led you to your current role as the Associate Director of Membership and Volunteers? What does it entail? I began working in PVA’s membership and volunteer department as a temp in 2008, when I first moved to the U.S from Canada. I was hired on permanently in 2009 as the department secretary. Since then, […]

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to check out PVA’s monthly newsletter. I’m Vance Padmore, and today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Fred Downs.Nothing in this great world has been accomplished without passion. And it’s clear that Fred Downs is passionate. After losing an arm after serving in Vietnam and beating […]

What do you do as PVA’s Senior Health Policy Advisor? I’m responsible for reviewing all matters pertaining to Veterans’ healthcare, especially Veterans suffering from spinal cord injuries and disorders, ALS and MS. I’m also responsible for keeping the organization abreast of any changes that the VA may be considering and providing input into whether they […]

Tell us about yourself. What led you to your role as the Director of Research and Education? I’ve spent my whole career working with people with spinal cord injuries, first in the area of treatment, and then case management, and then research. I came to PVA to utilize all those skills to get information about […]

Please introduce yourself and say a little bit about yourself. I’m Anthony Steele, Central Region Director with Paralyzed Veterans of America here in Alabama. am assigned to the VA Regional Office. I have been with Paralyzed Veterans of America as a service officer since September 1995. I know you’re a member of PVA yourself, so […]

What services does the legal team provide for Veterans and their families?First of all, Legal Services (or MOGC) provides multiple services to internal sources of PVA, but the Appeals Management team, which is what my team is, provides services directly to Veterans. What we do is prepare Veterans to file an appeal, and a Veteran […]

Staff interviews now available on Soundcloud! October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. What are some barriers that disabled Veterans face in employment and how does the Veterans Career Program address them? Disabilities can be a big barrier to meaningful employment. Our clients deal with a range of disabilities, from PTSD to, in the case […]