Congratulations to MEA member Jason Loughran, a Veteran of the United States Navy, on his recent promotion to Senior Advisor of Intergovernmental Affairs. In his previous role as Assistant Commissioner of Community Services for the New York City Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS), he managed the agencies direct service programming and synchronizes their efforts with public, private, and not-for-profit agencies to overcome the barriers hindering New York City Veterans from accessing benefits, mental health, employment, entrepreneurship, legal and educational resources.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he created “Mission: VetCheck” through a partnership with NY Cares and the Mayor’s Office of Community Health, to combat social isolation amongst the veteran community through supportive check-in calls conducted by volunteers. During these calls, volunteers would ask veterans how they were doing and offer information on critical resources to support eviction prevention, mental health, and many others. After reaching over 30,000 households, Mission: VetCheck won the Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence Award for the State of New York by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to recognize best practices that have developed effective programs in the country.
During his military service, he deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2010 with Air Cargo Detachment-ONE, where the detachment received a Flag Letter of Appreciation and a Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy when transporting supplies and equipment between Kandahar and Helmand province.
Jason was selected for the 2019 Baruch College Alumni Association Leadership in Public Service Award and the 2021 Irish Echo Community Champion Award.
Congratulations Jason! MEA is proud to call you one of our members!
