Chief of Staff

Paul Young is the Chief of Staff of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA), directing executive operations and policy development in support of ODVA’s mission to serve Oklahoma’s veterans. He holds degrees in Political Science, Public Administration, National Resource Strategy, and is 2020 Fellow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI.

His active-duty Navy service spanned nearly 33 years, highlighted by four command tours, numerous overseas deployments, and high-level pentagon positions both at U.S. Strategic Command, and on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. Over the course of his career, he supported Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Active Endeavor, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He retired in September 2025, after a successful tour as the Commanding Officer and Professor of Naval Science, for the University of Oklahoma Naval ROTC program. He currently resides in Norman with his family.