Symposium: What Do We Owe our Veterans?

Flyer for the Notre Dame Forum event, "What do we owe our Veterans?" Symposium. It features a draped American flag, event details (March 28th, 8:30 am - 2:00 pm, Downes Club), and lists Admiral Christopher W. Grady as keynote speaker. Additional speakers include Denis McDonough, Angela Lowe, and Brian Nicholson. A QR code for registration is included.

Featuring:

Navy Admiral Christopher W. Grady '84

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Navy Adm. Christopher W. Grady was sworn in as the 12th vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Dec. 20, 2021. Previously, he served as commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command/U.S. Naval Forces Northern Command. The admiral is currently the Navy's "Old Salt," its longest-serving surface warfare officer on active duty. A native of Newport, Rhode Island, Admiral Grady is a 1984 graduate of the University of Notre Dame and was commissioned an ensign through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program. He is a distinguished graduate of Georgetown University, where he earned a master's degree in national security studies, and of the National War College, where he earned a master's in national security affairs.

Denis McDonough

Former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Until January 20, 2025, Denis McDonough served as Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), leading the federal government’s second-largest agency with a $370 billion budget and 450,000 employees, improving veteran healthcare access, satisfaction, and housing for homeless veterans. Previously, he was a professor at Notre Dame’s Keough School, a partner at Macro Advisory Partners, and a senior adviser at the Markle Foundation. From 2013 to 2017, he was White House Chief of Staff for President Obama, managing staff, cabinet officials, and national policy execution. Earlier, as Principal Deputy National Security Advisor (2010–2013), he led interagency efforts on critical security matters, including the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Before his White House tenure, he held senior roles in Congress. McDonough earned his B.A. from St. John’s University (MN) and an M.S. from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service.

Brian Nicholson '06 J.D.

Cyber Program Director, United States Department of Defense

Brian P. Nicholson is the Cyber Program Director for the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies. He previously served as Trial Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and in the U.S. Army JAG Corps. He held assignments as military defense counsel for the lead defendant in the 9/11 death penalty case at Guantanamo Bay, as a liaison to the Iraqi Judiciary and U.S. Special Operations Forces during a year deployed to Baghdad, as the senior prosecutor for the Military District of Washington, which includes the Pentagon. Last year, he was mobilized to active duty to assist the Army in Legislative Affairs through the 2024 election.

In the private sector, Nicholson was a litigation associate at a large law firm, national security counsel for a defense and tech company, and Senior Vice President at a tech consulting company. He graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 2006 and has instructed at Notre Dame Law School in the Intensive Trial Advocacy program since 2014. He taught International Criminal Law as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law and Transnational Tribunals as Professor of Practice at Washington & Lee Law. He was selected as a 2016-2017 Wasserstein Fellow by Harvard Law School.

Angela Lowe

Veterans Disability Attorney at Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law

Committed to public interest law, Angie Lowe joined Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law, in 2009, initially handling Social Security cases before transitioning to veterans' law. She has represented veterans at various levels of the VA system, including Board of Veterans Appeals hearings and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Additionally, she has taught veteran-law courses and appeared on a Charlotte, NC news program discussing veterans' rights. She earned her B.A. in Political Science from Westminster College in 2005 and her law degree from Duquesne University in 2008. While in law school, she interned at the Pittsburgh Women's Center and Shelter, representing women in legal matters such as divorce, child custody, and protection-from-abuse orders.