Advisory Board

Charles W. “Chuck” Ramey is Chief of Public Affairs for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Southern Nevada Healthcare System. His duties include responsibility for all internal and external communication to include media relations, community outreach, visual information, stakeholder and congressional engagement, employee communication, web management and social media. Consisting of a medical center, four large primary care clinics; a community resource and referral center; a Veterans Recovery Center; and outpatient clinics in Pahrump and Laughlin, Nev.; the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System provides delivery of health care to nearly 65,800 Veterans and ensures outpatient and inpatient services are available to more than 146,700 Veterans residing in an official catchment area of Clark, Lincoln and Nye counties.

Ramey enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and graduated from the Defense Information School’s basic journalist course at Fort Benjamin, Ind., in 1988. His background includes various military and civilian public affairs assignments at the unit, wing, numbered air force, major command, and Secretary of the Air Force levels. Ramey’s stateside military and civilian assignments include bases in Wyoming, Nevada, Delaware, Hawaii, Washington D.C. and Louisiana. He also served overseas in Germany and Honduras, and deployed in support of Operations Provide Promise, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Some highlights of Ramey’s career include supporting the release of eight American and European hostages from Lebanon, managing media relations for the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron “Thunderbirds,” coordinating public affairs activities in support of U.S. military operations in Central America; and serving as a lead operational, contingency and wartime planner for Air Force operations in the Pacific. He also oversaw public affairs activities for the beddown of the F-22 Raptor at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and helped found Aviation Nation – the Nellis AFB-Las Vegas Air Show.

From September 2011 to May 2013, Ramey was assigned to the Pentagon where he coordinated Air Force opinion leader and media engagements for the Secretary of the Air Force, Air Force Chief of Staff, Undersecretary of the Air Force and numerous other senior service leaders. Prior to joining the VA in December 2015, he spent two years as Chief of Public Affairs Plans and Requirements for Air Force Global Strike Command at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., where he managed operational and contingency communication planning for the Air Force’s long-range strike force and two-thirds of the nation’s nuclear deterrence triad.

From March 2018 to May 2019, Ramey served as the Acting Communication Manager for VISN 21, where he provided advice and counsel to executive leaders and mentored public affairs staff at eight VA medical facilities in Nevada, California, Hawaii and the Philippines.

Ramey has an associate’s degree in Public Affairs from the Community College of the Air Force, a bachelor’s of science degree in Workforce Education from UNLV, and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. He is also a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College distance learning course, the U.S. Air Force Senior NCO Academy, and is a U.S. Air Force NCO Academy distinguished graduate. Ramey is also currently a member of the Leadership Las Vegas Class of 2020.

Karen is the Administrator of Clark County’s Organizational Development Center where she oversees training and development activities for 10,000+ employees. In her 22 years with Clark County, Karen has also worked in the Clark County Manager’s Office, Human Resources-Recruitment, and spent eight years at the Clark County Water Reclamation District as a full-service HR professional. The bulk of her experience is in interviewing/hiring, labor relations, classification and compensation, and providing training on topics such as supervision, management, strategic planning, leadership, and communication skills among others. Additionally, she serves as a facilitator, supporting teams in creating new processes or modifying existing ones.

Karen earned both her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in workforce (adult) education from the University of Nevada – Las Vegas. Since becoming a community partner with VTCTA, Karen has worked with school staff to place more than 60 students in year-long internships in government agencies ranging from the Coroner’s Office to Animal Control and Elections. She has also conducted multiple training's for VTCTA students in job interviewing and resume writing and has served on several mock interview panels.  In addition to working regularly with teachers, administrators, and students, she is also a parent of a VTCTA Alumni and served on VT’s School Organizational Team (SOT) for 2.5 years.