Leadership
Executive Committee
Executive Committee members hold two-year terms, beginning on the first day of January following election. The Chair, Secretary and two members-at-large are elected in even years; the Vice Chair and two other members-at-large are elected in odd years. Elections are conducted at the Fall annual meeting in October.
Chair
Vice Chair
Secretary
VA Liaison
Hugo Lentze
Public Sector Strategy Advisor, RallyPoint
Hugo has served DVVC since 2016 and began his second term as Chair in 2021, focused on growing the relationships between veteran-serving organizations in the region and creating the conditions for success for the next DVVC leadership team.
He is proud of the team that has been built to lead DVVC, the service it has provided, and how those services have grown over the last four years.
Tammy Cartagena
Health Benefits Consultant, US Family Health Plan
A retired SMSgt, NJ Air National Guard, Tammy is Tricare certified with DEERS access with the ability to assist all service members with Tricare questions. In addition, she serves as the Secretary of the Board of Retiree Association at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, on the Board for the Philadelphia Parade Committee, and volunteers at the Retiree Office at the 111th Attack Wing, Air National Guard.
Ashley Griffiths
Executive Director, Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity, AmeriCorps Alumna
Ashley serves as chair of the DVVC Membership Committee. She is a proud AmeriCorps alumna and has held multiple leadership positions with local nonprofit organizations. She also participates in the Honorary Commander Program at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Ashley recognizes and values the work of DVVC to bring veteran service organizations together to share knowledge and resources to better serve the Veteran community.
Rita Chappelle
Chief, External Affairs, Outreach and Media,
Cpl. Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center
Rita plays a critical role as a non-voting member of the Executive Committee, integrating the work of DVVC into the community engagement efforts of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and ensuring we retain our status as a Community Veterans Engagement Board (CVEB).
She serves as an Executive Committee liaison to committees.
Members-At-Large
Ryan McGoldrick
Deputy Executive Director, Mission Execution, Veterans Multi-Service Center
For more than a decade, Ryan has worked to provide services to military and Veteran communities in the tri-state area. While with the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces, she helped create DVVC. In 2014, she joined the Veterans Multi-Service Center – a key DVVC member organization providing direct service to Veterans in the region.
Ted Gallagher
Director, NJ Camden County Office of Veterans Affairs
Over his years of active duty and Reserve service in the U.S. Army, Ted developed a passion to assist service members and Veterans in navigating the challenging bureaucracy of the VA and DOD. He brings this passion to his job in Camden County and to his volunteer work with DVVC, as well as to his role as an Ex Officio Member on the Board of Directors for the Battleship New Jersey.
Paula Crawford-Gamble
Veterans Care Excellence Liaison, Penn Medicine
Paula has been a DVVC member organization representative for three years and active on the Program Committee. Through DVVC, she believes we can integrate our resources to successfully collaborate with community and government organizations to meet the needs of our community.
Hank Gillen
Director of Veterans Services,
St. Joseph’s University
As a representative of one of DVVC’s educational member institutions, where our veterans benefit from DVVC members’ support, Hank is keenly aware of the value provided by DVVC as a clearinghouse of info on what is available in greater Philadelphia, one of the best places to be a veteran.