Richard Barbato

Rich Barbato grew up on the North Shore of Massachusetts and attended Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Pennsylvania from 1994 – 1999, where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the United States Army.

Shortly after the September 11th attacks he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In February of 2003 he deployed to Kuwait, and subsequently saw combat during the invasion / liberation of Iraq in March.

In August of 2012 Rich became the Director of Veterans Services for the City of Gloucester, a position he held up to accepting the position of Outreach Specialist for the Lowell Vet Center in January of 2014. As Outreach Specialist his assigned areas covered parts of Middlesex County, all of Essex County in Massachusetts, and the border region of Southern New Hampshire. As Outreach Specialist he functioned as the benefits, programs and services subject matter expert, as well as providing visibility on readjustment counseling.

In August of 2017 he was detailed to 10RCS, the Program Office of the Readjustment Counseling Service (Vet Center Program) in the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office, Washington D.C. (the Vet Center program). In 2018 he accepted the position of Management and Program Analyst in the Office of Planning and Policy, 10RCS.

Rich holds a Bachelor’s in History from Bradford College, and a Master’s in Social Work from Salem State University.