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 […]
Paralyzed Veterans of America Blog
Interview with Roscoe Butler, Senior Health Policy Advisor
Interview with Cheryl Vines, Director of Research and Education
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 […]
Interview with Anthony Steele, Central Region Director
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 […]
Interview with James Fischl, Senior Appellate Operations Manager
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 […]
Interview with Charles McCaffrey, Director of Veterans Career Program
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 […]
Interview with Susan Prokop, National Advocacy Director
What is your role on the Advocacy team? In my capacity, I do a lot of liaison work with the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD). I serve on a lot of CCD taskforces dealing with employment, Social Security, Veterans, and follow issues relating to those topics. I also participate in a number of […]
Interview with Fabio Villarroel, Director of Sports and Recreation
What kinds of programs does the Sports and Recreation team run? What is some current programming happening right now? The Sports and Recreation team oversee a variety of different programs, which we offer both in person and online. Some in-person activities include trap and air gun shooting, bass fishing, handcycling, bowling, billiards and more. Our […]
Celebrate Make A Will Month
William, a long-time friend of Veterans and a loyal supporter of Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). As a young man, his lifelong dream was to study at Harvard University, and that dream came true when he was accepted and enrolled in the Fall of 1941. But when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred during his […]
Interview with Joseph Badzmierowski, Director of Field Services
Did you know that PVA secures more than $1 Billion every year in disability payments for Veterans and their families? This wouldn’t be possible without the tireless work of PVA’s Veterans Benefits Department (VBD) Field Services Program. This month, we sat down with Joseph Badzmierowski, Director of Field Services for VBD. Joseph, his Associate Directors […]
Interview with Mark Lichter, Director of Architecture
What does the Architecture team do? The work the Architecture team does is very diverse. We group our work under three large categories: Accessible Design, Healthcare Architecture, and Education and Outreach. First, there’s our work in Accessible Design. We work with other architects, project managers, business owners and really anyone who is a decision-maker in […]