Meet Ross Meglathery, New Director of VetsFirst


Ross Meglathery

About Me

As the newly minted director, I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself and discuss my vision for the direction of VetsFirst. First off, I want to let you know just how delighted I am to be working for VetsFirst and to be advocating for our United Spinal Association veterans. I would also like to recognize how fortunate I am to be working under the leadership and tutelage of Jim Weisman, who as I am sure you know, has taken the helm of United Spinal as its CEO. He has served the members of United Spinal for over 35 years, and I am appreciative that I can look to such an experienced advocate for any and all support. Additionally, I would also like to thank Joe Gaskins for his leadership. He has positioned Jim for success as CEO and I have the continued good fortune to work with Joe to fundraise in order to support future VetsFirst initiatives.

A little about myself: Upon graduation from college, I was commissioned as a Marine officer. In this capacity, I served a tour in Western Sahara, Africa, as a United Nations military observer and two combat tours in Iraq as an artillery officer and joint terminal attack controller. Upon leaving active duty, I became a national security and defense consultant where I worked supporting the federal government. While serving in the Marine Corps Reserve, I was selected to become a Congressional Marine Fellow where I worked for a member of Congress who was on the House Armed Services Committee. Following the fellowship, I went back to consulting but realized it was not my passion. Therefore, I attended graduate school and earned a master’s degree in public administration. As luck has it, VetsFirst was looking for a new director, and that is how I arrived at a job that supports my goals of serving my fellow countrymen and the veteran community.

As a combat wounded veteran, I am excited to work for an organization with an unbroken connection to the injured service members who founded it. Our paralyzed veterans demanded to have their voices heard when they came home and saw they were not afforded the same opportunities as their fellow citizens. They wanted to get back to work and reintegrate into society. It was not special treatment they sought but, rather, equal access. Great strides have been made for our disabled community. However, there is still more that can be done.

My Vision

With so many veterans service organizations out there, one may ask what makes VetsFirst special. We are different and special based on our history, our membership and the actions we take on behalf of the veteran and disabled communities.

Our history is nearly 70 years in the making, and in that time, we have led the efforts for access and reintegration for all disabled Americans. On the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is critical to recognize it would not have been possible without the post-World War II veterans’ demand for access starting 45 years prior.

It is not just our history of advocacy and the veterans who carried on that legacy where VetsFirst makes its mark. I want to continue to build upon several areas in which we are already leaders and to expand into new territory. Currently, as a Department of Veterans Affairs-recognized National Veterans Service Organization, we excel at processing veteran benefits claims and appeals. Our Ask VetsFirst website provides accurate information with a targeted response time of 72 hours. Recently, we established a pilot program with Vets101, an all-in-one veteran issues information site. This partnership builds on the success of Ask VetsFirst and helps VetsFirst plug into all issues affecting veterans.

On the advocacy front, we help shape legislation that supports veterans and disabled Americans by informing members of the executive and legislative branches about the issues affecting our community. We do so through working with government staff, the health care and veteran-related business community, and through testimony on Capitol Hill.

I want to expand VetsFirst into new areas. I want us as a community to identify innovative technologies to improve quality of life for our members. My hope is that this will be a two-way street, where VetsFirst will learn about new technology while our members inform us of their needs, so we can be more responsive to them.

In addition to identifying new technology and medical treatments, we will build relationships with industry so they partner with us in testing and evaluation. As a test bed for industry, we hope to obtain low-cost equipment for our members. Ultimately, a VetsFirst’s seal of approval will be sought as an industry standard.


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