Brad Lindsay is the Commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA). As Commissioner, Lindsay is charged with assisting the state's 294,000 Veterans and their families. He also represents the Department at hearings before the Minnesota Legislature and United States Congress, and maintains close working relationships with the Veterans' Service Organizations of Minnesota.
Lindsay previously served as the Deputy Commissioner of Programs and Services for MDVA since September 2014. In this role, he oversaw the Programs and Services Division, comprised of Veterans Programs and Memorial Affairs, Veterans Services and Veterans Higher Education and Occupational Resources. These areas manage more than 20 programs, including Minnesota’s four state Veterans Cemeteries, the Veterans Higher Education Campus Representatives, Tribal Veterans Service Officers, Veterans Outreach, Veterans Homeless Programs, VA Claims assistance, State Soldiers Assistance Program, State Approving Agency, Gold Star Family Program, Women Veterans Program and Veterans Preference Enforcement.
Commissioner Lindsay is an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran. He started his military career in the U.S. Army and served 14 years in the Military Police, within both the Regular and Reserve components. During his military service, he was deployed to Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Germany and Panama and is the recipient of numerous awards including the Combat Action Badge, the Army Achievement Medal and two awards of the Army Commendation Medal.
He previously served three years as the Senior Director of Programs and Services at MDVA. His other relevant experience includes six years as the Olmsted County Veterans Services Officer and six years prior service in various positions within MDVA.
The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs was established in 1943 and falls under Minnesota Statutes, Chapters 196, 197, 198; Minnesota Rules, Chapter 9050, Chapter 9055. Listed below are the MDVA Commissioners, starting with present commissioner, Brad Lindsay, to the first commissioner, William Revier.
The Minnesota Veterans Homes were merged with MDVA in 2007. For more information please visit the Veterans Homes history page.
