Jim Steddum is a co-founder of Mission URSA and a 38-year Army veteran. He spent 30 years in uniform and eight more as a Department of the Army civilian, leading enterprise knowledge systems and career management for a large, distributed workforce. He understands veteran culture from the inside, including the pride and self-reliance that often stand between a veteran and the support they have earned.
Mission URSA was built on a simple conviction: the right intervention, delivered through trusted relationships, can reach people before crisis arrives. Jim helped co-found URSA for Veterans to connect veterans, students, and their families with nonprofit therapy partners and established service organizations, removing barriers to accessing qualified care.
As an elected leader in the Veterans of Foreign Wars at the post, district, and Department of Alabama levels, Jim works directly with the veterans that Mission URSA is designed to serve. He brings operational credibility, institutional knowledge of military and veterans' systems, and active partnerships with organizations such as Racing for Veterans, the VFW, and the DAV. Above all, he brings the one qualification no outsider can offer: he is a member of the population this organization was built to serve.