WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) today congratulated Dr. Linda Schwartz of Stonington, Connecticut on her nomination to the position of Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Policy and Planning at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr Schwartz served as a nurse in the United States Air Force and is currently the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs.
“Commissioner Schwartz has been a champion for veterans in Connecticut for decades. Her commitment to public service has won deserved praise, from her valor as a nurse in Vietnam to her work improving the lives of Connecticut’s servicemen and women,” Himes said “Her record of compassionate activism has transformed Connecticut’s Veterans Affairs office for the better, and our nation’s veterans will gain a committed advocate in Washington. I applaud the President for recognizing her dedication and integrity, and congratulate the Commissioner on her nomination.”
Dr. Schwartz is a disabled veteran who has served as the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs since 2003. She served in the Air Force from 1968 to 1986, both on active duty and as a reservist. She retired with the rank of Major, sustaining injuries in an aircraft accident while acting as a flight nurse. From 1989 to 1998, Schwartz served in several advisory positions to the U.S. Secretary of veterans’ affairs, working on issues that included the readjustment of combat veterans, homeless veterans, women veterans and seriously mentally ill veterans. She also served for seven years on a scientific advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Dr. Schwartz currently serves as an Associate Clinical Professor of Nursing at the Yale School of Nursing, where she has been on the faculty since 1999 as an appointed Associate Research Scientist and Scholar. From 1996 to 2000, she served as a Member and Chair of the VA Advisory Committee on Women Veterans. She received a master’s degree in nursing and a doctorate in public health from the Yale School of Medicine.