Iraq war veteran and legislative research specialist Jose R. Ramos has joined the board of directors of the Board of Certification/Accreditation, International (BOC), accepting BOC’s unanimous invitation to serve as its public member. As public member, Ramos will be responsible for representing both the direct and the indirect users of practitioners’ services.
“We are very excited and honored by Jose Ramos’s decision to join the BOC Board,” said Claudia Zacharias, MBA, CAE, president and CEO of BOC. “As our public member, he will ably represent the many Americans who currently use an orthotic, prosthetic, or pedorthic device, and he also brings great organizational background to the board. His experiences provide him with unique perspectives that will be enormously helpful in carrying out his board duties. These duties range from helping to set the organization’s mission and goals to developing its plans, overseeing its activities, managing BOC’s resources, and maintaining our organizational integrity and stature. On behalf of the entire board, I feel privileged to welcome Jose and say that we are looking forward to working with him.”
Ramos, who has an arm amputation, sustained his limb loss while deployed as a Navy corpsman in Iraq. According to BOC, he has significant experience in the legislative arena, currently working full time for the assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs at the Pentagon, performing research and analysis to support military defense matters involving Congress. He is also a member of the Department of Defense (DoD) Peer Reviewed Orthopedic Research Program Integration Panel, where he works in the Wounded Warrior Outreach program, reviews research applications for funding, and participates in vision-setting initiatives. In addition, Ramos is a member of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, which recognizes and honors volunteer service in the United States.
Before joining the assistant secretary of defense’s staff, Ramos was one of nine commissioners on the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors. He, alongside fellow commissioners and co-chairs Sen. Robert Dole (R-KA) and Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, reviewed the medical systems managed by DoD, the Armed Services, the Veterans Administration (VA), and the private sector, evaluating services provided for members of the military who sustain serious injury in service to the nation. As part of his responsibilities, Ramos traveled to dozens of federal and private facilities, evaluating their medical services and operating procedures for severely injured patients; briefed members of Congress and their staff on Armed Services and VA matters; and worked with White House staff to develop appropriate legislation.
A graduate of George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, Ramos majored in government and international politics and minored in Islamic studies. He began his career as a member of the U.S. Navy, were he served as a hospital corpsman responsible for caring for and training U.S. Marines, then served as a first responder during a tour in Afghanistan. He subsequently became petty officer in charge of preventive medicine, and then Scout Sniper Platoon corpsman in Iraq, where he trained platoon members as well as providing first aid and trauma management. Ramos has been awarded numerous military honors, including the Purple Heart, and also the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a combat “V” for valor. In addition to English, he speaks Spanish fluently and is elementary in Arabic. He and his wife, Jodie, and son, Donovan, currently reside in Arlington, Virginia.
Sharon Nichelson, CMF, COF, and chairwoman of BOC’s board, formally welcomed Ramos to the group, which sets BOC’s strategic vision and governing policies. “BOC’s board has made an excellent choice in inviting Jose Ramos to serve as our public member,” she said. His resume and personal experiences qualify him as a strong addition, and I look forward to his contributions to our profession.”
“It is an honor to serve as BOC’s public member,” Ramos said in accepting Nichelson’s invitation. “I would like to thank BOC’s certificants as well as their elected board members for giving me the opportunity to participate in a field that has become such a huge part of my life. I look forward to meeting my fellow board members and to getting started in their significant work on behalf of a field that touches so many lives.”
