WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed Veterans) is pleased to announce Sherman Gillums, Jr. as the Acting Executive Director of Paralyzed Veterans of America, effective January 11, 2016. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Gillums has held a number of positions within the organization, most recently deputy executive director, where he has worked to elevate the organization's public profile and develop impact-driven and innovative approaches to serving veterans, dependents, survivors and caregivers through Paralyzed Veterans' core programs.
"I owe my predecessor, former Executive Director Homer Townsend, Jr., a debt of gratitude for his mentorship and dedicated service to Paralyzed Veterans of America," said Gillums. "He has established a foundation upon which I hope to build as we continue our mission of positively impacting the lives of veterans, their families, and caregivers. This year, as our country prepares to elect new leaders and the Department of Veterans Affairs continues its evolution, we will ensure the voices of those with the greatest needs are heard loud and clear."
Gillums began his military career in 1990 at the age of 17, retiring at the rank of Chief Warrant Officer-2 in 2002. During his career, he served as a Marine drill instructor and helped pioneer the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program at the Marine Corps' largest West Coast base. Four months after the September 11, 2001 attacks, while preparing to deploy to Afghanistan with the 1st Marine Division, Gillums was severely injured in a vehicle collision where he sustained a cervical spine injury that ended his military career at age 29. Gillums received an honorable discharge from military service and went on to pursue a new career in advocacy for veterans with disabilities.
After his discharge from the military and following a period of intense rehabilitation, Gillums completed his graduate studies at the University of San Diego School of Business Administration and began a new career with Paralyzed Veterans as a national service officer in San Diego, CA. There, he developed Department of Veterans Affairs benefits claims and clinical appeals for veterans and families in the area. He later became involved with the local Paralyzed Veterans chapter and went on to become chapter president. He also served on Paralyzed Veterans’ National Field Advisory Committee, which focuses on monitoring and improving health care for catastrophically disabled veterans.
Gillums returned to the VA benefits claims arena as an appellate representative at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals in Washington, DC. He was selected to serve as associate executive director of the Paralyzed Veterans’ veterans benefits department in 2011, and was subsequently promoted to the organization’s deputy executive director in 2014. During that time, he also served on the Federal Advisory Committee for Prosthetics & Special Disabilities and the Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. Gillums has testified as an expert witness before Congress on behalf of Paralyzed Veterans of America and appeared on CNN, Fox & Friends, and CSPAN, as well as had published opinion pieces in the New York Times and Buffalo News.
Gillums resides in Virginia with his wife Tammie, their five children, and Blue, their 5-month old Cockalier puppy.
To learn more about Paralyzed Veterans of America and its programs and services for veterans please visit www.pva.org.
About Paralyzed Veterans of America:
Paralyzed Veterans of America was founded by a group of seriously injured American heroes from the “Greatest Generation” of World War II. They created a nonprofit organization to meet the challenges that they faced back in the 1940s—from a medical community not ready to treat them to an inaccessible world. For more than 68 years, Paralyzed Veterans’ national office and its 34 chapters across the nation have been making America a better place for all veterans and people with disabilities (pva.org).
