John Driscoll, Vice President of Operations and Programs, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, since January 2002. He served in the U.S. Army from 1970-1980, including a tour as an air-evac medic and platoon sergeant with the 575th Medical Detachment during the Vietnam War. After returning from Vietnam, he served as the senior clinical specialist on the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., from 1973-1980. Driscoll graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and spent the next 13 years as a group newspaper editor for the Chesapeake Publishing Corporation. As a journalism student intern in 1987, he wrote a series on homeless veterans living on the streets of the nation’s capital which was submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration in two categories by Chesapeake Publishing. His expose on the widespread use of chemicals used in the manufacture of Agent Orange throughout the United States until 1984 – 12 years after its use was banned in Vietnam – also received considerable attention.

Significant publishing credits while working with NCHV, in partnership with the Department of Labor-Veterans Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS), include “Planning for Your Release, A Guide for Incarcerated Veterans,” which has been distributed to more than 16,000 employment specialists, transition assistance counselors, and incarcerated veterans; “Assistance Guide for Employment Specialists Helping Homeless Veterans,” the primary DOL-VETS training manual for homeless assistance providers; and the “HVRP Best Practices Project,” a study of 36 community-based programs cited for exemplary performance in helping formerly homeless veterans prepare for and obtain steady, gainful employment and successfully transition from homelessness to independent living. He is responsible for the development of the NCHV website (www.nchv.org) into the most comprehensive homeless veteran assistance on-line resource in the nation, providing information and service referrals to more than 65,000 visitors each month.

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