A New Leader Expands the Center for Military and Veterans Affairs’ Mission

With 2021 seeing the onboarding of a new executive director, a milestone in the number of scholarships awarded, and a landmark gift and continued partnership with Penn Mutual, the Center for Military and Veterans Affairs stands ready to extend its reach, offering even more scholarships, improving the lives of more military families, and acting as a trusted lifelong partner for students and alumni.

James A. Roy, PMP®, CMSAF (Ret.), was recently tapped to serve as the Center for Veterans Affairs’ new executive director. As the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, Roy represented the highest level of leadership among noncommissioned officers in the U.S. Air Force—only the 16th service member in Air Force history appointed to such a position—and in his role, he provided direction for enlisted men and women as well as representing their interests to the American public and at all levels of government. He served as the personal advisor to the Chief of Staff and the secretary of the Air Force on all issues regarding the welfare, readiness, morale, and proper utilization and progress of the force.

His success soon carried over to an accomplished business career, where Roy most recently served as chief operating officer for Silotech Group, a company focused on advanced cyber, intelligence, IT, and modernization solutions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Roy brought on 20 new employees to the firm, expanded to three new business sectors as part of his vision to grow Silotech beyond small business status, and brought in nearly $20 million in annual revenue during a very turbulent time in U.S. history.

That mix of public service and private sector experience quickly caught the attention of The American College of Financial Services President and CEO George Nichols III in his search for an executive director who would be ready to build on the Center’s  past successes and take it to new levels.

“Chief Roy has the exact vision and value set that’s needed to lead the Center as we give back to our honorable communities of service members and their loved ones. His service record and professional qualifications truly speak for themselves, and he’s the kind of leader we want on our team,” President Nichols says, adding that he has high hopes for Roy’s tenure at The College.

And Roy has already been making rapid inroads in his new role. The Center successfully hosted its annual clambake and award ceremony in September and, in addition to welcoming esteemed guests and speakers, took the opportunity to award its 1,000th student scholarship. Roy says that’s just the start, explaining that the Center has plans to greatly expand its financial outreach efforts. Roy hopes to award 400 annual scholarships in 2022 and beyond, a four-fold increase from its historical yearly average. The expansion effort was jump started by a critical grant from the Center for Veterans Affairs’ longtime partner and financial backer, The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, which announced a 10-year, $3 million contribution to fund scholarships, transition support, job placement programs, and other services.

Roy says veterans and the broader military community come with a skillset and ethos that’s already a natural fit for The College and the financial services industry that it serves.

“Veterans come with a set of core values that makes them comfortable operating in an environment that requires attention to detail, integrity, and an appreciation of all different cultures and backgrounds,” Roy said. “Especially in financial services, there is and always will be a real need for those individuals of integrity to help others as they address life’s major milestones with confidence and success.”

In addition to what will amount to be a record-setting year for student scholarship awards, the Center is currently in the process of further expanding The College’s eligibility for scholarships under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Currently, only master’s degree programs qualify for GI bill funding, but Roy hopes that securing federal funding for some of The College’s designation programs as well will greatly expand The College’s reach into the military community, including possibly for active-duty personnel.

In addition to expanding scholarship offers and other outside funding, Roy’s other immediate focus is on growing The College’s overall footprint in the lives of veterans and their families, both during and after their time spent studying for their designations and degrees.

“What we want to offer is more than just an education or a designation. It’s a lasting commitment to be there as a steadfast, dependable partner as they progress through their post-military financial service careers,” Roy says.

To that end, Roy and his team, including Bonnie Weinberger, Rick Nail, and Nicole Jones, are building out an academic and career mentorship program, where students are partnered with leaders in the financial services industry.

“Our vision is a program where current students and recent graduates are connected with industry leaders – maybe they’re alumni of The College or veterans themselves, or maybe others who want to make an impact and the idea would be to not only help them get a foothold in the financial services industry, but to then help them progress past those first few years. The point is to get to where the student is really on solid ground,” Roy says. “It’s mentoring, it’s career coaching, it's a partnership where the student has someone to turn to, someone who has been in the industry for a while and can help make connections.”

Roy sees the program as a way for new entrees to gain access to what can be a niche industry.

“Once you have those first few cohorts up and running, I think you’ll soon see a system that quickly becomes self-sustaining. The former students can turn around and help the next group on their way up,” Roy adds.

The mentorship program is just one core pillar of an expanding mission undertaken by the Center, one that includes job placement and career guidance.

“I know that there are a lot of companies out there eager to hire highly talented, dedicated veterans. It’s really just a matter of us making those connections,” Roy says . “Fortunately, we’ve been able to rely on our partners — our institutional partners and supporters, but also our financial backers who help fund scholarships — as we work to carry out our mission to help veterans.”

To learn more about the Center for Military and Veterans Affairs, visit their website.