Joseph Bello
Advocate / Founder
NY MetroVets
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
I served in the Navy for eleven years, from 1984 to 1995.
I expected to stay in the Navy for many more years, but I unexpectedly developed asthma.
I was placed TDRL and then released. I had no idea what I was going to do next.
When I came home, I enrolled at LaGuardia CC and then NYU where I studied Communications.
I worked in education for some time while I was advocating for myself and other vets.
I knew law & politics were channels for change, so I started engaging local elected officials.
I founded NY MetroVets and currently sit on several boards to help advocate for my fellow veterans.
Last year, the mayor signed a veterans city agency into law; that is a huge legacy piece for me.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Advocate / Founder
I'm a connector; I work with local vets to help contect them to resources, such as legal & education
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Education
Government
Working with Others
Day to Day
On a great day, I'll go to a meeting and get new information on a benefit or event coming down the pipe. Then I'll go to the local VA hospital and deliver fliers and meet with vets to keep them abreast of what's going on in the community. Then I'll head to a meeting with a councilmember about a piece of legislation to discuss what it's going to take to get it passed. At the end of the day, I'll take my notes and turn them into a newsletter at the end of the month to keep everyone informed.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
You have to realize right off the bat that going into advocacy isn't going to get you rich. If you're interested in making $$, this isn't the business for you. What you need to be interested in is being a part of something that's bigger than yourself. Once you get into the service mode, education is the most important piece. Get educated so that you actually know what you're talking about, and you know the proper channels and collaborations you can utilize to best help the cause.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Bachelor
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"Am I doing the right thing?"
