The Governor has appointed Mrs. Igafo Maria Brown Togia as Acting Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs. A November 25 memo from Governor Pulaalii Nikolao Pula said the appointment is effective immediately.
Efforts to find out the employment status of Malologa Lagai, who the Governor appointed as Director of the VA Department in February, were not successful.
Mrs. Igafo Maria Brown was serving as Veterans Affairs Liaison.
In 2018, she was sworn in as a Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hawaii State Department. She is the first female to hold the commander position in the State of Hawaii and also the first veteran from American Samoa to hold this role in the VFW organization.
At the time, she was only accredited certified benefits counselor in American Samoa and served as the Pacific region representative for Minority Veterans Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
