Organizational Structure
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
www.va.gov
Douglas A. Collins
VA Secretary
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is led by The Honorable Douglas A. Collins, Secretary of the VA. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs oversees VA in its mission to provide health, education, disability, funerary, and financial benefits earned by Veterans of the United States Armed Forces.
VA is organized into three major administrations, each overseen by an Under Secretary who reports to the VA Secretary.
- The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) manages the nation's largest integrated health care system.
- The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) handles compensation, pension, education, home loan guaranty, and other benefits programs.
- The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) oversees the network of national cemeteries and memorial affairs.
Paul R. Lawrence
VA Deputy Secretary
Supporting these three administrations are a number of staff offices — including the Office of General Counsel, the Office of Inspector General, the Office of Information and Technology, and others — that provide enterprise-wide functions and report directly to the Secretary or the Deputy Secretary.
The Honorable Paul R. Lawrence, Ph.D., VA Deputy Secretary, is the Department’s second-in-command and Chief Operating Officer directing policy and operations while ensuring coordinated action and compliance with the Secretary’s directives.
Other key VA leaders include:
- Curt Cashour, Chief of Staff
- John Figueroa, Acting Under Secretary for Health
- Margarita Devlin, Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits
- Samuel Brown, Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs
Read about the history of VA and its administrations. »
ORH in the VA Organization
The Office of Rural Health (ORH) is a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) national program office. ORH reports to the Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Health (ADUSH), Mark Kobelja, M.D. Dr. Kobelja is is a physician executive and anesthesiologist with extensive leadership experience in both the U.S. Navy and VA. He is a former Chief of Staff CMO for the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, Texas.
As the ADUSH, the VHA National Program Offices fall under Dr. Kobelja. The specialized national programs support the broader VHA mission. In addition to ORH, the VHA National Program Offices include: Caregiver Support, Chaplain Services, Homeless Program (Food Security), Patient Advocate, Readjustment Counseling Service (Vet Centers), Suicide Prevention, and Tribal Health.
Dr. Kobelja will lead the national program office implementation of the VHA's Restructure for Impact and Sustainability Effort (RISE).
What is VHA RISE?
» View the VHA RISE | Leadership page.
» View the VHA RISE | VHA's Restructure for Impact and Sustainability Effort information page.
» Watch the VHA RISE | VHA's Restructure for Impact and Sustainability Effort video. (February 22, 2026)
» Read the VA Secretary's statement to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans Affairs (February 11, 2026):
https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118948/witnesses/HHRG-119-VR00-
Wstate-CollinsD-20260211.pdf
Rural Health - Navigation
- Office of Rural Health Home page:
https://www.ruralhealth.va.gov/index.asp - Enterprise-Wide Initiatives (EWI) page:
https://www.ruralhealth.va.gov/Enterprise-Wide-Initiatives-EWI.asp - Veterans Rural Health Resource Centers (VRHRC) page:
https://www.ruralhealth.va.gov/Veterans-Rural-Health-Resource-Center-VRHRC.asp
*Link will take Veterans outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked websites. The link will open in a new window for the content of the linked websites.
