I am honored to win the 2016 Community Media Rika Welch leadership award for community impact; a testimony to the Guests who shared their stories on MidLIFE Matters. In addition, an 2018 interview I did with Judith Altmann, a Holocaust Survivor, won an award. In 2020 and 2021 two other awards acknowledged the content of interviews dealing with Child Sex Trafficking in CT and Non-Profit leadership. In 2023 MidLIFE Matters won First Place for a Profile Talk Show.Apolitical Veterans Advocate
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 08:31AM Linda Schwartz -- a Vietnam-era Air Force nurse, Yale nurse educator and "disabled survivor of a 1983 midair training mishap" was recently reappointed as the Commissioner of the CT Dept of Veterans Affairs. Her eight year tenure had a shaky start, but she jumped through a narrow window to gain much needed funds to better serve 280,000 Connecticut vets. She advocates for vets of multiple generations, and wants her legacy to be the outreach to the women who served. Her fans include legislators from both parties. (Hartford Courant, 3/6/11)
My dad and brother both benefited from CT VA medical services, and my ex-helicopter pilot husand, who flew during Vietnam, may also need their help one day. While I was the first to challenge the system when we bumped into barriers, I was always impressed with the compassion people brought to their jobs. Walk down a hall at the West Haven VA Hospital, and everyone says hello -- you are instantly installed into a special club.
Putting political persuasions aside, Linda Schwartz offers many leadership lessons -- fight for those you serve, don't let past practices determine the future, and make things happen. This 65-year old woman, who is also the president of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs, shines a light on Connecticut, and shows that age, gender or disability can't stop a good leader.
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