Director
Stephen Whitehead, a disabled Minnesota Army National Guard veteran of the Iraq War, was elected national commander for the more than 1 million-member DAV at the organization’s 2019 national convention in Orlando, Florida.
A native of Trimont, Minnesota, Whitehead is a retired Command Sergeant Major for 84th Troop Command Brigade in the Minnesota Army National Guard. In his fulltime job, he is the DAV Department of Minnesota adjutant and executive director of the Disabled American Veterans of Minnesota Foundation.
Whitehead joined the Army in 1991. He has two overseas deployments. He received a Bronze Star in 2007 for service in Iraq. Other military awards include a Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, five Army Acheivment Medals, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal and the Humanitrian Service Medal. In 2012, he was awarded the Veterans Voices award by Governor Mark Dayton.
He earned a Bachelor’s of Science business degree from the University of Phoenix in 2009.
Whitehead and his spouse, Kim, live in Rosemount, Minnesota. He is a life member of Chapter 10 in Mankato, Minnesota.