SALEM, Ore. – A 14-year Navy veteran is set to take over as head of the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs.
Once confirmed, Sheronne Blasi will become the first woman veteran to head the agency.
According to the ODVA, Blasi worked as assistant director of Statewide Veteran Services. Before then, she was a state auditor for 15 years where she made recommendations and managed audits to programs and services for Oregonians.
Blasi served 10 years as an enlisted sailor before becoming a commission as a Supply Corps officer through the Enlisted Commissioning Program. When she left active duty, Blasi earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Portland State University.
ODVA said Blasi will replace Cameron Smith, who served as the director since 2013.
“Cameron Smith’s tenure as director has been a very transformational period in ODVA’s history,” Blasi said. “Under his leadership and with the passion and dedication of the ODVA team, the agency has reinvigorated and expanded its core programs and mobilized broad community partnerships to assure our veterans’ health, education and economic opportunity. I am honored to continue building upon our work and the trust placed in me by Governor Brown, the ODVA team and the veteran community in Oregon.”
Blasi’s first day as acting director will be December 21, 2017.
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