Eclipse Magazine - Produced by NABVETS Winter 2014 | Page 13

U.S. Department
of Veterans Affairs

Press Release

New Members Appointed to VA Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced the appointment of five new members to the Advisory Committee on
Minority Veterans. The committee was chartered on November 2, 1994, and advises the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on the needs
of the nation’s 4.7 million minority Veterans with respect to compensation, health care, rehabilitation, outreach and other benefits
and programs administered by the VA. The Committee assesses the needs of Veterans who are minority group members and
recommends program improvements designed to meet their needs. The committee members are appointed to two or three-year
terms. Minority Veterans comprise nearly 21 percent of the total Veteran population in the United States and its territories.
The new committee members are:
Patricia Jackson-Kelley: Lt. Col. (US Army-Ret) of Los Angeles, California; Served as one of the first full time Women Veteran
Program Coordinators at the Los Angeles VAMC. Currently serves as a member of the LA County Veterans Advisory Council;
Board Member of Military Women in Need Organization and LA County Council Commander of the American Legion.
Librado Rivas: Command Sgt. Maj. (USA-Ret) of Manassas, Virginia; State Commander of the DC Chapter, American GI Forum
of the United States; National Liaison Officer in Washington, DC, for the National Office of the American GI Forum, and Director
of the Army Lean Six Sigma.
Rebecca Stone: Staff Sgt. (USA-Ret) of Columbia, Maryland; served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and was medically retired under
the Wounded Warrior Program through Warrior Transition Units. She is a certified suicide negotiator/first responder. She was also
the recipient of the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE) Women of Excellence Award.
Cornell Wilson, Jr.: Maj. Gen. (USMC-Ret) of Charlotte, North Carolina; currently serves as Mi