Veterans
Advantage was born in 2001 of the experience and
vision of its founder and CEO, Scott Higgins.
Scott
was in Army ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training
Corps) from 1963-67, and served as a U.S. Army
Lieutenant, assigned to II Field Force in Vietnam
from 1968-69. This experience instilled in
him an abiding commitment to Veterans.
He was happy to serve again, when he was asked
by New York City Mayor Edward I. Koch in 1982
to volunteer to co-chair, along with Donald Trump,
the New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission.
The
commission forged a community of interest among
Vietnam Veterans, Veterans organizations, major
corporate sponsors, and the citizens of New York—and
the nation. The work of the commission struck
an emotional chord, acknowledging the service
and sacrifice of Vietnam Veterans without passing
judgment on the policies or conduct of the war
in which they fought.
To
meet its mandate, the commission raised $5 million
in less than four years. Following an international
competition, it built a glass brick-and-granite
memorial in lower Manhattan onto which are etched
excerpts of letters and poems written by men
and
women during their time in Southeast Asia.
It established a "living memorial," and a jobs program
for Vietnam vets. And on May 7, 1985, it
held a "Welcome Home" parade across the Brooklyn
Bridge and down lower Broadway—New York’s "Canyon
of Heroes”—in which 25,000 Veterans paraded to
the cheering of a million New Yorkers who paved
the route with tons of "ticker tape."
The
highly praised book, Dear
America: Letters Home From Vietnam, was
born of the design of the memorial. The
film based on the book was honored with a Peabody
and a pair of Emmy Awards.
It
was Scott's experiences, both during his military
service and his seven-year tenure with the
commission, that led him to conceive of and
form Veterans Advantage. Along with Lin Higgins, others
formerly involved with the commission have also
continued their work on behalf of Veterans with
Veterans Advantage. Former Commission members
Bernard Edelman, who edited Dear America,
is director of content development for Veterans
Advantage, and Ed Vick, the former Chairman and
CEO of Y&R Advertising, and
author and screenwriter Bill Broyles, both serve
on the Company's Board of Advisors.
Scott
Higgins
Founder, and Chief Executive Officer,
Scott also serves as CEO and Founder of Alcona
Capital, LLC of Greenwich, Connecticut. For eighteen years, he was a partner and director of Ark Asset Management, formerly Lehman Management Company, the investment management subsidiary of Lehman Brothers. He
spearheaded the growth of the firm from $500
million to$30 billion.
A
former Army Lieutenant and Vietnam veteran,
he has long been active in veterans' initiatives. As
co-chairman of the New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Commission from 1982-89, he was instrumental in
raising funds for the memorial and the "Welcome
Home" parade down New York City's "Canyon
of Heroes."
He
is a graduate of Gettysburg College, where
he was a history major and NCAA All-American
wrestler; in 1996, he was inducted into the
Gettysburg College department of Athletics
Hall of Fame. He
went on to earn his MBA from the Wharton School
of the University of Pennsylvania.
Scott
serves on the boards of the Freedoms Foundation,
and the European hedge fund, Mako Capital Partners. For
eleven years he served on the Board of his alma
mater, and for several years chaired its Endowment
Fund. For eighteen years, he served on the
Board of the The New York Shakespeare Festival
[The Public Theater] and for several years was
its co-charman. He has three children with his
wife, Lin Higgins, the Company's co-founder and
COO.
Roy
Asfar
Vice President,
Marketing. Roy is the charged with launching
and enhancing all Veterans Advantage benefit
partner programs, and spreading the word to Veterans Advantage members across the country on receiving their benefits.
He is also in charge of Veterans Advantage's editorial efforts, producing news and content that is in tune with the needs of the U.S. military and Veteran community.
He
is a media and communications veteran of 20
years, holding senior-level positions with
Reuters, the New York Times and Ziff-Davis
Media, among others. His business passions
have spanned both offline and online, and even
television as a guest technology commentator
on CNBC television. And since the Internet’s "early days," Roy has launched four Web sites, all
of which are still in business.
Roy
has a Master’s Degree in literature from
New York University, and raced Ironman triathlons.
Claire
Burke
WebMaster. She has a special interest in veterans'
affairs: Rory, her husband, served two tours
in
Vietnam with the Marines. Her parents and three
of her older siblings were prisoners of war in
the Philippines during the Second World War.
Bernard
Edelman
Director of Content Development,
has worked as
a journalist, photographer, and editor. A Vietnam
veteran, he has written and edited several books
and articles, including: Dear
America: Letters Home From Vietnam.
He was Associate Producer of the Emmy Award-winning
film of the same name, and Co-Producer of the
documentary short, "Memorial: Letters from
American
Soldiers,"which was nominated for an Academy
Award. He also served as Director of the Mayor’s
Office of Veterans’ Affairs in New York City
for
Mayor Ed Koch. He is a graduate of Brooklyn
College
and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City
University of New York.
Lin
Higgins A
founder and Chief Operating Officer, Lin is
also President of Alcona Capital. A former Vice
President of Salomon Brothers, she helped manage
the sales and marketing of mortgage-related products
for the firm. She had previously been the first
woman executive in Corporate Bond Sales and Trading
at Lehman Brothers.
Lin went on to become a founder and principal
of a fixed income research and trading firm, a
principal of the New York Stock Exchange, and
a registered commodities broker.
A graduate, with honors, of Barnard College, Columbia
University, she is the daughter of a Marine officer
who served in the Pacific Theater during the Second
World War and granddaughter of an Army captain
in the First World War.
Rebecca
Martin
Customer
Service Representive. Daughter of a Navy Veteran.
Public
Relations
Members
of the media interested in learning more about
Veterans Advantage should contact by submitting
a request here.
