Director’s Message

Kelly Fitzpatrick

These past few months have been busier than ever, with emerging events running concurrently Oregon’s long legislative session that started in January and continues as of this writing. ODVA’s legislative director Jay Defillipo and I have had the opportunity to discuss many issues of importance to veterans, especially the Governor’s Request Budget for ODVA and a number of bills that would impact veterans if passed. Jay will provide a verbal update during our in-person Advisory Committee meeting.

New ODVA Deputy Director Dr. Nakeia Daniels

ODVA’s new deputy director, Dr. Nakeia Daniels, joined ODVA on March 1, 2023, the same day as our previous Veterans Advisory Committee meeting. Our June 7 VAC meeting will be her first opportunity to join us in person. She replaced Sean O’Day, who became the deputy director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) effective March 13. Dr. Daniels is an 8-year Army veteran. I first met her in 2018 when she was Governor Brown’s Veterans Policy Advisor, one of only a handful of individuals whom the Governor trusted to advise her on priority issues. That same year Dr. Daniels Nakeia was selected to be the deputy director of the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA).

OYA is statutorily responsible for adjudicated youths between the ages of 12 and 25 who are remanded by a court to close custody or are on parole or probation. The agency consists of more than 1,000 employees and approximately 1,100 adjudicated youths and has a budget of $400 million. As the deputy director of that agency, Dr. Daniels drove short- and long-term strategic planning and identified potential new programs, business partnerships, and external funding opportunities. Some of her numerous other accomplishments as deputy director of OYA include modernizing operations with strategic process improvements and developing thought leadership around emerging practice areas in support of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), the budget, and financial and operational goals. At the same time that Nakeia was the deputy director of OYA she was working on her PhD at Columbia Southern University. She completed her doctoral studies in November 2021.

In May 2022 Governor Brown asked Dr. Daniels to temporarily take on the role of director of Equity and Racial Justice for the remainder of the administration – again illustrating the incredibly high trust level that Dr. Daniels had established with the Governor, as equity and racial justice was the outgoing Governor’s top priority at that phase of her administration. In short order Dr. Daniels produced results by successfully leading directors of state agencies, boards and commissions to focus on addressing much-needed changes to executive branch policies and practices related to people of color. This intensive focus on diverse stakeholders required her to also manage the associated multi-billion dollar budget.

A proud mother of 3 children who served alongside their parents for a total of 21 years of military service, Dr. Daniels is passing the mantle of service onto her eldest, who is currently an Army Reservist. In addition to being a mom and executive, she enjoys music, art, and the performing arts, and spends her free time writing and researching, mentoring, and coaching leaders. Dr. Daniel’s skillset and