Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs
Ronald E. Walters was named the Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, effective May 24, 2024. As the Acting USMA, Mr. Walters oversees the maintenance and operation of 155 VA national cemeteries in providing dignified burial services for military Veterans and eligible family members.
His responsibilities include overseeing design and construction activities related to the establishment of new VA national cemeteries; managing memorial programs including the provision of headstones, markers, medallions and Presidential Memorial Certificates; and administering federal grants to states and territories including tribal trust lands, Guam, and Saipan. There are currently 122 grant-funded Veterans cemeteries.
Mr. Walters has served as the Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs since January 2015. Prior to this position, he was NCA's Deputy Under Secretary for Finance and Planning and Chief Financial Officer. He has represented NCA at congressional hearings, as well as meetings with Veterans Service Organizations, the Office of Management and Budget, advisory committees and other groups. He was instrumental in efforts to modernize the approach to memorializing Veterans through the establishment of the Veterans Legacy Program and Veterans Legacy Memorial. He joined the Department of Veterans Affairs as a Budget Analyst in 1985. He has also served as the Associate Chief Financial Officer for Budget and Planning in the Office of Personnel Management.
Mr. Walters earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from The Johns Hopkins University and a master's degree in public administration from George Washington University. He graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor of arts degree from Georgetown University and was a Rhodes Scholar finalist. He has received two Presidential Rank Awards (Meritorious and Distinguished) and was a finalist for the 2014 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal in Management Excellence.
Mr. Walters is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Updated July 2024
