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Wilmington Regional Office

Meet Our Leadership Team

 


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Director: Lillie Y. Nuble

Lillie Nuble is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Philadelphia and Wilmington Regional Offices. The Philadelphia and Wilmington Regional Offices are responsible for administering a range of VA benefits to 1,031,660 Veterans and their families living in eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware. These services include administration of Compensation and Pension, National Call Center services, and Veteran Readiness and Employment benefits which total approximately $4.1 billion in annual payments to Veterans.

Prior to this appointment, she served as the Director of the Newark, New Jersey Regional Office from October 2016 to May 2020. She was responsible for managing the full range of non-medical benefits provided to Veterans and their dependents in 14 counties in New Jersey resulting in $866 million in compensation benefits to over 631,896 beneficiaries.

She served as the Assistant Director of the Buffalo, New York Regional Office from February 2010 to October 2016. In this position, she was responsible for providing $900M in annual non-medical benefits in 31 western counties of New York State, seven counties of Southern New Jersey, and Education benefits in the 14 northeastern states, the District of Columbia and foreign schools.

Lillie retired from the United States Navy Reserves in October 2005. She served during both Desert Shield/Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom.

Lillie is a graduate of the Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) Directors Development Program (2020) and Executive Coaching (2017).

 

 

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Assistant Director: Pedro Rivera-Batista

Pedro Rivera-Batista was appointed as the Assistant Director, Philadelphia, and Wilmington VA Regional Offices on May 9, 2021. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Education Service, Executive Management Officer. In that role, he served as the primary advisor to the Executive Director and oversaw critical operational areas such as Human Resources, Labor Relations, Budget, Communications and Education Workload.

During his tenure in Central Office, Washington DC, Pedro served in various positions supporting the issuance of Compensation, Pension and Fiduciary benefits, and collaborated in vital functions regarding Human Resources, Labor, Safety & Security and other Support Service roles. Pedro began his VA career as a VR&E Work Study File Clerk at the San Juan VARO and later held various jobs as a Claims Processor and Management Analyst.

Before entering VA, Pedro worked as an analyst with Dell Industries in Austin, Texas, from 2005 to 2007. Pedro retired from the U.S. Army as a Quartermaster Captain in 2005. He served as an enlisted soldier for 11 years before receiving an active duty commission, from the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, GA, in May 2001. Pedro is a native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

 

 

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Assistant Director: James M. Lester

James M. Lester was appointed as the Assistant Director of Philadelphia and Wilmington VA Regional Offices in November 2023. He oversees issuance of VA benefits to more than one million Veterans and their families, in Pennsylvania, the state of Delaware, and Southern New Jersey. He serves as primary advisor to the Executive Director on critical operational areas such as Human Resources, Employee/Labor Relations, Budget, Facilities, and VA Benefits and Services Workload. He began his VA career as a Work Study, before serving the agency from GS-4 to GS-15. Dr. Lester is a husband, father, and a US Marine Corps Veteran. He has worked in other capacities while at VA, such as a graduate college professor and a mental health counselor. He volunteers time to various VA and non-VA leadership programs, as well as served on several board of directors and two international councils outside VA.

 

 

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Veterans Service Center Manager: James Brewer

James Brewer joined the Veterans Service Center team at Philadelphia/Wilmington in September 2016. He arrived at the office after having served as an Assistant VSCM at VARO Montgomery from 2012 to 2016. James has held various positions during his 18-year career in VBA, including VSC Management Analyst & Supervisory Veterans Service Representative (coach) at VARO Detroit. He also served as a Program Analyst at the Office of Performance Analysis and Integrity in VA Central Office, and as a Management Analyst at the Southern Area Office in Nashville, Tennessee.

James began his career as a VSR at VARO St. Louis, near his hometown in Southern Illinois. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, earning a B.S. from both the schools of Psychology and Sociology-Cum Laude.



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Veterans Readiness and Employment Officer: William Bethea

William Bethea was appointed as Veterans Readiness and Employment Officer for the Philadelphia Regional Office on November 11, 2016. In this position, he administers VR&E benefits for Veterans in the 40 eastern counties of Pennsylvania. William has been serving the VA for 9 years in various positions of increasing responsibility. He began his VA career as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and progressed through leadership positions within VBA.