DMSc Deputy Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans’ Services Commander DAV Department of Massachusetts
As the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, BG (MA) Andrea Gayle-Bennett knows the importance of hard work and giving back. Andrea earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from City College of New York’s Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education in Physician Assistant Studies in 1981, a Master of Education degree from Lesley College in Business Management in 1988 and a Doctor of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Medicine in 2021.
BG (MA) Andrea Gayle-Bennett served over 35 years in the MA Army National Guard. Her military career includes many notable accomplishments. In 2012, she became the 1st African American female O-6 in the history of the MA Army National Guard. She has served in various leadership positions within Medical Command and served as the State Surgeon for Joint Forces Headquarters, again making history in 2014 as the 1st non-physician and the 1st African American to hold that position. She deployed multiple times in her military career including Paraguay in 2008, Iraqi in 2009, and Kenya in 2016. In December of 2020 she was selected to the rank of Brigadier General (Massachusetts), again making history as the first female and the first African America woman O-7 in the Massachusetts Army National Guard.
She was the recipient of the Deborah Sampson Outstanding Female Veteran of the year award from the Massachusetts Department of Veterans services in 2011. In June of 2016 she was appointed to the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence and later that same year was appointed to the Governor’s Advisory Counsel for Veterans Services. In 2019, she was appointed to the Board of Trustees at North Shore Community College. On June 5, 2023, she was appointed at the first ever Deputy Secretary of the Executive Office of Veterans Services of the Commonwealth of MA. On Jan 15, 2024, she was a guest on The 400 Years of African American History Commission’s (400YAAHC) fourth annual Justice Sunday Service Around the Clock (Justice Sunday) tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In the civilian sector she worked as a Physician Assistant with Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Boston, MA. BG (MA) Gayle-Bennett has also been active within her community by serving on various veteran committees in Lynn and Saugus, MA. Throughout the years she has served on various boards to include the Becket Chimney Corners YMCA, The Pingree School, The Brookwood School and The Veteran Business Owners Initiative. She currently serves on the Boards of Operation Delta Dog, the Saugus Veterans Council, and the Lynn Veterans Council. She is currently the commander of the MA Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and serves as the adjutant and treasurer of her local DAV Chapter 64.
In her free time, BG(MA) Gayle-Bennett enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and morning walks. She currently resides in Lynn, MA with her husband, 93-year-old parents and service dog General Gunner. She is the proud mother of 4 adult children.