NACVSO Member Monthly Spotlight - June 2025

NACVSO Member Monthly Spotlight

Name: David West

County/State: Nevada County, California

Location: Crest Valley, CA

How long have you been a CSVO? Since 2018

Branch of military and years served (if applicable): U.S. Marine Corps

How did you become a Veteran Service Officer?

I initially started at the VA where I worked in centralized training before being promoted to RVSR. I also had the opportunity to participate in a leadership development program while I was there. Eventually, I moved to Bakersfield, and during that time, I went on an Honor Flight which was a truly life-changing experience. That trip reminded me how much I care about working with veteran and inspired me to pursue a more community-centered role. I was ready to return to the Sacramento area so I started applying for VSO positions. I learned about the opening in Nevada County, got the job, and been rolling ever since.

What do you enjoy most about being a Veteran Service Officer?

Honestly, it's the impact. A lot of people don’t know what this job actually entails, which means I’ve been fortunate to get strong support from my county leadership. But at the end of the day, it’s about helping vets and seeing the direct effect we have on their lives—and their families’ lives—right here in the community.

I also enjoy the opportunity to contribute on a broader scale. Through NACVSO, I’ve been honored to serve as the Membership Chair and privileged to attend several leadership summits in DC. As the president of the California Association of County Veteran Service Officers, leading at the state level has also opened doors to exciting projects that are pushing our profession forward in meaningful ways like the CVSO fellowship program we are building with LA County Military and Veterans Affairs.

Tell me about that program.

We’ve partnered with Jim Zenner, the Director of LA County Military and Veteran Affairs, on the development of a CVSO-centric fellowship program. The idea is to create a structured pathway for highly capable and motivated individuals to grow the role of County Veteran Service Officer by addressing real-world challenges facing community veterans while clearly defining expectations and standards of CVSO’s across the board.

In the past, California had a mentorship program that received some funding, but it lacked structure. We realized that, if we’re serious about elevating our profession, we needed to go a step further. So we asked ourselves: What does a great CVSO look like? What expectations should be set for local offices? How can we hold ourselves more accountable and get this profession the higher level of recognition it deserves? We all know that a CVSO’s capacity varies widely across counties based on things like size, budget, administrator support, etc. This fellowship aims to address and answer those questions while raising the bar of service quality for the entire field.

So, the fellowship will be tailored to local needs?

That’s absolutely the goal. California is a big, diverse state, and the needs of veterans in LA or San Diego County aren’t necessarily the same as those in rural communities. We’re convening an advisory group to gather region-specific insights so that counties of all shapes and sizes can see their needs reflected in the final structure. Flexibility is key, but so is setting a high standard that every county can aspire to. This is why we opted to create a formal fellowship over previous mentorship models. Through the fellowship model, participants will be able to create their own networks and engage in projects that tackle the real issues they face in their community.

Is there anything like this on the national level?

Not that I’m aware of, and that’s part of what makes this so exciting. While the fellowship is being developed here in California, we don’t see it as something that ought to stay here exclusively. Our profession is incredibly unique—we’re not just filing claims, we’re navigating housing, healthcare, crisis intervention, and so much more.

Once we build a model that works here in California, Jim and I would be thrilled to share it more broadly. We intend to construct it with scalability in mind. This way, communities without VSOs across the country can have measurable standards and find the right people to support that. Eventually, something like this could become a national framework for professional development in the CVSO space. At the very least, we hope it sparks conversations in other states about what local veteran advocacy should really look like.

Anything else you’d like people to know about CVSOs?

There’s a lot of misunderstanding and confusion about what CVSOs actually do. We’re not just claim processors—we’re proactive advocates. We have to know our communities, understand state and federal systems, and meet veterans wherever they are in life—in addition to being experts in federal regulations concerning veterans.

It’s a job that requires knowledge, compassion, and resilience. Some days, you might start with a few claims and end the day arranging emergency housing or food support for a family. When you’re part of an organization like NACVSO, you don’t just learn the technical skills—you gain a full understanding of the system and meet people that teach and inspire you to make real change from the ground up.