Notable Veteran Executives: Sam Rogers

Class of 2022

U.S. Army, served three times in Afghanistan, twice enlisted and once as a civilian intelligence officer

Colleagues say that Sam Rogers, strategic director of Concerned Veterans for America, has a sincere leadership style that is based on the military tradition of leaders eating last. 

“Sam puts the mission and the people he works with before himself in everything that he does. He has been a tireless advocate for the veteran community and in ending the war in Afghanistan,” said Eric Searing, director of external relations at Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.

Rogers led the Midwest national campaign at CVA to end the Afghan war for two years. He built coalitions across traditionally separated groups, engaging thousands of people to support the effort. As the conflict concluded, he quickly pivoted to supporting Afghan refugee efforts, both with nonprofits and ad-hoc coalitions in Afghanistan as well as domestic nonprofit partners. He secured more than $250,000 in refugee care package supplies to deliver to Fort McCoy. 

Rogers has been a repeat guest on Lake Effect and Central Time on WPR, CNN Prime Time, talk radio and podcasts around the country, and he’s been published by The Hill, Newsweek, Capitol Times, HuffPost and others. Rogers builds support networks for young veterans leaving the service, advocates for veteran health care access rights and advises state and federal officials on military and veteran policies.

In the Army, he served with distinction in Afghanistan three times, twice enlisted and once as an Army civilian intelligence officer. Rogers is a father of four and a Navy spouse to his wife Danielle, who is currently serving in the Naval Reserve.

Rogers currently serves on the boards of the Veteran Business Outreach Center, America’s Future (Milwaukee) and the North Shore Classical Academy. He formerly served on the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center 30:20 Committee and Veterans Advisory Council to the Chancellor (University of Wisconsin System).

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