Jennifer Burch was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) when she took the oath of office on March 3, 2025. In this role, she advises senior leadership to shape departmental strategies, oversees policy implementation, and provides management oversight and administrative support across VA’s operations to advance the Department’s mission of delivering exceptional care and services to America’s Veterans.
A Veteran and military spouse herself, Ms. Burch’s career reflects her unwavering commitment to improving healthcare outcomes for those who have served. Before joining VA leadership, she served as a Professional Staff Member for two years with the U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Subcommittee on Health. As the subcommittee’s healthcare subject matter expert, she advised on legislative initiatives across Veterans Health Administration (VHA) operations, infrastructure, and budget. She organized congressional hearings on critical issues including prosthetics services for Veteran amputees, VHA healthcare organization, and healthcare access.
Her advocacy work includes serving as a Government Affairs Specialist at Wounded Warrior Project, and also serving on the Programmatic Panel for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs at DoD, helping shape research priorities for toxic exposures.
Ms. Burch’s understanding of Veterans’ needs stems from her own military service. During her U.S. Air Force career, she deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2010-2011 where she volunteered as a medic on the trauma team at the NATO Role III Multinational Medical Unit while managing infrastructure projects valued at millions of dollars.
Ms. Burch is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health at George Washington University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies from the University of Denver. She resides in Maryland with her husband Carl and their golden retriever Apollo.