Director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency
Brian L. Love, a Marine Corps veteran with extensive experience in veteran advocacy, education reform and political strategy, became director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency on Oct. 31, 2023. He was appointed to the position by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Love previously worked as director of community outreach at Education Trust-Midwest, a nonprofit organization that works to advance educational excellence and equity for Michigan students.
Born and raised in Detroit, Love enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in the infantry from 1986-90, prior to the Gulf War. His family has been active in the Marines since World War II, when African Americans were first allowed to serve in the Corps. Over the years, Love has continued to advocate for veterans as they acclimate to today’s world.
He has been in professional politics for nearly twenty years. His love for politics comes from the passion he learned from his professors at Morehouse College as a political science major. His focus began by conducting political campaigns on the local, state and federal levels in Michigan. He has also managed and implemented community outreach operations for several Michigan legislators.
After working for the Michigan Democratic Party as a political director and base vote director during the 2004 presidential campaign, he began running constituent outreach programs for local campaigns for Michigan state representatives and state senators.
This experience led Love to become urban/external affairs director for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2007. Beginning in late 2010, he spent a year consulting on local campaigns and enjoying time with his family. In 2012, Love became campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Gary Peters. Following that victory, he became the lobbyist/outreach director for StudentsFirst Michigan, a national education reform organization.
He is the former public affairs director for the Greater Detroit Area Health Council and education blogger for Education Post.
Love lives in Redford Township and is married to his high school sweetheart, Lonita. They are the proud parents of a son, Jamario, and a daughter, Tori.
