February 24, 2025 • 26 mins
Join us for an engaging conversation with Jen Wagman, the visionary president and founder of GenVets, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering veterans and easing their transition into civilian life. Inspired by her father, a retired Air Force colonel and judge advocate, Jen made a remarkable shift from her Wall Street career to championing veterans' rights. Uncover how her personal journey and legal expertise have fueled her passion to mend the communication gaps and mistrust in veteran services. Jen shares her innovative approach to bridging divides between veterans, their families, and service providers, emphasizing the crucial role of effective communication in strengthening military community support systems.
Discover the collective power of collaboration as we highlight GenVets' initiatives and partnerships with key organizations like Blue Star Families and the Military Officers Association of America. From improving the benefits system to facilitating community events, Jen's insights shed light on the pressing issues veterans face and the relentless efforts to make the Department of Veterans Affairs more efficient. By spotlighting initiatives like the Virginia Veterans Network and Over Never Out, we underscore the importance of unified efforts to address mental health challenges among veterans. Tune in to learn how GenVets and its allies are creating meaningful progress and how you can be part of this vital mission to support veterans and their families.
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Episode Transcript
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Larry Zilliox (00:00):
Good morning.
I'm your host, Larry Zilliox,Director of Culinary Services
here at the Warrior Retreat atBull Run, and this week our
guest is Jen Wagman.
She is the president andfounder of a nonprofit called
GenVets and she's an attorney,and they provide awesome
services for veterans,especially when it comes to
(00:22):
helping them understand all thelegal ramifications around
claims and trying to getbenefits and things like that.
So, Chen, welcome to thepodcast.
Jen Wagman (00:34):
Oh, thank you for having me, Larry.
It's an honor to be with youand have the opportunity to
speak with you and yourlisteners today.
Larry Zilliox (00:41):
Well, if you would, just we'll start with you
talking a little bit about yourbackground.
I do know that you attended lawschool at Catholic University
here in Washington DC and mybrother-in-law went to school
there Really liked it.
It's a great school.
Tell us a little bit about.
I know your father was acolonel and a judge advocate, so
(01:03):
I'm sure that had someinfluence on you.
Tell us a little bit about yourbackground and how you got
started.
Jen Wagman (01:09):
Yes, my father was a very big influence on me.
He's nearly his entire careerin service to the Air Force and
he ended as the head of the AirForce Legal Agency at Bowling
Air Force Base and a multitudeof different titles, and even in
retirement he has continued toconsult with incarcerated
(01:30):
individuals at Leavenworth andmore recently volunteering with
me prison here in Maryland.
So we are actually workingtogether a little bit when we're
not to others.
There's a reason.
He does one side of veteransbenefits and I do another.
It is always a good time.
But, yes, he had a hugeinfluence on my desire to serve.
(01:52):
I was not brave enough and onthe dotted line, and so this is
the way I chose to do so.
I worked for a Wall Street firmwhen I first got out of law
school and towers were hit.
They encouraged us to do asmuch pro bono work as we could.
I worked for the Veterans ProBono Consortium, given a
wonderful mentor throughParalyzed Veterans of America,
(02:12):
linda Blauhut, and I have beendoing it ever since I started VA
at the Board of VeteransAppeals and then went to work
for Paralyzed Veterans ofAmerica.
Through contract work and thenfull-time for over 10 years and
private practice.
I've done a ton of volunteerwork and then started with
GenVets in June.
Larry Zilliox (02:32):
What led to you deciding you wanted to start the
organization and have it outthere providing services.
Jen Wagman (02:39):
Well, I found GenVets in June last year,
following, actually, thedissolution of a professional
relationship where I had beeninvolved in what I believed at
the time was a coordinatedeffort change what I consider to
be sort of an industry-wideunproductive, misguided and
often irresponsible narrativeamong the private bar nonprofit
(03:02):
organizations, of which thereare 45,000 nonprofit
organizations, foundations,organizations that are dedicated
to veterans service in oneanother.
That's a lot.
It's big business right nowfederal and state agencies and
veterans, and when myprofessional relationship ended,
(03:22):
the words of the person withwhom I had been working were
sort of all I could think aboutwithin sort of the 24 hours
after, and it was something tothe effect of Jen is the one to
do this job and lead this effort.
And I had not ever consideredmyself that way before.
I have kids, I'm a mom, I'm afamily person and I've always
(03:43):
been just an attorney doingbenefits work and claims work.
But suddenly I became veryclear and confident on what the
20 plus years of experience inthe veteran space have prepared
me for, and so I consider thereto be a very pressing issue that
affects not only our militaryand veteran communities but sort
(04:03):
of the fabric of our society,and that's the challenge of
miscommunication, misperceptionregarding the services,
resources and benefits that areavailable to those who have
served our nation, and that'sbecause better care leads to
stronger recruitment, whichbuilds a more resilient force
and drives sort of a continuouscycle that strengthens and
(04:27):
secures the future of America'sall-on-tier fighting force, and
that is a big problem right now.
So I founded GenVets to be thenext generation of veteran
support and veteran supportservices, and to me, veterans
represent the greatest part ofgenerations, from baby boomers
to Gen X, gen Y, gen Z.
(04:48):
That's where Gen Vets comesfrom, by the way.
So we love veterans and at GenVets, you know we believe that
veterans and their families arethe pillar of our local
communities and states and theirwell-being and health makes
America stronger.
So our priority is to help themilitary and veteran communities
and their families bettercommunicate with those who
(05:09):
provide veteran support services, to identify and address the
roadblocks that are currentlypreventing veterans from
utilizing or taking advantage ofthe many existing resources
state and VA, federal VA, alsothe nonprofit organizations, the
many medical programs that areout there that are already being
(05:30):
offered and so, simply put, Ithink over the years there's
been a major break in trust,understanding, willingness to
listen on the part of bothveterans, people coming out of
the military and their familieswho are seeking help, and, in
many instances, those who areproviding the services.
(05:50):
So at GenVets, I think it's myprivilege to be a part of their
lives and to give back to thosewho sacrificed for their country
, however great or small, and tooptimize their journey through
both service and the transitionto civilian life.
And I believe that a healthybalance of equal responsibility
is sort of needed right now, andthat's by all stakeholders in
(06:13):
the process the veterans and theUS Department of Veterans
Affairs, state, countygovernments, nonprofits and the
local community and civicorganizations.
County governments, nonprofitsand the local community and
civic organizations.
You know I Does that answeryour question.
Larry Zilliox (06:27):
It does, yes, it does, and it makes me think of a
conversation that I was part ofyesterday.
We have the Northern VirginiaVeteran Suicide Coalition here
in our area, and we had aconversation yesterday about the
need to survey veterans andactive duty and family members
(06:53):
to get a better understanding ofwhat they need, because I think
you're right on target.
There is that for too long,many veteran service
organizations have come aboutand decided that this is a
service that they want to giveto somebody.
Jen Wagman (07:10):
Give.
Larry Zilliox (07:10):
Yeah, without really knowing whether or not
it's actually needed.
And not to mention there's alot of VSOs out there just
duplicating.
You know there's just 10organizations doing the same
thing and fighting for the samedollars and that kind of thing.
But I understand where you'recoming from, because unless you
(07:35):
hear from veterans what theyneed to accomplish various
things in their life, it's hardto pin down exactly what
services you should provide andconcentrate on and where you
should direct your resourcesinto helping those veterans.
And so it sounds as though youknow you guys have dialed in on
(07:57):
that and I think that's huge.
What are the different serviceslet's say the top three
services that you offer toveterans?
Jen Wagman (08:09):
Well, I want to touch really briefly on what you
just said, because I think youpinpointed exactly what I see is
the need and that is theconcept of hearing versus
listening, and that is my entiresort of notion of what's going
on.
People say I hear you, and thatis what I think and I think the
(08:34):
big problem is here.
People say to veterans I hearyou, I hear you, yes, I hear you
, but are you listening to whatI'm saying?
And for me and my clients overthe years, I hear all the time
they're waiting for me to die,especially my clients in the
benefits situation, because theappeals take so long.
(08:55):
The backlog is so great and Ihave my own, you know we could
have a whole separate show onthat and why that's happening.
And, believe it or not, it isnot the Board of Veterans
Appeals fault that all of that'shappening and, believe it or
not, it is not the Board ofVeterans Appeals fault that all
of this is happening.
And 10 years ago I might havehad a different story for you.
But I can tell you and this isalso where some of the, where
(09:15):
the creation of thisorganization comes from I work
with and am friends with andlove the people who work at
these, at the Department ofVeterans Affairs federal and
state.
They are working their buttsoff night and day to try and fix
this, to make it better.
When Secretary McDonough got upat his State of the VA in
(09:37):
October and said it's a new VA10 years ago if someone had said
that, I would have been like,oh my God, really, really, he's
not kidding.
When he's inviting people backand begging them to say give us
another chance.
He's trying to save lives.
He's actually trying to getpeople to come back.
Deputy Bradshaw, tanya Bradshawis one of the Appeals Constance
(10:09):
Tobias, who probably isresponsible for who I am today
as an attorney working forveterans, because she was that
inspiring.
So when I tell my clientsthey're not waiting for you to
die, I need them to hear me,listen, listen to what I'm
saying, hear me, listen.
Listen to what I'm saying,because when I tell you the
things that you need to hear,when I'm telling you that, okay,
(10:36):
you are telling me you needthis benefit, this benefit, this
benefit, you may not qualifyfor all of those things and you
may not want to hear everythingI'm saying to you, but I need
you to listen to me.
Listen, because there are otherthings that you might qualify
and there are other resourcesand things that you don't know
are other things that you mightqualify, and there are other
resources and things that youdon't know are out there that
I'm going to bring you to andwhen you tell me the things that
(10:57):
you need and that you want, Ican bring that back to the
people that I work with thatI've spent 20 years creating
these relationships with.
Now, not everybody cancompounding, and you know there
are certainly things that needto be fixed.
That's without a doubt.
But there are people who alsowant to listen and they want to
understand on the other side aswell.
(11:17):
So we need to bring everyone tothe table and sort of find a
way to communicate better, finda way to listen to each other,
and that's what sort of this isabout.
But you asked about the servicesthat we provide.
This is about.
But you asked about theservices that we provide.
Number one right now I do apodcast of my own where I bring
guests from the agencies, fromthe nonprofits, and veterans
(11:37):
themselves talking about theirexperiences, and that's
something that I started in thefall.
You can connect to it throughmy website, which is just doubly
.
I think it's HTTPS forwardslash and then GenVetsorg.
So all of those episodes willbe there and they'll be picking
back up again in the next coupleof weeks.
And then claims assistance.
I do a lot of pro bono claimsassistance.
(12:01):
You should never, ever pay anattorney or any company, these
claims sharks you hear about.
No one should be filing a claimand paying for assistance in
doing it no one.
That should not be happeningand most of the things that you
do shouldn't be paying for.
I'm not saying there's never atime, because there are.
Things get complicated.
Medical opinions, things likethat need to happen.
(12:23):
It happened.
There is a time and a place forattorneys, but most of the stuff
can be done through veteranservice organizations, and if
you have a question as to whenit's time to go to one, you can
call me.
I can go over it with you.
There are lots of other veteranservice organizations who can
do the same thing for you, butyou should at least be talking
to someone about whether it'stime to do that or not, and any
(12:43):
good attorney will tell you that.
Any good attorney will say youdon't need me right now, maybe
you will in the future, and I'mhappy to look at and tell you
about that then.
But that's how you know.
So I do a lot of that and Ilike to do a lot of teaching,
providing information about howto do things on your own so that
you don't have to hire someoneto do it.
And then we do a lot ofcommunity events.
(13:06):
We had a grant in Decemberwhere our job was to spread
Christmas cheer and so, throughBlue Star Families, we were able
to provide cookies and cocoaand books and trips to what is
(13:26):
that dinner where you go watchdinner and the nights Some sort
of medieval thing.
Yes, medieval times, that's whatit's called.
My kids love it too.
So we were able to do aChristmas party with Blue Star
Families and then we did a partyfor Military Officers
Association of America.
The Upper Potomac chapter had awonder.
It was their biggest attendedevent ever, which is wonderful
because we need to bring, theyneed to increase their numbers
(13:48):
and recruitment, and that was awonderful.
Lieutenant General Kelly is alsoa retired Air Force person, so
I love him and they're actually.
His mission is turning peopleand impact into what counts.
Moa's entire mission is aboutusing people.
(14:09):
You know, behind every missionthere are real people with real
challenges, from recruitment toretirement.
So they're all about sort ofthe same mission that GenVets is
about, and we work with them.
We'll continue to work withthem.
Moa is one of the greatestorganizations service
organizations that's out there.
It's, you know, something Ilove very much.
So that's what we do.
(14:31):
We also ended up.
We supported homeless veterans.
We purchased 50 backpacksthrough Linda's Legacy and
delivered those on Christmas Eve.
That's something else we did.
So that's how we use ourdonations.
Larry Zilliox (14:45):
Yeah, it sounds like your plate is full.
As Jen mentioned, the webpageis genvetsorg.
I want all of our listeners togo to the webpage, check it out.
You will see, on almost everyother veteran service
organization webpage there's abutton in the upper right-hand
(15:07):
corner that says donate.
Now I want everybody to bang onthat button and give what you
can.
Every bit helps, yeah, everylittle bit helps.
You might not need legalservices, but somebody does.
You know some veteran out thereneeds help and your dollars
will help.
Genvets provide the servicesthat will change that veteran's
(15:31):
life.
So even if you don't need help,go ahead and donate, because
you may need help next year ornext month, you never know.
So I do want everybody to checkout the webpage and the
resources on there.
One of the things, too, that yousort of hit on there which I've
found from doing this podcastis when I talk to people with
(15:57):
other veteran serviceorganizations, I discover how
deep their bench is and the typeof services that they provide.
So very often an organization isknown for one type of service,
but when you sit down and talkto them, you find out that they
provide a host of services thatyou never even knew that they
(16:19):
did.
You know Blue Star Families isan example.
They do a yearly survey ofalmost 15,000 military and
veteran and family members,which is extremely useful to
other veteran serviceorganizations.
You know Purple Heart hasfinancial assistance program
where they can give just adollar amount to a veteran that
(16:42):
needs help with their rent ortheir car repaired or something
like that.
So they're maybe known for onething, but there's a lot that
these veteran serviceorganizations do that not
everybody knows about.
And that's where it's valuableto interact with you and GenVets
, because you have thisknowledge base about what
(17:07):
organizations certainly in yourarea and even nationwide can
provide services, because werarely see a veteran that needs
help for one thing.
You know, if you've lost a job,it can very often be because you
just don't have a workingautomobile or you have a
substance abuse problem becauseof yourself medicating, because
(17:31):
of TBI and PTS, and so beingable to talk to somebody like
yourself at GenVets and say, youknow, this is the help I need,
interacting with professionalsis the way that veterans really
get help, and very oftenveterans think the only people
(17:52):
that can help them in the VA andthey had a bad experience.
Or years ago it took so longthat they even forgot they had a
claim or they got a zero rating.
You know, oh yeah, you get the.
I see that's a problem.
You got an illness there, butit's a zero rating.
But it's a zero rating.
(18:18):
So just talking to you and justlooking over the services that
you all provide, I can't helpbut think how busy are you.
Jen Wagman (18:22):
Well, one of the things that we focus on in
particular is collaboration.
I believe very strongly that,as you said earlier, I believe
very strongly that, as you saidearlier, there's an overlap of a
lot of as I said, there are45,000 different service
organizations, so there is not aneed to reinvent the wheel.
Part of what I like to do ispull together my experience and
(18:47):
my exposure to all of thesedifferent organizations I've
come across over the years thatI'm coming across now, learning
and meeting at the differentevents that I go to.
In fact, just today, I willtell you I entered into a
partnership with Operation Honor, rural Veterans of America,
michelle Lang, where I will bedoing I will be serving as their
(19:09):
spokesman for their subjectmatter expert for veterans
benefits, and doing webinars andteaching about all of the
things I just told you about.
When it comes to how to file aclaim, what is subject is
service connection.
For example, what do you needin order to be service connected
for a disability?
Simple things, and when we allhelp each other out and join
(19:32):
together as serviceorganizations, not replicating
our different things, that helps.
When it comes to, you know,doing too much.
What's on my plate?
Michelle helps me, I help her.
Our different organizationshelp each other.
Moa coordinates with.
(19:52):
When there's something elsethat's going on, they will bring
, I will help them, they willcome in and that is sort of what
we're all doing now.
That is the climate that we'reentering into as service
organizations.
It should not be one ofcompetition and those that you
see that will speak badly aboutone another or not work with
(20:12):
each other.
We don't have time for thatanymore because those aren't the
ones who are truly interestedin moving the mission forward.
The ones who are trulyinterested in doing that are the
ones that are working togetherand actually getting something
done.
Jason Houck is another one.
In February there's going to bea big gathering of service
(20:33):
organizations in Nashville forOver Never Out.
It's a suicide preventionconcert sort of I don't even
know how to describe it.
He's put together thisconglomerate of mental health
organizations to sort of raiseawareness for veteran suicide.
Everyone's coming together andit's sort of focused at John Bon
(20:54):
Jovi's Bar in Nashville.
But there's also going to be acomponent of it that is a
seminar.
It's gotten bigger and biggerand bigger and I'm going to go
down there, probably be doingsome podcasts and interviewing
and things like that.
I interviewed him on my podcastback in December, on December
13th.
The amount of work he's doingto bring mental health issues to
(21:17):
light and using all of us, allof the great organizations
around, to spread that message,is phenomenal, and everybody's
on board with him.
So you can see how the networkis growing and working for each
other and we'll do anything forhim because of what he's doing
and so and part of part of allof us, I think, are starting to
(21:38):
try and spread the message.
It's not just big VA, it's notthe federal VA that should be
taking on all of this either.
State governments need to startgetting involved.
We're calling to action thatveteran service organizations
should be partnering with thestates, because veterans live in
states.
States should be taking care oftheir citizens, and so we're
calling to action states tostart budgeting more for their
(22:01):
citizens, start providing someof these resources and some of
these things for them, so thatit's not all falling on the
federal government, because noteverything should be on them.
And some of the failures, someof the things that we're seeing,
some of the backlog maybe wecould be dealing with some of
that better if they weren'tdoing everything.
(22:21):
Just a thought.
Larry Zilliox (22:22):
Well, our listeners are familiar with
Michelle and we did a podcastwith her in early December,
episode 87, for anybody whowants to listen to it.
Jen Wagman (22:34):
She's awesome, isn't she?
Larry Zilliox (22:35):
Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, and I agree with you 100%.
You know we're very fortunatehere in Virginia.
We have a very strong veteranservice agency here.
We just interviewed thecommissioner, Chuck Zingler.
He's a wonderful guy andthey've just initiated the
Virginia Veterans Network, whichis an online resource network
(23:00):
for veterans to provide themwith services and handoffs to
qualified veteran serviceorganizations.
So we're lucky.
Here in Virginia we have alarge veteran population over
700,000.
Jen Wagman (23:16):
Maryland too.
Governor Moore is amazing andAnthony Woods is amazing, so
they're the model to me of whatthe rest of the country should
be looking at.
But the whole country isn't aslucky to have Governor Moore, to
have Anthony Woods and to havethe Virginia model either.
But that's who they should belooking at.
Larry Zilliox (23:35):
For sure.
So, as we kind of wrap this up,what's the one thing you want
our listeners to know, the mostimportant thing you want them to
know about GenVets?
Jen Wagman (23:46):
GenVets is here to be open to talk.
I want you to be able to comeback, listen and listen to what
we are talking about withrespect to what the new VA is,
what the new programs are, andbe willing to listen to what it
is that we're bringing to youprogramming wise.
(24:07):
Listen to the resources thatare available, listen to all of
the benefits information thatI'm providing.
Come to the website as itdevelops, listen to the podcasts
that are going to be coming outand write to me, ask questions.
I'm here to answer them andit's me who's answering them For
the most part.
That's what you're going to begetting and I'm willing to be
(24:28):
able to do that.
Larry Zilliox (24:42):
Well, great Listen.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
You guys are doing amazing work.
Once again, listeners.
The webpage is genvetsorg, anddon't hesitate to reach out to
Jen.
Shoot her an email, give her acall and I'm certain she'll
direct you.
If she can't help you, she'lldirect you to people who can.
Jen Wagman (25:04):
That's the right way to put it.
Larry Zilliox (25:05):
Thank you so much for joining us.
I really appreciate it.
Jen Wagman (25:08):
I appreciate you.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Larry Zilliox (25:11):
Well for our listeners.
We'll have another episode nextMonday morning at 0500.
If you have any questions orsuggestions, you can reach us at
podcast at willingwarriorsorg.
Until then, thanks forlistening.
Good morning.
I'm your host, Larry Zilliox,Director of Culinary Services
here at the Warrior Retreat atBull Run, and this week our
guest is Jen Wagman.
She is the president andfounder of a nonprofit called
GenVets and she's an attorney,and they provide awesome
services for veterans,especially when it comes to
(00:22):
helping them understand all thelegal ramifications around
claims and trying to getbenefits and things like that.
So, Chen, welcome to thepodcast.
Jen Wagman (00:34):
Oh, thank you for having me, Larry.
It's an honor to be with youand have the opportunity to
speak with you and yourlisteners today.
Larry Zilliox (00:41):
Well, if you would, just we'll start with you
talking a little bit about yourbackground.
I do know that you attended lawschool at Catholic University
here in Washington DC and mybrother-in-law went to school
there Really liked it.
It's a great school.
Tell us a little bit about.
I know your father was acolonel and a judge advocate, so
(01:03):
I'm sure that had someinfluence on you.
Tell us a little bit about yourbackground and how you got
started.
Jen Wagman (01:09):
Yes, my father was a very big influence on me.
He's nearly his entire careerin service to the Air Force and
he ended as the head of the AirForce Legal Agency at Bowling
Air Force Base and a multitudeof different titles, and even in
retirement he has continued toconsult with incarcerated
(01:30):
individuals at Leavenworth andmore recently volunteering with
me prison here in Maryland.
So we are actually workingtogether a little bit when we're
not to others.
There's a reason.
He does one side of veteransbenefits and I do another.
It is always a good time.
But, yes, he had a hugeinfluence on my desire to serve.
(01:52):
I was not brave enough and onthe dotted line, and so this is
the way I chose to do so.
I worked for a Wall Street firmwhen I first got out of law
school and towers were hit.
They encouraged us to do asmuch pro bono work as we could.
I worked for the Veterans ProBono Consortium, given a
wonderful mentor throughParalyzed Veterans of America,
(02:12):
linda Blauhut, and I have beendoing it ever since I started VA
at the Board of VeteransAppeals and then went to work
for Paralyzed Veterans ofAmerica.
Through contract work and thenfull-time for over 10 years and
private practice.
I've done a ton of volunteerwork and then started with
GenVets in June.
Larry Zilliox (02:32):
What led to you deciding you wanted to start the
organization and have it outthere providing services.
Jen Wagman (02:39):
Well, I found GenVets in June last year,
following, actually, thedissolution of a professional
relationship where I had beeninvolved in what I believed at
the time was a coordinatedeffort change what I consider to
be sort of an industry-wideunproductive, misguided and
often irresponsible narrativeamong the private bar nonprofit
(03:02):
organizations, of which thereare 45,000 nonprofit
organizations, foundations,organizations that are dedicated
to veterans service in oneanother.
That's a lot.
It's big business right nowfederal and state agencies and
veterans, and when myprofessional relationship ended,
(03:22):
the words of the person withwhom I had been working were
sort of all I could think aboutwithin sort of the 24 hours
after, and it was something tothe effect of Jen is the one to
do this job and lead this effort.
And I had not ever consideredmyself that way before.
I have kids, I'm a mom, I'm afamily person and I've always
(03:43):
been just an attorney doingbenefits work and claims work.
But suddenly I became veryclear and confident on what the
20 plus years of experience inthe veteran space have prepared
me for, and so I consider thereto be a very pressing issue that
affects not only our militaryand veteran communities but sort
(04:03):
of the fabric of our society,and that's the challenge of
miscommunication, misperceptionregarding the services,
resources and benefits that areavailable to those who have
served our nation, and that'sbecause better care leads to
stronger recruitment, whichbuilds a more resilient force
and drives sort of a continuouscycle that strengthens and
(04:27):
secures the future of America'sall-on-tier fighting force, and
that is a big problem right now.
So I founded GenVets to be thenext generation of veteran
support and veteran supportservices, and to me, veterans
represent the greatest part ofgenerations, from baby boomers
to Gen X, gen Y, gen Z.
(04:48):
That's where Gen Vets comesfrom, by the way.
So we love veterans and at GenVets, you know we believe that
veterans and their families arethe pillar of our local
communities and states and theirwell-being and health makes
America stronger.
So our priority is to help themilitary and veteran communities
and their families bettercommunicate with those who
(05:09):
provide veteran support services, to identify and address the
roadblocks that are currentlypreventing veterans from
utilizing or taking advantage ofthe many existing resources
state and VA, federal VA, alsothe nonprofit organizations, the
many medical programs that areout there that are already being
(05:30):
offered and so, simply put, Ithink over the years there's
been a major break in trust,understanding, willingness to
listen on the part of bothveterans, people coming out of
the military and their familieswho are seeking help, and, in
many instances, those who areproviding the services.
(05:50):
So at GenVets, I think it's myprivilege to be a part of their
lives and to give back to thosewho sacrificed for their country
, however great or small, and tooptimize their journey through
both service and the transitionto civilian life.
And I believe that a healthybalance of equal responsibility
is sort of needed right now, andthat's by all stakeholders in
(06:13):
the process the veterans and theUS Department of Veterans
Affairs, state, countygovernments, nonprofits and the
local community and civicorganizations.
County governments, nonprofitsand the local community and
civic organizations.
You know I Does that answeryour question.
Larry Zilliox (06:27):
It does, yes, it does, and it makes me think of a
conversation that I was part ofyesterday.
We have the Northern VirginiaVeteran Suicide Coalition here
in our area, and we had aconversation yesterday about the
need to survey veterans andactive duty and family members
(06:53):
to get a better understanding ofwhat they need, because I think
you're right on target.
There is that for too long,many veteran service
organizations have come aboutand decided that this is a
service that they want to giveto somebody.
Jen Wagman (07:10):
Give.
Larry Zilliox (07:10):
Yeah, without really knowing whether or not
it's actually needed.
And not to mention there's alot of VSOs out there just
duplicating.
You know there's just 10organizations doing the same
thing and fighting for the samedollars and that kind of thing.
But I understand where you'recoming from, because unless you
(07:35):
hear from veterans what theyneed to accomplish various
things in their life, it's hardto pin down exactly what
services you should provide andconcentrate on and where you
should direct your resourcesinto helping those veterans.
And so it sounds as though youknow you guys have dialed in on
(07:57):
that and I think that's huge.
What are the different serviceslet's say the top three
services that you offer toveterans?
Jen Wagman (08:09):
Well, I want to touch really briefly on what you
just said, because I think youpinpointed exactly what I see is
the need and that is theconcept of hearing versus
listening, and that is my entiresort of notion of what's going
on.
People say I hear you, and thatis what I think and I think the
(08:34):
big problem is here.
People say to veterans I hearyou, I hear you, yes, I hear you
, but are you listening to whatI'm saying?
And for me and my clients overthe years, I hear all the time
they're waiting for me to die,especially my clients in the
benefits situation, because theappeals take so long.
(08:55):
The backlog is so great and Ihave my own, you know we could
have a whole separate show onthat and why that's happening.
And, believe it or not, it isnot the Board of Veterans
Appeals fault that all of that'shappening and, believe it or
not, it is not the Board ofVeterans Appeals fault that all
of this is happening.
And 10 years ago I might havehad a different story for you.
But I can tell you and this isalso where some of the, where
(09:15):
the creation of thisorganization comes from I work
with and am friends with andlove the people who work at
these, at the Department ofVeterans Affairs federal and
state.
They are working their buttsoff night and day to try and fix
this, to make it better.
When Secretary McDonough got upat his State of the VA in
(09:37):
October and said it's a new VA10 years ago if someone had said
that, I would have been like,oh my God, really, really, he's
not kidding.
When he's inviting people backand begging them to say give us
another chance.
He's trying to save lives.
He's actually trying to getpeople to come back.
Deputy Bradshaw, tanya Bradshawis one of the Appeals Constance
(10:09):
Tobias, who probably isresponsible for who I am today
as an attorney working forveterans, because she was that
inspiring.
So when I tell my clientsthey're not waiting for you to
die, I need them to hear me,listen, listen to what I'm
saying, hear me, listen.
Listen to what I'm saying,because when I tell you the
things that you need to hear,when I'm telling you that, okay,
(10:36):
you are telling me you needthis benefit, this benefit, this
benefit, you may not qualifyfor all of those things and you
may not want to hear everythingI'm saying to you, but I need
you to listen to me.
Listen, because there are otherthings that you might qualify
and there are other resourcesand things that you don't know
are other things that you mightqualify, and there are other
resources and things that youdon't know are out there that
I'm going to bring you to andwhen you tell me the things that
(10:57):
you need and that you want, Ican bring that back to the
people that I work with thatI've spent 20 years creating
these relationships with.
Now, not everybody cancompounding, and you know there
are certainly things that needto be fixed.
That's without a doubt.
But there are people who alsowant to listen and they want to
understand on the other side aswell.
(11:17):
So we need to bring everyone tothe table and sort of find a
way to communicate better, finda way to listen to each other,
and that's what sort of this isabout.
But you asked about the servicesthat we provide.
This is about.
But you asked about theservices that we provide.
Number one right now I do apodcast of my own where I bring
guests from the agencies, fromthe nonprofits, and veterans
(11:37):
themselves talking about theirexperiences, and that's
something that I started in thefall.
You can connect to it throughmy website, which is just doubly
.
I think it's HTTPS forwardslash and then GenVetsorg.
So all of those episodes willbe there and they'll be picking
back up again in the next coupleof weeks.
And then claims assistance.
I do a lot of pro bono claimsassistance.
(12:01):
You should never, ever pay anattorney or any company, these
claims sharks you hear about.
No one should be filing a claimand paying for assistance in
doing it no one.
That should not be happeningand most of the things that you
do shouldn't be paying for.
I'm not saying there's never atime, because there are.
Things get complicated.
Medical opinions, things likethat need to happen.
(12:23):
It happened.
There is a time and a place forattorneys, but most of the stuff
can be done through veteranservice organizations, and if
you have a question as to whenit's time to go to one, you can
call me.
I can go over it with you.
There are lots of other veteranservice organizations who can
do the same thing for you, butyou should at least be talking
to someone about whether it'stime to do that or not, and any
(12:43):
good attorney will tell you that.
Any good attorney will say youdon't need me right now, maybe
you will in the future, and I'mhappy to look at and tell you
about that then.
But that's how you know.
So I do a lot of that and Ilike to do a lot of teaching,
providing information about howto do things on your own so that
you don't have to hire someoneto do it.
And then we do a lot ofcommunity events.
(13:06):
We had a grant in Decemberwhere our job was to spread
Christmas cheer and so, throughBlue Star Families, we were able
to provide cookies and cocoaand books and trips to what is
(13:26):
that dinner where you go watchdinner and the nights Some sort
of medieval thing.
Yes, medieval times, that's whatit's called.
My kids love it too.
So we were able to do aChristmas party with Blue Star
Families and then we did a partyfor Military Officers
Association of America.
The Upper Potomac chapter had awonder.
It was their biggest attendedevent ever, which is wonderful
because we need to bring, theyneed to increase their numbers
(13:48):
and recruitment, and that was awonderful.
Lieutenant General Kelly is alsoa retired Air Force person, so
I love him and they're actually.
His mission is turning peopleand impact into what counts.
Moa's entire mission is aboutusing people.
(14:09):
You know, behind every missionthere are real people with real
challenges, from recruitment toretirement.
So they're all about sort ofthe same mission that GenVets is
about, and we work with them.
We'll continue to work withthem.
Moa is one of the greatestorganizations service
organizations that's out there.
It's, you know, something Ilove very much.
So that's what we do.
(14:31):
We also ended up.
We supported homeless veterans.
We purchased 50 backpacksthrough Linda's Legacy and
delivered those on Christmas Eve.
That's something else we did.
So that's how we use ourdonations.
Larry Zilliox (14:45):
Yeah, it sounds like your plate is full.
As Jen mentioned, the webpageis genvetsorg.
I want all of our listeners togo to the webpage, check it out.
You will see, on almost everyother veteran service
organization webpage there's abutton in the upper right-hand
(15:07):
corner that says donate.
Now I want everybody to bang onthat button and give what you
can.
Every bit helps, yeah, everylittle bit helps.
You might not need legalservices, but somebody does.
You know some veteran out thereneeds help and your dollars
will help.
Genvets provide the servicesthat will change that veteran's
(15:31):
life.
So even if you don't need help,go ahead and donate, because
you may need help next year ornext month, you never know.
So I do want everybody to checkout the webpage and the
resources on there.
One of the things, too, that yousort of hit on there which I've
found from doing this podcastis when I talk to people with
(15:57):
other veteran serviceorganizations, I discover how
deep their bench is and the typeof services that they provide.
So very often an organization isknown for one type of service,
but when you sit down and talkto them, you find out that they
provide a host of services thatyou never even knew that they
(16:19):
did.
You know Blue Star Families isan example.
They do a yearly survey ofalmost 15,000 military and
veteran and family members,which is extremely useful to
other veteran serviceorganizations.
You know Purple Heart hasfinancial assistance program
where they can give just adollar amount to a veteran that
(16:42):
needs help with their rent ortheir car repaired or something
like that.
So they're maybe known for onething, but there's a lot that
these veteran serviceorganizations do that not
everybody knows about.
And that's where it's valuableto interact with you and GenVets
, because you have thisknowledge base about what
(17:07):
organizations certainly in yourarea and even nationwide can
provide services, because werarely see a veteran that needs
help for one thing.
You know, if you've lost a job,it can very often be because you
just don't have a workingautomobile or you have a
substance abuse problem becauseof yourself medicating, because
(17:31):
of TBI and PTS, and so beingable to talk to somebody like
yourself at GenVets and say, youknow, this is the help I need,
interacting with professionalsis the way that veterans really
get help, and very oftenveterans think the only people
(17:52):
that can help them in the VA andthey had a bad experience.
Or years ago it took so longthat they even forgot they had a
claim or they got a zero rating.
You know, oh yeah, you get the.
I see that's a problem.
You got an illness there, butit's a zero rating.
But it's a zero rating.
(18:18):
So just talking to you and justlooking over the services that
you all provide, I can't helpbut think how busy are you.
Jen Wagman (18:22):
Well, one of the things that we focus on in
particular is collaboration.
I believe very strongly that,as you said earlier, I believe
very strongly that, as you saidearlier, there's an overlap of a
lot of as I said, there are45,000 different service
organizations, so there is not aneed to reinvent the wheel.
Part of what I like to do ispull together my experience and
(18:47):
my exposure to all of thesedifferent organizations I've
come across over the years thatI'm coming across now, learning
and meeting at the differentevents that I go to.
In fact, just today, I willtell you I entered into a
partnership with Operation Honor, rural Veterans of America,
michelle Lang, where I will bedoing I will be serving as their
(19:09):
spokesman for their subjectmatter expert for veterans
benefits, and doing webinars andteaching about all of the
things I just told you about.
When it comes to how to file aclaim, what is subject is
service connection.
For example, what do you needin order to be service connected
for a disability?
Simple things, and when we allhelp each other out and join
(19:32):
together as serviceorganizations, not replicating
our different things, that helps.
When it comes to, you know,doing too much.
What's on my plate?
Michelle helps me, I help her.
Our different organizationshelp each other.
Moa coordinates with.
(19:52):
When there's something elsethat's going on, they will bring
, I will help them, they willcome in and that is sort of what
we're all doing now.
That is the climate that we'reentering into as service
organizations.
It should not be one ofcompetition and those that you
see that will speak badly aboutone another or not work with
(20:12):
each other.
We don't have time for thatanymore because those aren't the
ones who are truly interestedin moving the mission forward.
The ones who are trulyinterested in doing that are the
ones that are working togetherand actually getting something
done.
Jason Houck is another one.
In February there's going to bea big gathering of service
(20:33):
organizations in Nashville forOver Never Out.
It's a suicide preventionconcert sort of I don't even
know how to describe it.
He's put together thisconglomerate of mental health
organizations to sort of raiseawareness for veteran suicide.
Everyone's coming together andit's sort of focused at John Bon
(20:54):
Jovi's Bar in Nashville.
But there's also going to be acomponent of it that is a
seminar.
It's gotten bigger and biggerand bigger and I'm going to go
down there, probably be doingsome podcasts and interviewing
and things like that.
I interviewed him on my podcastback in December, on December
13th.
The amount of work he's doingto bring mental health issues to
(21:17):
light and using all of us, allof the great organizations
around, to spread that message,is phenomenal, and everybody's
on board with him.
So you can see how the networkis growing and working for each
other and we'll do anything forhim because of what he's doing
and so and part of part of allof us, I think, are starting to
(21:38):
try and spread the message.
It's not just big VA, it's notthe federal VA that should be
taking on all of this either.
State governments need to startgetting involved.
We're calling to action thatveteran service organizations
should be partnering with thestates, because veterans live in
states.
States should be taking care oftheir citizens, and so we're
calling to action states tostart budgeting more for their
(22:01):
citizens, start providing someof these resources and some of
these things for them, so thatit's not all falling on the
federal government, because noteverything should be on them.
And some of the failures, someof the things that we're seeing,
some of the backlog maybe wecould be dealing with some of
that better if they weren'tdoing everything.
(22:21):
Just a thought.
Larry Zilliox (22:22):
Well, our listeners are familiar with
Michelle and we did a podcastwith her in early December,
episode 87, for anybody whowants to listen to it.
Jen Wagman (22:34):
She's awesome, isn't she?
Larry Zilliox (22:35):
Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, and I agree with you 100%.
You know we're very fortunatehere in Virginia.
We have a very strong veteranservice agency here.
We just interviewed thecommissioner, Chuck Zingler.
He's a wonderful guy andthey've just initiated the
Virginia Veterans Network, whichis an online resource network
(23:00):
for veterans to provide themwith services and handoffs to
qualified veteran serviceorganizations.
So we're lucky.
Here in Virginia we have alarge veteran population over
700,000.
Jen Wagman (23:16):
Maryland too.
Governor Moore is amazing andAnthony Woods is amazing, so
they're the model to me of whatthe rest of the country should
be looking at.
But the whole country isn't aslucky to have Governor Moore, to
have Anthony Woods and to havethe Virginia model either.
But that's who they should belooking at.
Larry Zilliox (23:35):
For sure.
So, as we kind of wrap this up,what's the one thing you want
our listeners to know, the mostimportant thing you want them to
know about GenVets?
Jen Wagman (23:46):
GenVets is here to be open to talk.
I want you to be able to comeback, listen and listen to what
we are talking about withrespect to what the new VA is,
what the new programs are, andbe willing to listen to what it
is that we're bringing to youprogramming wise.
(24:07):
Listen to the resources thatare available, listen to all of
the benefits information thatI'm providing.
Come to the website as itdevelops, listen to the podcasts
that are going to be coming outand write to me, ask questions.
I'm here to answer them andit's me who's answering them For
the most part.
That's what you're going to begetting and I'm willing to be
(24:28):
able to do that.
Larry Zilliox (24:42):
Well, great Listen.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
You guys are doing amazing work.
Once again, listeners.
The webpage is genvetsorg, anddon't hesitate to reach out to
Jen.
Shoot her an email, give her acall and I'm certain she'll
direct you.
If she can't help you, she'lldirect you to people who can.
Jen Wagman (25:04):
That's the right way to put it.
Larry Zilliox (25:05):
Thank you so much for joining us.
I really appreciate it.
Jen Wagman (25:08):
I appreciate you.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Larry Zilliox (25:11):
Well for our listeners.
We'll have another episode nextMonday morning at 0500.
If you have any questions orsuggestions, you can reach us at
podcast at willingwarriorsorg.
Until then, thanks forlistening.
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