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About Today’s Guest
Virginia Wimmer served as the Deputy Secretary for Women Veterans Affairs at the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), a position she was appointed to by Governor Gavin Newsom on August 24, 2021, until April 8, 2021. Prior to this role, Virginia held the position of Deputy Director of Veterans Services and County Veterans Service Officer at the San Joaquin County Health Care Services Agency.
During her tenure in San Joaquin County, Virginia spearheaded initiatives including the establishment of the county's Veterans Treatment Court in 2015, demonstrating her commitment to supporting veterans' well-being and rehabilitation.
With 26 years of distinguished service in the U.S. Air Force, Virginia's career spanned various roles including Security Forces Journeyman, Health Care Services Manager, and Air Force Recruiter, culminating in her retirement as a Senior Master Sergeant/E-8 in 2012. Her military service saw her deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn, as well as assignments in South Korea and Italy.
Virginia holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California, and she is deeply passionate about addressing the issue of veteran suicides. She is a Certified Master Trainer of Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training through LivingWorks.net, an Accredited Registered Mental Health First Aid Facilitator through the National Council of Wellbeing, and a Nationally Accredited Veterans Advocate through the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers.
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
This week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is the PsychArmor course Communicating With Veterans. This course discusses how to communicate effectively with Veterans using communication tools, such as open-ended questions, affirmations, and reflections. You can see find the course here: https://learn.psycharmor.org/courses/Hiring-and-Retaining-Women-Veterans.
Links Mentioned In This Episode
Former Deputy Secretary Wimmer’s Email: Virginia.wimmer@calvet.ca.gov
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Theme Music
Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.
This Episode Sponsored By:
This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor, the premier education and learning ecosystem specializing in military culture content. PsychArmor offers an online e-learning laboratory with custom training options for organizations.
Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families. You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com