Ron Abrams to Retire as Co-Executive Director of NVLSP, but will Continue to Help on Part-Time Basis
It is with profound gratitude for his enduring and exemplary service to NVLSP and America’s veterans, but with deep regret that NVLSP announces Ron Abrams’ retirement as Joint Executive Director of NVLSP, effective December 31, 2017. NVLSP is pleased, however, that Ron has agreed to continue to work for NVLSP on a part-time basis. Ron’s part-time service will begin October 1, 2017, and we expect that part-time assistance to continue in 2018 and beyond.
Ron joined NVLSP’s staff 28 years ago, after 14 years of service with the U.S. Veterans Administration. He became Joint Executive Director of NVLSP in 2004.
“Abrams' encyclopedic knowledge of veterans disability claims law has served and will continue to serve as a great resource to NVLSP and the thousands of veterans Ron represented or helped materially through the various training programs and materials he developed,” said Ron Flagg, Chairman of NVLSP’s Board of Directors.
Bart Stichman, Joint Executive Director and co-founder of NVLSP, stated that “ever since he joined NVLSP, Ron has played a critical role in our success, providing valuable insight and inspiring leadership. We thank him for his service to the countless veterans that have benefited from his perseverance as a valuable voice of veterans’ rights.”
ABOUT RONALD ABRAMS
Ronald B. Abrams is a graduate of the Temple University (B.A. 1969), and Temple University School of Law (J.D. 1973).
Abrams began his career in 1975 in the Philadelphia regional office of the Veterans Administration, serving first as an adjudicator and then as a member of the rating board. Transferring to the VA’s Central Office in 1977 as legal consultant to the Compensation and Pension Service (C&P), Abrams was recognized as an expert in due process.
As legal consultant to C&P, Abrams helped to draft the VA Adjudication Procedures Manual M21-1. He wrote and interpreted regulations and directives to be followed by VA staff and others, and both drafted and commented on legislation on the VA’s behalf. As part of his work, Mr. Abrams was in charge of the C&P quality review section. While at VA Central Office, he conducted national training sessions in adjudication and due process for VA staff.
Abrams has appeared on national television and testified on many occasions before the U.S. Congress on behalf of the nation’s veterans. His experience working for VA gave him great insight into its system. He later decided to employ this knowledge as an advocate with NVLSP. Since joining in 1989, he conducted hundreds of training sessions for such organizations as the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs, National Association of County Veterans Service Officers, The American Legion, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, AMVETS, Military Order of the Purple Heart, and many state and county departments of veterans affairs. He has also conducted training sessions for a number of state bar associations, the Legal Services Corporation, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Ron is a member of the Board of Directors of the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program. He is the editor of the NVLSP’s Basic Training Course in Veterans Benefits and a co-author and editor of NVLSP’s Veterans Benefits Manual.