SPRINGFIELD, Va. — The Virgin Islands Veterans Association (VIVA) hosted a highly successful strategic advisory briefing on Thursday, 10 September 2026, welcoming Dr. Vincent W. Patton III, EdD, 8th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard (Retired), for a candid, hour-long working session with the VIVA Board of Directors and invited guests. The virtual convening, held via Microsoft Teams, delivered actionable guidance on nonprofit governance, veteran maritime education, and Coast Guard heritage — three pillars central to VIVA’s formal 2027 launch.
Dr. Patton — who serves as Chairman of the Northeast Maritime Institute (NMI) Board of Trustees, Chief Executive Officer of the NMI Foundation, and a member of the National Coast Guard Museum board — brought decades of federal, educational, and philanthropic leadership to the discussion. President Beverhoudt opened the meeting and framed VIVA’s mission as an outreach, referral, and heritage-preservation organization serving Virgin Islands veterans, families, and the wider U.S. Virgin Islands diaspora.
A Productive, Forward-Leaning Session
Board members praised the session as one of the most substantive advisory engagements in VIVA’s pre-launch period. Discussion centered on four themes:
• Nonprofit Governance and Fundraising. Dr. Patton spoke about how the Board may build a roster of “willing givers” who convert expertise into proactive fundraising, to identify a specific mission “hook” that resonates with industry partners, and to adopt rigorous year-one compliance standards. Drawing on his experience with Warriors4Wireless and the AFCEA Educational Foundation, he outlined the two or three governance traps that most often snare small veteran nonprofits in their first twelve months.
• Maritime Education and Career Placement. Dr. Patton detailed the Northeast Maritime Institute as a national model for veteran career transition. NMI’s VA-approved, accelerated two-year associate’s degree pathway for third mates produces near-100% job placement, with graduate starting salaries near $90,000 — positioning NMI as a high-leverage pipeline for VIVA-referred veterans and USVI diaspora candidates.
• Coast Guard Heritage and the National Coast Guard Museum. The Board and Dr. Patton discussed VIVA’s Virgin Islands Coast Guard lineage and USVI diaspora reach as a natural complement to the National Coast Guard Museum’s mission.
• Advisory Council Invitation. President Beverhoudt extended a direct invitation for Dr. Patton to consider serving on VIVA’s Advisory Council — at large, or with a Coast Guard Heritage and Maritime portfolio — and asked him, in the alternative, to identify the highest-leverage way to keep VIVA connected to his network and experience going forward.
Women Veterans and Medical Services
In a closely related segment of the session, Director Nielsa Parson-Porter led a candid discussion on the distinct challenges facing women veterans and their access to medical services, including gaps in gender-specific care, geographic access limitations for U.S. Virgin Islands and diaspora women veterans, and the need for targeted outreach, referral, and peer-support pathways. The exchange reinforced VIVA’s commitment to elevating women-veteran engagement as a core pillar of its outreach, referral, and partnership work heading into the 2027 launch.
Leadership Reflections
“Dr. Patton’s counsel was direct, generous, and immediately usable,” said President Beverhoudt. “He gave our Board a clearer picture of what disciplined governance and durable partnerships look like in year one — and he opened a maritime-education pathway that our veterans and USVI diaspora candidates can walk through starting now.”
Looking Ahead
VIVA’s next Guest Speaker meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 8 October 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern via Microsoft Teams, pending final confirmation of Director Patrick D. Farrell, Director of the U.S. Virgin Islands Office of Veterans Affairs and Senior Vice President of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs.
About VIVA
VIVA, Inc. is a Virginia nonstock nonprofit corporation formed on April 2, 2026 to serve all those that have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, with special emphasis on those who are from or reside in the U.S. Virgin Islands and its mainland diaspora. VIVA exists to complement — never to duplicate — the work of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Virgin Islands Office of Veterans Affairs. VIVA is preparing for a formal 2027 launch.
