Biography
The Honorable Linda Spoonster Schwartz RN, MSN, DrPH, FAAN has served our country, since 1967, as an Air Force Nurse, veteran advocate and public servant. She was Medically Retired after sustaining injuries in a 1983 aircraft accident, while serving as a USAF Flight Nurse. At Yale she earned a Masters from the Yale School of Nursing ’84 and Doctorate in Public Health from the Yale School of Medicine ’98. She was Connecticut Commissioner of Veterans Affairs (2003-2014) and is best known for successfully transforming the 1938 Veterans Home at Rocky Hill and 2005 construction of the Sgt. John L. Levitow Veterans Health Center.
In 2013 President Barak Obama appointed her Assistant Secretary of Veteran Affairs for Policy and Planning. She served as VA’s liaison to the Department of Defense responsible for assisting returning disabled and injured casualties on their journey back to the community. Among her many honors are Vietnam Veterans of America, National Commendation Medal for Justice, Integrity and Meaningful Achievement; “2017 Jefferson Award for Public Service and National Women’s History Committee “Nevertheless She Persisted” Award for her: “persistence and tenacity in fighting discrimination.”
