Andrew Ward
April 19, 2022
|By MVJ Admin
Founder and President. Acadiana Veteran Alliance
Andrew Ward, President, and Founder of the Acadiana Veteran Alliance (AVA) began his military service in 2001. He served a total of 6 years in the U.S. Army Infantry and the Louisiana National Guard 256th Infantry Brigade, completing one tour in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004-2005.
After graduating from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Andrew worked for 10 years in the corporate oil and gas industry, and in 2016 transitioned into healthcare, overseeing the operations and business of a Lafayette-based medical practice. In 2020, Andrew partnered with his longtime friend and fellow 256th veteran Levi A. Kastner at Thimmesch Kastner Insurance, a local independent insurance brokerage firm. This partnership planted the seed for what was to become the AVA.
“I knew once we teamed up in business, it would be special”, said Ward. “So I thought that it would be an amazing thing to get more of my fellow veterans together and create new strategic business partnerships, forward-thinking conversations, and hopefully create a positive spark during an extremely difficult time for our area. There are so many uncertainties, but I know that with the right people in place, and veterans or current servicemembers leading the charge, only good things can come out of it.
Also, being in the healthcare space for the last five years opened my eyes to private practitioners and quality health outcomes surrounding PTSD treatments. Our goal is to connect those dots and get those veterans struggling with depression, anxiety, etc. on the right path to recovery through these providers. AVA is proud to be the connective tissue to achieve that goal and excited to see our fellow brothers and sisters-in-arms back on track with their help.
This is only the beginning. We’ve built this initial Advisory Board full of tactical and thoughtful people, who can make a substantial difference now and set the bar for the future. We envision AVA becoming an institution in this area, and consistently pivoting to the greatest needs of our veterans, for decades to come.”
Andrew lives in Lafayette, LA. with his wife Angela West Ward. They have five children together, McKenna, Austin, Cole, Cameron, and Caroline.
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana Metropolitan Area