Patrick Campbell has two decades of experience advocating for veterans and their families.
Prior to joining VES, Campbell served as an Executive Director with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). He oversaw compliance for the nation’s $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio, ensuring regulatory adherence for 42 million borrowers. He played a pivotal role in implementing the CARES Act, managing the historic 3.5-year student loan payment pause and return to repayment, and securing accountability measures for loan servicers and debt collectors.
Before joining FSA, Campbell served as Acting Assistant Director for the Office of Servicemember Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where he led initiatives that secured over $1 billion in student loan discharges for disabled veterans and spearheaded policy changes that saved servicemembers over $20 million annually. He has also held leadership positions at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), where he helped develop the GI Bill® Comparison Tool, benefiting millions of student veterans.
Before joining the Federal government, Campbell was the Chief Legislative Counsel for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and was a chief contributor to the drafting of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. He testified numerous times before the Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committees on mental health, education benefits and appropriation issues. Campbell was labeled a prominent blogger by MSNBC and spoke about veterans issues on ABC, CNN, Fox, MSNBC and NPR.
Campbell served as a combat medic as a Sergeant with the DC National Guard. He served in Iraq in 2004-5 with the 256th Infantry Brigade regularly patrolling Baghdad. He was awarded the Combat Medical Badge and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Campbell graduated from Catholic University Law School and is a member of the California State Bar. He has worked for Vice President Al Gore and Senators Feinstein, Leahy, Carnahan and Boxer. He majored in Political Science at the University of California – Berkeley, where he served as the Student Body President.