Cassandra M. Law was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. to serve as the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration / Operations, Security and Preparedness on January 18, 2024.
In this role, she leads development and oversight of human capital strategies, policies and practices while managing the Department’s preparedness, law enforcement and security capabilities for the more than 460, 000 VA employees, including 6,000 human resource professionals and 4,000 law enforcement professionals, across the nation. Ms. Law leads a vast portfolio that includes Administration, Human Capital, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Labor-Management Relations, Personnel Security and Suitability, Senior Executive Management, Employee Development, Resolution Management, Emergency Management Response and Recovery, and Security and Law Enforcement Policy.
Prior to her appointment, Ms. Law served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) located in Washington, DC. As the Deputy Chief of Staff, she advised senior leadership on the development and implementation of department-wide policies and leads administrative operations in the federal government’s second-largest Cabinet department, with a budget of more than $246 billion and over 460,000 employees serving VA medical centers, clinics, benefits offices and national cemeteries.
Ms. Law has a distinguished career as a healthcare executive. Prior to joining the Office of the Secretary in 2022, she served 33 years in the Veterans Health Administration serving in key roles including: Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Consultant to the Deputy Under Secretary for Health where she oversaw 1200 employees and an annual budget of over $4.8 billion and provided leadership in the areas of human capital management, policy, planning, and finance.
Prior to joining the Senior Executive Service, Ms. Law served as the Acting Deputy Network Director and Chief Operating Officer for the VA Sierra Pacific Network, VISN 21, which included seven major health care systems serving Veterans in fifty-eight locations across northern and central California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the vast Pacific region including the Philippines, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. As COO, she developed the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and coordinated crisis response activities between the VISN, Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies.
Ms. Law holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Development and Performance from the University of Oregon. She began her federal career in 1988 at the VA Palo Alto in Recreation Therapy Service. Ms. Law lives with her wife, Laura J. Bray in Falls Church, Virginia.
