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St. Louis Regional Office

Meet Our Leadership Team

 

Executive Director: Edward J. McQuade

E.J. McQuade was appointed the Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), Providence on July 28, 2016.  He was concurrently appointed the Director for the St. Louis VARO in July 2025.  As the Executive Director, he is responsible for leadership and oversight of all Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) operations to include management of the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) program centralized at the Providence and St. Louis ROs. He is responsible for administering federal benefit payments to Veterans and their families living in Rhode Island, Southeastern Massachusetts and Missouri. These benefits include Compensation, Pension and Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (VR&E) entitlements.

Assistant Director: Joshua Duran

Mr. Duran was appointed Assistant Director of the St. Louis VA Regional Office in June 2019. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Duran was the Acting Executive Management Officer in the Office of Human Capital Management. He is a Veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Assistant Director: Jessica Brand

Ms. Brand was appointed Assistant Director of the St. Louis VA Regional Office in September 2020. Ms. Brand was appointed as Acting Assistant Director in October 2019, and prior to this appointment she was the Assistant Director of the Records Management Center (RMC) since July 2017.

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Officer Image

Veteran Readiness and Employment Officer: Heather Shade

Heather Shade was appointed Veteran Readiness and Employment Officer in October 2019. Prior to this appointment, between 2013 and 2019, she served as the VR&E Officer for Wichita Regional Office. In her VA career she has been the Employment Coordinator for Wichita Regional Office and served as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the Anchorage Regional Office.

Veterans Service Center Manager: James Brown

James M. Brown becomes the Veterans Service Center Manager (VSCM) of the St. Louis VA Regional Office (VARO) effective January 28, 2024.  Prior to this appointment, Mr. Brown was the Assistant Decision Review Operations Center (DROC) Manager at the St. Petersburg DROC. 

Centralized Support Division Chief:  Michael Russell

Michael E. Russell became the Chief of the Centralized Support Division (CSD) of the St. Louis VA Regional Office (VARO) effective June 3, 2024. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Russell was the Assistant Chief for CSD at the St. Louis RO

Regional Call Center Manager:  Michelle Lacy-Rush

Michelle Lacy-Rush began her VA career as a Veterans Claims Examiner from 1996-2000. She was an Education Liaison Representative for the states of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and North Dakota from 2000-2006, an Assistant Chief Education Liaison Representative from 2006-2014, a National Call Center Manager from 2014-2016, an Assistant Education Officer from 2016-2020, a Supervisory Veterans Service Representative from 2020-2021 and then again St. Louis National Call Center Manager from 2021 to present.

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