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KDVA introduces women veterans coordinator at Kentucky Derby Week

Lousiville native LuWanda Knuckles served in Iraq and Afghanistan

FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 30, 2015) — Kentucky’s new women veterans coordinator, LuWanda Knuckles, was introduced today during Kentucky Derby Week 2015.

 Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs photo
KDVA commissioner Heather French Henry and women veterans coordinator LuWanda Knuckles with women military members. (KDVA photo)

The Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs (KDVA) created the position to address the specific needs of Kentucky’s 33,000 women veterans. They differ from male veterans not only demographically (more likely to be single parents, for example) but in needed services (female-oriented health care) and likelihood of seeking benefits.

“This is really a dream job for me,” said Knuckles, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. “As a veteran myself, I know how important it is that someone is working directly with woman veterans to ensure they obtain the benefits and services they have earned.”

Knuckles, a Louisville native, joined the Kentucky Army National Guard in 2003, while she was still in high school. She volunteered for her first deployment to Iraq in 2007, and five years later volunteered for a deployment to Afghanistan.  During that tour, she worked with the “Women of Empowerment” program. She remains a member of the Kentucky Army National Guard as a human resource specialist.

In addition to a variety of military training and education, Knuckles attends Jefferson Community and Technical College with plans to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Louisville in the fall of 2016.

Knuckles lives in Shelbyville with her son and two nephews. When she is not supporting her children at sporting events, she enjoys reading and exercising.