Udall, Pearce Congratulate Marvin Trujillo on Selection as Chairman of VA Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Steve Pearce congratulated former Laguna Pueblo Second Lieutenant Governor Marvin Trujillo on his selection as the new chairman of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans (ACMV). Trujillo is a former U.S. Marine Corps first lieutenant and a member of the Pueblo of Laguna. He currently serves as a member of the ACMV, and will assume the role of chairman beginning in 2015.

The ACMV consists of veterans who represent respective minority groups, and who are recognized as leaders in fields relevant to the minority groups they embody. Members are appointed by the VA secretary, and serve as advisers to the secretary and to Congress on the VA's administration of benefits, health care, and other services to minority veterans.

"The Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans plays a critical role in helping the Department of Veterans Affairs to accurately assess the needs veterans who are members of minority groups, and I congratulate Marvin Trujillo on his selection as chairman of this important committee," Udall said. "Mr. Trujillo's background, military service and extensive work to support Native American veterans in the Southwest give him an excellent perspective on the needs of minority veterans. New Mexico's veterans represent the diversity of our state, and we are fortunate to have such a dedicated advocate standing up for the rights of our minority veterans on the national stage as we work to ensure that all veterans in New Mexico and across the country receive the benefits and care they deserve."

"Marvin Trujillo is an asset to New Mexico and has strongly advocated for veterans as the Tribal Veterans Service Officer for the Pueblo of Laguna and the co-chair of the All Indian Pueblo Council's Veterans Sub-Committee. I commend him on his dedication to our men and women who have served and congratulate him on his selection to this committee," Pearce said. "I was honored to speak with him this week when he learned of his appointment. His enthusiasm was evident. I know he will continue to serve our state's minority veterans with that same dedication in his vital role as committee chairman."

Trujillo joined the U.S. Navy in 1993, and served as an aviation electronics technician for four years, including multiple tours to the Persian Gulf. He later entered the Hampton Roads Naval ROTC unit while attending college at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He later attended flight training, and served at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona.

Trujillo, with the assistance of a veterans ad hoc committee, established the Laguna Veterans Office with the support of the Laguna Tribal Council. He also served as the co-chair of the All Indian Pueblo Council's Veterans Sub-Committee. He currently serves as secretary of the Southwest Native American Veterans Association (SWNAVA), which works to assist and educate Native American veterans regarding veterans' rights, entitlements and benefits. He has helped organize SWNAVA's inaugural national conference, entitled ‘Empowering Native American Veterans to Speak with One Voice to Shape Policy,' which took place at Isleta Casino and Resort in Albuquerque this week to help educate Native American veterans about accessing benefits through the VA.