Waco Regional Office

Director: John S. Limpose

As Director of the Waco VA Regional Office (VARO), Mr. Limpose is responsible for administering non-medical benefits provided to Veterans, Servicemembers, and dependents – including compensation, pension, and vocational rehabilitation and employment benefits.

The Waco VARO serves a potential clientele of nearly 922,000 Veterans living in a service area that extends from El Paso to Texarkana and from Austin to Amarillo, which equates to an estimated 158,000 square miles. Mr. Limpose oversees compensation and pension (C&P) benefits delivery programs with annual outlays of over $3.57 billion.  The Waco VARO employs a total of approximately 840 employees.

Mr. Limpose worked in the St. Petersburg VARO, beginning his government career in 1991 as a Clerk Typist in the St. Petersburg VARO’s Finance Division.  Mr. Limpose advanced through progressively more responsible positions, which included the following: Veterans Claims Examiner, Rating Veterans Service Representative, and Coach.  Mr. Limpose has been involved in many national initiatives, which included the Pension Original Consolidation Workgroup, Regional Office Performance Metrics, and Pension Maintenance Center (PMC)  Skill Certification Workgroup.  Most recently, he was one of six selected to VBA’s Directors Advisory Committee.

CAREER CHRONOLOGY:

2012 – Present     Director – Waco VARO
2007 – 2012         Assistant Director – Cleveland VARO
2006 – 2007         Veterans Service Center (VSC) Manager,
                             Milwaukee VARO
2004 – 2006         Pension Maintenance Center Manager, Milwaukee VARO

EDUCATION:

2012     VA Senior Executive Strategic Leadership – University of North Carolina,
             Kenan - Flagler Business School
2011     VA Senior Executive Candidate Development Program Graduate
2010     Federal Executive Institute – Leadership for a Democratic Society
1983     Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics, The College of Wooster,
             Wooster, Ohio

Assistant Director: Darlene Jones

Darlene Jones was appointed as an Assistant Director at the Waco VARO on November 8, 2009. 

Ms. Jones began her VA career in 1999 as a Veterans Service Representative at the St. Petersburg VA Regional Office.  During her tenure at St. Petersburg, she advanced to the position of Rating Specialist; and subsequently to the position of Supervisory Veterans Service Representative, where she was responsible for various teams within the Veterans Service Center.

In 2007, Ms. Jones accepted a position with the C&P Service, as Chief of Program and Development Staff. In that role, she was a first line supervisor for one of the three procedures teams.  She was responsible for supporting a number of programs, which included Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD), Quick Start Consolidation, and Pension Management Centers Consolidation.  Also, Ms. Jones served as the VA Chair on the BDD Working Group for the Benefits Executive Council.  She was instrumental in coordinating the development of various initiatives, including the Pre-Discharge website, BDD pamphlet, and Quick Start pamphlet.

Ms. Jones was born in Camden, Arkansas. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from St. Leo University, as well as a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Troy State University.

Ms. Jones is an alumna of the Leadership VA (LVA) Class of 2009, the VBA 2010 Assistant Director Development Program (ADDP), and the Federal Executive Institute (FEI) class of 2011.

Ms. Jones and her husband, David, who is a retired Navy Veteran of 23 years, have two sons, Christopher and Brandon.

Assistant Director: Pandi S. Van Houten

Pandi S. Van Houten was appointed as the Assistant Director of the VA Regional Office (RO) in Waco, Texas, on March 5, 2018. Prior to that, she served many years in the Veterans Service Center at the Waco RO.  She was appointed the Veterans Service Center Manager (VSCM) on April 11, 2010, and preceding that, she served as the Assistant VSCM beginning in January 2001. 

Ms. Van Houten began her career with VBA in 1991 at the Albuquerque RO as a Clerk-Typist. Subsequently, she served as Secretary for the Finance Division and then began working in the Adjudication Division, first as an Adjudicator and later as a Rating Specialist. 

Beginning in 1998, Ms. Van Houten served as a Quality Review Consultant with the Systematic Technical Accuracy Review (STAR) staff in the Compensation and Pension (C&P) Service in VA Central Office. Following that assignment, she served as a Budget Analyst for the C&P Service, where she was responsible for the formation and preparation of the annual C&P Service budget and the development of legislative cost estimates, workload analyses and projections, and resource allocation models and actions. 

Ms. Van Houten graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in the field of Computer Information Systems from Colorado State University. Ms. Van Houten and her husband, Adam, live in Waco, Texas, and have two sons, Joshua and Alex.

Veterans Service Center Manager: Dirk Mancuso

Dirk Mancuso was appointed as Veterans Service Center Manager (VSCM) on September 2, 2018. Prior to this, he served as the Assistant VSCM in the Houston, Texas, VA Regional Office (RO). Dirk has participated in several VBA leadership programs during his VA career, to include the Aspiring Senior Leadership Practicum, Leadership Enhancement and Development, Leadership Development Program, and the Executive Leadership Coaching Program. Prior to being the AVSCM at the Houston RO, he served as an AVSCM and First Line Supervisor in the Appeals Management Center, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Mancuso embarked his VA career as a Veterans Service Representative at the Winston-Salem VA Regional Office prior to progressing with higher level responsibilities as noted above. Mr. Mancuso is an Air Force Veteran and holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resource and Leadership Development from Louisiana State University.