Washington DC Networking Dinner

The #1 networking & dinner event for the Veteran Entrepreneur & Fed Small Business Community in the DMV.  Come join us for a great evening!

• Parking: Free
• Event POC: NVSBC President, [email protected]

Thank You to Capital One for their generous sponsorship of the June 2022 DC Dinner!

Register Here!

Paul R. Lawrence is a businessman, author, and passionate Veteran advocate.  He has 35 years of experience solving management problems in large, complex organizations.  As a private sector executive, he was a consulting Partner at two Big-Four accounting firms and a Vice President in two Fortune 500 companies.  He is a government management thought leader, having written several books on the subject.

For almost three years, Lawrence served as Under Secretary of Benefits at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, unanimously confirmed by the Senate on April 26, 2018.  As Under Secretary, he was in charge of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) leading a team of 25,000 people with an operating budget of $4 billion, administering $120 billion in benefits annually.  He implemented proven business practices, streamlined the bureaucracy, and created a public presence rebranding VBA as an organization successfully supporting Veterans. 

During his time as Under Secretary, Veterans received more benefits faster and at lower cost than any time in VBA history.  His 2021 book, “Transforming Service to Veterans: How I Pursued Performance Excellence at VBA,” describes the accomplishments during his time as Under Secretary.  To make the benefits experience easier for Veterans, later this year his new book, “Veterans Benefits Survival Guide” will be available.

He serves on the Board of Directors of Vets2Industry, a non-profit organization helping Veterans pursue a career in the private sector and the Board of Trustees of Purpose Built Families, a nationally-accredited nonprofit that delivers compassionate, informed care to address underlying causes of Veteran homelessness.  He is also a Senior Advisor to Search & Acquire, a non-profit focused on helping Veterans become CEOs via Entrepreneurship through Acquisition

He was selected three times by Federal Computer Week as one of the top 100 public service leaders.  In 2019 he was recognized as Government Executive of the Year by Service to the Citizen.  He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Lawrence earned his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in economics from Virginia Tech.  He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, graduating Phi Beta Kappa.  He is an Army Veteran, having completed his ROTC requirement as an Airborne-qualified Captain.