Acting Executive Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU)

Chanel Bankston-Carter is the Acting Executive Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). She leads programs to advance small business participation in VA procurements, championing opportunities especially for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses.

Previously the Director of Program Integration for VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) Integration Office, Mrs. Bankston-Carter was responsible for cross-organizational and cross-functional coordination of platforms, systems, and programs across the VA and the Department of Defense (DoD) in support of VA’s new Electronic Health Record system. She provided guidance on key EHRM-related issues, implications, and relationships to members of Congress and their staff, the Office of General Counsel, and the Government Accountability Office. She is the subject matter expert for communicating and relationships with members of Congress and their staff, as well as internal and external stakeholders. She coordinated Department-level communications to Members of Congress and their staffs, White House and other Executive Branch officials, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and other senior Department officials. She was responsible for program integration and Departmental organization analysis, program oversight, and management of organization areas that impact EHRM policy and EHR system efficacy.

Mrs. Bankston-Carter is an Army Veteran. Her VA career began at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Waco, TX, where she was out based at Fort Hood, Texas as a Counseling Psychologist. She has worked in various positions and programs at VA, including, the Office of the Secretary, Center for Women Veterans, Director of the Customer Service Center at the VA Central Office, Program Manager for the Veterans Employment Service Office, and Director of Communications and Strategic Outreach for OSDBU. Mrs. Bankston-Carter served for one year as a VA Congressional Fellow for Senator Tammy Duckworth, leading the Senator’s Education and National Service portfolio while serving as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on her Veteran and Defense portfolio.