Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend has been appointed to serve as a member of the Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans. The appointment is effective immediately and will continue through June 2022. Townsend is a U.S. Air Force veteran who served 12 years in the Judge Advocate General Corps. The committee advises the secretary of Veterans Affairs on the effectiveness of the VA in delivering and administering benefits, programs and services to minority veterans. The ACMV also reviews reports and studies pertaining to compensation, health care, rehabilitation, outreach and other benefit programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. By law, the ACMV focuses its efforts on serving five minority groups: Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, Pacific Islander Americans and Native Americans. Townsend’s appointment will not affect her current leadership position with Iowa Workforce Development, the state agency said in a press release, and all costs associated with her participation as a member of the ACMV will be covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.