Diverse News 2008®

NEWS FEEDS
New Members Appointed to VA Panel on Minority Veterans
    Peake: Members Represent 'Diversity of America'


    WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs has announced the appointment of six new members to the
Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans, an expert panel that advises him
on issues involving minority veterans.



    "These new members are veterans who represent the diversity of America
and are recognized authorities in areas pertinent to the needs of our
veterans," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake.



    Chartered on January 30, 1995, the committee makes recommendations for
administrative and legislative changes. The committee members are appointed
to one-, two-, or three-year terms.



    The new committee members include retired Army Col. Dr. Doris Browne of
Washington D.C.; Army Reserve Lt. Col. Dr. Irene M. Zoppi of Crofton, Md.;
retired Marine Master Gunnery Sgt. Furnie Lambert, Jr. of Maxton, N.C.;
retired Air Force Senior Master Sgt. John W. Jelks of Dale City, Va.;
retired Army Spc. and former POW Shoshana N. Johnson of El Paso, Texas and
Navy veteran Alexander Y. Chan of Fairfax Station, Va.



    There are approximately 4.7 million minority veterans in the United
States and its territories. They make up nearly 19 percent of the total
veteran population.





    VA has minority veterans program coordinators at each VA medical
center, regional office and national cemetery to assist minority veterans
with health and benefits issues.



    A list of the full membership of VA's Advisory Committee on Minority
Veterans is attached.



    Membership

    VA Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans



    -- Diego E. Hernandez, Puerto Rican, Miami, Fla., a retired Navy vice
admiral, currently is an active consultant to private and public companies.

    -- James H. Mukoyama, Jr. (Chair), Japanese American, Glenview, Ill. A
retired Army Reserve major general, currently the executive vice president
and chief operating officer of Regal Discount Securities in Chicago.

    -- Julia J. Cleckley, African American, Washington, DC. A retired Army
brigadier general, currently is the director of armed forces education with
the University Alliance.

    -- Dr. Doris Browne, African American, Washington, DC. A retired Army
colonel, currently the senior scientific officer of the Breast and
Gynecologic Cancer Research Group, Division of Cancer Prevention, National
Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.

    -- Reginald Malebranche, Haitian American, Alexandria, Va. A retired
Army colonel with over thirty-five years of expertise in policy, planning
and program management.

    -- Kerwin E. Miller, African American, Washington, DC. A retired Navy
commander, currently serves as the first director of the newly-established
District of Columbia office of veterans affairs, within the executive
office of the mayor.

    -- Joe C. Nunez, Mexican American, Littleton, Colo. A retired Air Force
lieutenant colonel, currently works for the Department of Health and Human
Services as a Regional Director.

    -- Dr. Irene M. Zoppi, Hispanic American, Crofton, Md. An Army Reserve
lieutenant colonel, currently an adjunct professor at the College of Notre
Dame, Strayer University, and the Command General Staff College.

    -- Furnie Lambert, Jr., American Indian of the Lumbee Tribe, Maxton,
N.C. A retired Marine master gunnery sergeant, currently serves as the
chairman of Veterans Affairs Committee for the Lumbee Tribe of North
Carolina.



    -- John W. Jelks, African American, Dale City, Va. A retired Air Force
senior master sergeant, currently the coordinator for National Geospatial
Intelligence Agency.

    -- Debra L. Wilson, Lakota Sioux, Tahlequah, Okla. A former Marine
Corps staff sergeant, currently works as a compliance officer for the
Cherokee Nation gaming commission.

    -- Nelson N. Angapak, Sr., Alaskan Native, Anchorage, Ala. An Army
veteran, currently is the executive vice president of the Alaska Federation
of Natives.

    -- Shoshana N. Johnson, Black Hispanic American, El Paso, Texas. A
retired Army specialist who is the first black female POW in the U.S.
history and currently conducts speaking engagements across the country
discussing her experience as a POW in Iraq.

    -- Alexander Y. Chan, Asian American, Fairfax Station, Va. A Navy
veteran, currently a senior enforcement officer and certified internal
auditor in the Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau.

    -- James T. McLawhorn, Jr., African American, Columbia, S.C. Currently
the president and chief executive officer of the Columbia Urban League in
South Carolina.



    For the latest news releases and other information, visit VA on the
Internet at http://www.va.gov/opa.



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