Doug Collins
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Douglas Allen Collins was born in August 1966 in Gainesville, Georgia. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of North Georgia and later received an M.Div. degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He then earned a Juris Doctor from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. He served as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy.
Collins interned for a U.S. representative from Georgia before he went into sales. He became the senior pastor of a Baptist church and owned a retail store with his wife. He also practiced law and became a partner in a firm. Collins returned to the military after September 11, 2001, and still serves in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command as a chaplain.
He served in the Georgia House of Representatives and then was elected to the Georgia State Senate. In 2012, Collins was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served four terms. He made an unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate in 2020.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Collins as Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. He was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in in February 2025.
Collins is married to Lisa and they have three children. He is a Southern Baptist.
In the News…
The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched clinical trials to test the effectiveness and safety of psychedelic therapies for the treatment of major depression, with or without concurrent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in U.S. veterans. The first clinical study was released late last month, showing that, after a month of psilocybin-assisted therapy, a psychedelic compound from mushrooms, nine out of 12 veterans no longer met PTSD diagnostic criteria.
“Far too many Veterans are living with mental health conditions that don’t respond to available treatments,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins. “Under President Trump, VA is pursuing all avenues to evaluate new treatments and offer meaningful relief for those who have worn the uniform. This clinical trial reflects another step toward this goal.”
The VA secretary stated, “I think we’re making massive progress in how we diagnose things, but also how we do new treatments, which in the past was more of a wait-and-see approach, and now we’re being more cutting-edge.”
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Secretary Collins? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Doug Collins, Secretary
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave NW
Washington, DC 20420
