Originally published: 2025-01-21T18:00:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, today, announced several Trump Administration political appointees.
Chris Syrek will serve as chief of staff. Syrek rejoins VA after serving as deputy chief of staff during the first Trump Administration. In this role, he oversaw significant reforms, including the successful implementation of the VA MISSION Act, the implementation of the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act and a historic reduction in the backlog of disability and compensation claims.
Cheryl Mason will serve as senior advisor to the secretary. Mason rejoins VA after serving as chair of the Board of Veterans Appeals during the first Trump Administration. In this role she implemented technology and change management strategies, achieving a 95% increase in decision output and a 92% quality measure. She also played a crucial role in reducing the backlog of legacy appeals from 472,000 to 96,000 cases, an 80% decrease over five years. Mason is also a military spouse and published author.
Lynda Davis will serve as the chief officer with VA’s Veterans Experience Office. She previously served in this role during the first Trump Administration. In that role, she led the team that hardwired VA’s Customer Experience framework, increased Veteran’s trust, implemented department-wide VSignals surveys for real-time customer feedback, launched the White House VA Hotline and published the CX Cookbook, which has become a whole-of-government model for government application of CX.
Karen Brazell will serve as senior advisor to the secretary. She returns to VA after previously serving in the Office of Enterprise Integration and as principal executive director and chief acquisition officer for VA’s Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction during the first Trump Administration. In the latter role, she oversaw acquisition processes, contract administration and supply chain management, managing a budget over $30 billion and supervising more than 1,700 employees.
Curt Cashour will serve as senior advisor to the secretary. He returns to VA after serving as press secretary and later deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs in the first Trump Administration. In the latter role, he led all of VA’s major communication initiatives, including media relations, internal communications, and public outreach. Previously, Cashour served as communications director for the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, where he spearheaded communication efforts that helped lead to the passage of landmark VA reform legislation, the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act. Cashour is an Iraq War Veteran and Bronze Star Medal recipient.
Lavin Gartland will serve as senior advisor to the secretary and VA White House liaison. With extensive expertise in government affairs, political strategy, fundraising, and public relations, she focuses on health care, education, technology, transportation, and organizational effectiveness. Her achievements include advising states on the allocation of over $100 million in federal COVID-19 funding, supporting those most impacted by the pandemic, and raising more than $10 million for clients, including local, state, and federal entities, political action committees, and organizations across Georgia and nationally.
Danielle Runyan will serve as senior advisor to the Office of General Counsel. She comes to VA from the First Liberty Institute in Texas where she held the position of chair for both the Military Practice Group and the Public Arena Practice Group, as well as serving as senior counsel. In this capacity, she advanced both class-action and individual religious liberty litigation within federal and state courts.
John Bartrum will serve as senior advisor to the secretary for management. He joins VA from Brightstar Innovations Group, where he held the position of chief executive officer. In this capacity, he provided strategic counsel and delivered public presentations on matters pertaining to public policy, health care, government finance, defense, and leadership to clients in both the public and private sectors. Additionally, he was accountable for the overall leadership, strategic vision and daily operations of the organization.
Morgan Ackley will serve as director of Media Affairs for the Office of Public Affairs. She previously served as communications director for the Georgia Senate Republican Caucus, where she developed social media and communications strategies, managed platforms, and crafted press materials for the state senators. In August 2024, she became the Georgia communications director for the Donald Trump for President Campaign, focusing on building relationships with journalists and organizing media events to promote President Trump’s agenda.
Today’s VA announcements follow a Jan. 20 White House announcement naming Todd Hunter as acting secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.
