Officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) last month announced several Trump administration political appointees.
Chris Syrek is rejoining VA as chief of staff after serving as deputy chief of staff during the first Trump administration. In this role, he oversaw implementation of the VA MISSION Act, the VA Accountability, and Whistleblower Protection Act.
Cheryl Mason will serve as senior advisor to the secretary, rejoining 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 role in reducing the backlog of legacy appeals from 472,000 to 96,000 cases, an 80% decrease over 5 years.
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 departmentwide 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.
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.
Lavin Gartland will serve as senior advisor to the secretary and VA White House liaison. Her achievements include advising states on the allocation of more than $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.1
John Bartrum will serve as senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Management. He joins VA from Brightstar Innovations Group, where he held the position of Chief Executive Officer.
Morgan Ackley will serve as director of Media Affairs for the Office of Public Affairs after previously serving 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.
Reference
- Veterans Affairs. VA announces Trump Administration appointees [press release]. January 21, 2025. Accessed January 30, 2025. https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-announces-trump-administration-appointees/