Jim Marszalek, National Service Director
Jim Marszalek, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, was appointed national service director for the more than 1 million-member DAV in August 2013. He works at DAV’s National Service & Legislative Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Marszalek manages all activities of the DAV’s National Service Program, which employs approximately 240 professional national service officers, 26 transition service officers and support staff in 100 offices throughout the United States and in Puerto Rico. These service officers represent veterans and their families with claims for benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD). DAV’s direct hands-on services make up the largest item in the organization’s budget for program services. DAV service officers annually interview hundreds of thousands of veterans and their families, and file over 151,000 new claims for benefits for the injured and ill veterans.
Marszalek joined the DAV professional staff in 2001 as a member of Class XI at the DAV National Service Officer Training Academy in Denver, Colorado. Following graduation in 2001, Marszalek was assigned as service officer apprentice at the DAV National Service Office in Cleveland, Ohio. He assumed supervisory roles across the country, and in 2012 was appointed as deputy national service director, where he served until his current appointment.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Marszalek entered the U.S. Marine Corps in 1996 and was honorably discharged in April 2000.
Marszalek is a life member of DAV Chapter 76, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He and his spouse, Jillian, reside in Ashburn, Virginia. They have two sons.