A.J. Luna enlisted in the Army in 2000 and began as a communications soldier at Fort Gordon, Georgia. In 2002, he joined the New York National Guard where he was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004–2005 with the 95th MP Battalion.
While serving in the National Guard, A.J. pursued his bachelor’s degree at Brooklyn College. Shortly thereafter, he completed his Masters in Administrative Science with a concentration in Non-Profit Organizational Development from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
In 2009, A.J. became the Director of Veteran Services for Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU). The FDU Office of Veteran Services was created to provide Veteran students with access to a variety of services. In June 2010, FDU was the first university in the country to host a peer support workshop on its campus. During his tenure, Luna was instrumental in supporting over 700 veterans in obtaining bachelor and master degrees during his five and a half year tenure.
After a successful tenure at FDU, Luna was appointed by Bergen County Executive, James Tedesco III, as the Director of Veteran Services for Bergen County. In August 2016, the County of Bergen became the 28th community in the United States to “effectively end veteran homelessness.” Luna continues to work on new initatives including the VA Work Study program at the County of Bergen which allows the County to hire part-time student veterans as interns to augment the Division of Veteran Services and the Homeless Veteran Liaison program which identifies veterans living in shelters and develops plans to get those veterans into permanent housing.
For his work, A.J. Luna has received numerous accolades and has been featured on several media outlets recognizing his efforts and support of veterans. In 2017, the New Jersey American Legion recognized and awarded him with the “Homeless Veteran’s Outreach Award for the State of New Jersey”. In July 2018, he was selected by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs as the “VA Veteran of the Day” which is a national recognition. He was honored at 1st Annual Brenner Foundation Veteran Services Gala at the Venetian, in Garfield, New Jersey on October 18th, 2018.
He is married to his beautiful wife, Shevonne Murray-Luna, and has 2 beautiful daughters, Mariah Angel Luna, 6, and Alexandra Jordan Luna, 4.
Thank you for your service, A.J.!
Nominate a Veteran for #BergenCountyVeteranOfTheWeek
Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you?
The #BergenCountyVeteranOfTheWeek social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.
It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.
Bergen County Division of Veteran Services
The Division of Veterans Services was established in 1977 to provide resident veterans and their dependents with information and assistance in obtaining earned entitlements from federal, state, and local governments, as well as any that are available from the private sector.
Through a quarterly newsletter and direct client contact, the division provides Bergen’s veterans organizations and their auxiliaries and individual residents with up-to-date benefit information.
