After more than 28 years at U.S.VETS—14 of them as CEO of the nation's largest nonprofit service provider dedicated to preventing and ending veteran homelessness, Marine veteran Stephen J. Peck retired on January 2, 2025.

Peck served with the Marines in Vietnam after graduating from Northwestern University, where he studied film, influenced by his father, actor Gregory Peck. His life was forever shaped by his service as a first lieutenant in the 1st Marine Division as a forward observer outside Danang, Vietnam.

After returning home, Peck became a documentary filmmaker, earning praise for Heart of the Warrior and Far from Home, the latter about homeless Vietnam veterans living in Venice, California. This powerful experience inspired him to become a full-time advocate for homeless veterans and take an active role in solving an escalating problem.

While earning his Master of Social Work at the University of Southern California, he served as an outreach worker at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center, finding unhoused veterans on the streets and connecting them to care. In 1996, he was recruited to U.S.VETS as director of community development and later became inaugural director of its Long Beach site before taking the reins of the national organization in 2010.

Under Peck's leadership, U.S.VETS grew four-fold, with services expanding across Southern California, Hawai'i, Arizona, Nevada, Texas and Washington, DC. This remarkable growth allowed the organization to reach more veterans in need across the nation.

Peck also championed the launch of U.S.VETS' comprehensive homeless prevention programs focused on employment, mental health, suicide prevention, peer support and female veterans—addressing the diverse and complex needs of the veteran community.

Beyond his role at U.S.VETS, Peck served as immediate past president of the California Association of Veteran Service Agencies, a consortium of seven nonprofit veteran service providers working in partnership to address the needs of California's veterans. He also serves on the board of directors of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, which leads federal advocacy work on behalf of veterans nationwide.

Even in retirement, Peck will continue his work with U.S.VETS, focusing on the West LA VA housing development, advocacy for veterans nationwide and his personal commitment to ensure no one who served our country is sleeping on its streets.

His dedication to this mission reflects the Marine Corps values that have guided his entire post-military career. Through his documentary work, social work education, hands-on outreach, and executive leadership, Peck has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to his fellow veterans.

From the battlefields of Vietnam to the streets of Los Angeles, Stephen Peck has dedicated his life to service—first to his country, and then to those who served alongside him. He continues to embody the Marine motto "Always Faithful."