Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America ( IAVA ) , is an advocacy group dedicated to United States veterans of the War in Iraq and War in Afghanistan . Founded in 2004 , IAVA the first and largest nonprofit , nonpartisan organization for new veterans . With over 200 , 000 Member Veterans and supporters nationwide , IAVA ' s role is to support the 2 . 4 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan . Executive Director and Founder . Paul Rieckhoff is the group ' s Executive Director and Founder . He served as a First Lieutenant and infantry rifle platoon leader in the Iraq war from 2003 - 2004 . He is also the author of " Chasing Ghosts . " Prior to going to Iraq , Rieckhoff worked as a high school football coach and on Wall Street . He received a B . A . in Political Science from Amherst College in 1998 and lives in New York City . Legislative Victories . IAVA shepherded passage of the New GI Bill in 2008 , was instrumental in getting Advanced Appropriations signed into law in 2009 , made critical advances in VA Disability Reform in 2010 , was a major player in passing the Vow to Hire Heroes Act in 2011 and is focused on defending attacks to the New GI Bill in 2012 . Board of Directors . Edward Vick , Board Chairman . Edward Vick is a former Naval officer who served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War and received two Bronze Star Medals with Combat “ V ” , the Combat Action Ribbon , the Presidential Unit Citation and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry . His business career was spent in the marketing communications business , including most recently , the chairmanship of Young & Rubicam Advertising and its parent , Young & Rubicam Inc . Wes Moore , veteran , author , and former White House Fellow and Special Assistant to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice , is on the board of directors . A paratrooper and Captain in the United States Army , he served a combat tour of duty in Afghanistan with the elite 1st Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division . Wes spearheaded the American strategic support plan for the Afghan Reconciliation Program that unites former insurgents with the new Afghan Government . Wes completed an MLitt in International Relations from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar . He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University in 2001 with a degree in international relations . He is authoring a book published by Random House due for a highly anticipated 2010 release . Wes was recently named one of $ 2agazine ’ s Top 30 Leaders Under 30 for 2007 and one of Crains New York top 40 young business leaders under 40 . Les Gelb Leslie ( Les ) Howard Gelb is a former correspondent for The New York Times and is currently President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations . He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Les was director of Policy Planning and Arms Control for International Security Affairs at the Department of Defense from 1967 to 1969 , winning the Pentagon ’ s highest award , the Distinguished Service Award . Robert McNamara appointed Gelb as director of the project that produced the infamous Pentagon Papers , on the Vietnam War . He was an Assistant Secretary of State in the Carter Administration from 1977 to 1979 , serving as director of the Bureau of Politico - Military Affairs and winning the Distinguished Honor Award , the highest award of the US State Department . He was a diplomatic correspondent at The New York Times from 1973 to 1977 ; between 1981 and 1993 he served in various positions , including national security correspondent , deputy editorial page editor , editor of the Op - Ed Page , and columnist . He was a leading member of the Times team that won a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism in 1986 for a six - part comprehensive series on the Strategic Defense Initiative . Les became President of the Council on Foreign Relations in 1993 and is now President Emeritus . He received a B . A . from Tufts University in 1959 , and an M . A . in 1961 and Ph . D . in 1964 from Harvard University . From 1964 - 1967 he was Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University . Rosanne Haggerty is the founder of Common Ground ( NYC ) Community , a not - for - profit housing development and management organization in New York City , which provides innovative housing opportunities for homeless adults . Common Ground is the largest developer of supportive housing in the United States . The organization ’ s work has been widely imitated both in the US and abroad . Rosanne received her BA from Amherst College and is currently pursuing an MA at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture , Planning and Historic Preservation . Prior to founding Common Ground in 1990 , she was the coordinator of housing development at Brooklyn Catholic Charities . In addition to her role as executive director of Common Ground , Rosanne serves as a trustee of Amherst College and the Folger Shakespeare Library , a director of the Times Square Business Improvement District and of the Dwelling Place Women ' s Shelter . She is a board member of New York City ’ s Citizens Housing and Planning Council and the Centre for Urban Community Services . Perry Jefferies served as a First Sergeant with the Army ’ s 4th Infantry Division in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom . After deploying to Iraq and traveling with the cavalry through the Sunni Triangle , his unit moved to the Iran - Iraq border and set up Camp Caldwell , future home of the new Iraqi Army . Perry joined the Army after enlisting in the Texas National Guard and served in Korea , Germany , and the United States before deploying to Iraq . He was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Iraq . He has served in infantry , armor , and cavalry units as a cavalry scout , platoon sergeant , first sergeant , supply sergeant , and as an instructor at the ArmorSchool at FortKnox . He retired in 2004 and was awarded the Legion of Merit . He is a member of the Order of Saint George for service to Armor and Cavalry . A graduate of PierceCollege in Washington , he works with the Armed Services Blood Program at FortHood and is a founding member of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America . Yannick Marchal is currently an exotic derivatives trader at Deutsche Bank in London in the Foreign Exchange Complex Risk group . He co - founded IAVA with Paul in 2004 and acted as IAVA ’ s Chief Operating Officer through December 2005 . Prior to his time at IAVA , Yannick worked in the Investment Banking and Equity Research divisions at JPMorgan for over three years . He graduated cum laude from Stern Undergraduate Business School in January 2000 and received an MBA from INSEAD , class of December 2006 , with distinction . Craig Newmark A web - oriented software engineer by training , with 30 years of IT experience at companies such as IBM and Bank of America , Craig Newmark now spends his days working as a customer service rep at Craigslist . org . In 1995 , while Craig was working at Charles Schwab , he started craigslist as an email list for friends and co - workers about events going on in the San Francisco Bay Area . In 1999 , Craig retired from IT consulting to work full - time on craigslist . What started as a fun side project in Craig ’ s living room has since grown into one of the busiest sites on the internet , helping people with basic day - to - day needs such as finding a job , an apartment and a date , all within a culture of trust . Craig is involved with a variety of community efforts and is particularly interested in organizations promoting public diplomacy , Middle East peace and new forms of media such as participatory journalism . He sits on the boards of Sunlight Foundation , OneVoice , FactCheckED , and VotoLatino . Craig graduated from Case Western University . Activities . From their website , the group " addresses critical issues facing new veterans and their families , including mental health injuries , a stretched VA system , inadequate health care for female veterans , and GI Bill educational benefits . IAVA also provides valuable resources and empowers veterans to connect with one another , fostering a strong and lasting community . " The group uses Facebook and other forms of social media to connect veterans . Williamson , Published on IssueLab