Deja Joi Brewster joined SVA in May of 2021 as a Program Coordinator. In this role, she engages and supports chapter leaders, student veterans, and military affiliated family members with SVA programs and initiatives both on and off campus. She aids in connecting the more than 1,500 on-campus chapters, more than 750,000 student veterans, and their families to SVA and events to enrich themselves and their chapters. Joi collaborates with the Programs and Events team on all SVA events including Leadership summits and the National Conference. Joi excels in communication, maintaining relationships, and enriching those she works with.

Before joining SVA, Joi served as an Army Resource Officer where she spearheaded a program of educational, career, and wellness resources for the Army Reserve of North Carolina.  She served as the point of contact for state resources for 11,000+ Army Reservists and their families. Joi has led the Suicide Prevention Program for the North Carolina National Guard as their Program Manager. She was the primary POC for briefings, investigations, liaising with commanding officers, and was charged with constructing a more efficient prevention program for the Guard. She was a member of the board for My Military and Veteran Resource Collation in North Carolina, worked side by side with law enforcement officials to support Veteran Crisis Intervention trainings, and volunteered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness—which included leading a Family-to-Family class and speaking at state conferences. Further, she served as the first military spouse career manager for Blue Star Families in the Baltimore area. Supporting military spouses and their careers initiated a stimulation of the local economy which is currently valued at more than one million dollars.

Joi brings to SVA a wealth of experience and knowledge. She holds two Masters: one in Forensic Psychology and another in Military and Combat Psychology. She aspires to pursue a doctoral program in the near future. Raised a first generation American, Joi has not served in the military nor has her family. She has goals to commission as a military psychologist, making her the first to serve in her family and first doctor. Joi is a proud military spouse with three sons all who aid in her resilient and tenacious spirit. In her free time, she enjoys the beach, reading, cooking, watching her son play ice hockey, and spending time with friends and family.

Joi is SVA’s programs lead for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and holds the following specialty certificates:

• Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace, École Supérieure des Sciences Économiques et Commerciales (French: Superior School of Economic Science and Business)