Connecticut Veterans’ Affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz was nominated this week by President Barack Obama to serve as assistant secretary for policy and planning in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Schwartz’s nomination needs U.S. Senate approval.
Linda Schwartz
Schwartz has served as state commissioner since 2003.
Gov. Dannel Malloy, in a press release, said, “For more than ten years, Commissioner Schwartz has been a strong and important voice for veterans in Connecticut, and she is an excellent choice to serve veterans on a national level. Her appointment is also a great loss for Connecticut.’’
Malloy, who reappointed Schwartz in 2011, added, “The commissioner’s integrity and her work on behalf of Connecticut’s veterans and women veterans, and on the Governor’s Veterans Cabinet, has a critical impact on improving how the state delivers programs and services to our veterans and military service members. She has greatly improved the lives of our military men and women.’’
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2, said, “As an Air Force veteran who suffered an injury during her service, and as a nurse and advocate, she has firsthand knowledge of the veterans’ health care system. Her initiatives have helped to reduce homelessness among veterans, and under her watch, access to a variety of support services for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has expanded.’’
Schwartz served in the United States Air Force Nurse Corps from 1968 to 1986. She retired as a flight nurse instructor, with the rank of Major, after sustaining injuries in an aircraft accident.
Schwartz holds a masters in nursing and a doctorate in public health from the Yale School of Medicine.