Paralyzed Veterans of America announces it has named Sherman Gillums, Jr, as its acting executive director.
Prior to this new role, Gillums—a US Marine Corps veteran—was deputy executive director.
“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,” Gillums says in the release. “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.”
A media release from Paralyzed Veterans of America explains that Gillums began his military career in 1990 at age 17. After sustaining a cervical spine injury in a car accident 4 months after September 11, 2001, he received an honorary discharge from the military with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer-2 in 2002.
Post-military discharge and after a period of intense rehabilitation, he received a graduate degree from the University of San Diego School of Business Administration and began his career at Paralyzed Veterans of America as a national service officer in San Diego.
In 2011, Gillums was chosen to be associate executive director of the Paralyzed Veterans’ veterans benefits department. Then, in 2014, he was promoted to deputy executive director.
During that time, the release continues, 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.
For more information, visit Paralyzed Veterans of America.
[Source(s): Paralyzed Veterans of America, Business Wire]
