Daniel Dücker MSS, M. Ed.

In this role, Mr. Dücker oversees health care operations for two Level 1A VA medical centers and 20 outpatient clinics serving more than 140,000 enrolled Veterans living in middle Tennessee, southern Kentucky, and northern Georgia. He leads an executive leadership team of seven and 5,200 employees with an annual operating budget of $1.8 billion. Under his leadership, he has maintained strong academic affiliations and cutting -edge research advancements with five medical institutions, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Meharry Medical College, and more than 100 associated health residency programs. He also championed a new partnership and resource sharing agreement with Fort Campbell Army Post and Blanchfield Army Community Hospital resulting in the newly constructed Fort Campbell VA Clinic, making this the only VA-DoD health care clinic in Kentucky and second in Tennessee. 

Prior to his current role, Mr. Dücker became the Fayetteville VA Coastal Health Care System Executive Director in June 2019. As the executive director, he led a team of more than 2,500 health care professionals and staff, serving more than 85,000 Veterans at 15 locations throughout 19 counties in southeast North Carolina, with an overall operating budget of more than 750 million dollars.

Before assuming the role of executive director at Fayetteville VA, he served respectively as the acting deputy network director for VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6) in Durham, North Carolina, and interim medical center director for VA Maine Healthcare System - Togus in August, Maine. Mr. Dücker began his VA career in April 2009 as the executive assistant to the chief of staff at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Florida.

During his eight years in Tampa, he also served successively as the clinical operations and business analyst/group practice manager before accepting a position in July 2017 as the associate medical center director at the VA Maine Healthcare System.

Mr. Dücker retired from the U.S. Army Reserve in 2017 as a Medical Service Corps officer at the rank of Colonel after nearly 34 years of service. He received numerous awards during his military service including the Legion of Merit (2) and the Bronze Star for leadership and meritorious service as a Commander in Afghanistan.

A 1987 graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in therapeutic recreation, he also earned a Master of Education in higher education administration at the University of South Carolina in 1992 as well as a Master of Arts in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College in 2010. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Reserve Officers Association, the American Legion, and the Military Officers Association of America.