Margarita Devlin is the Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits at the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this role, she leads over 30,000 Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) employees who deliver a full array of non-medical benefits to Service members, Veterans, their families, and survivors. VBA provides Disability Compensation, Pension and Fiduciary, Home Loan Guaranty, Life Insurance, Education benefits, Outreach, Transition and Economic Development, and Veteran Readiness and Employment.
Through a nationwide network of 56 regional offices, special processing centers, and VBA headquarters, she oversees the administration of these programs for nearly seven million beneficiaries receiving more than $235 billion in direct benefits each year.
Before assuming her current duties, Ms. Devlin was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations and Management at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS). There, she administered programs to advance employment opportunities, protect workplace rights, and provide transition assistance for hundreds of thousands of Veterans, service members, and military spouses annually.
CAREER CHRONOLOGY:
2025 – Present Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC
2021 – 2025 Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of Labor Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, Washington, DC
2021 – 2021 Chief Learning Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Washington, DC
2018 – 2021 Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC
2017 – 2018 Executive Director, Benefits Assistance Service, Department of Veterans Affairs Washington, DC
2015 – 2017 Executive Director, Community Engagement, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC
EDUCATION:
1995 Masters of Arts, Rehabilitation Counselling, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
1995 Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL