Maria Nguyen was appointed as Associate Director for the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS) in June 2022.
As the Associate Director, Ms. Nguyen provides oversight for Engineering, Financial Management, Health Administration, Pharmacy, VA Police Services, Emergency Management, Privacy, and Facility Planning Programs, and serves as the facility liaison to Human Resources Management Service. Prior to this assignment, Ms. Nguyen was the Acting Associate Director at the SAVAHCS from October 2021 through June 2022. Ms. Nguyen served as the Associate Director for Resources of the VA Loma Linda Healthcare System and prior to joining VISN 22, she served as the Assistant Director of the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center in Florida. Ms. Nguyen began her service to Veterans in January 2008, as a fellow of the Graduate Healthcare Administration Trainee Program for the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System. She became the Healthcare Systems Specialist to the Associate and Assistant Directors and transitioned to West Palm Beach in January 2017. She is a graduate of the 2010 VISN 8 LEAD program: Competency Development for Leaders in the 21st Century (CDL) Program, 2016 VHA Health Care Leadership Development Program (HCLDP) and is a senior fellow of the Partnership for Public Service: Excellence in Government Fellows Program. She also obtained a black belt certification in Lean Six Sigma and is a certified VA coach/mentor. Ms. Nguyen has a Masters of Public Health.