Category Minority Veterans
Governor declares November as Native American Heritage Month
CalVet advocates for Native American veterans. Governor Gavin Newsom has proclaimed November as Native American Heritage Month, and the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) sees this as the perfect time to reaffirm its commitment and dedication to the state’s Native American veterans. “We recognize the rich diversity of the Native American peoples and their […]
New CalVet deputy secretary for minority veterans affairs brings skills in triplicate
The California Department of Veterans Affairs hit a trifecta last month when Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Xóchitl Rodriguez Murillo to be the agency’s deputy secretary for minority veterans affairs. Murillo is a minority veteran and a U.S. Army reservist who is well-versed in the machinations of the military, having served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She’s […]
Pioneer, Trailblazer: Virginia Mae Days was one of a kind as CalVet director
NOTE: As we honor women veterans during Women’s History Month, CalVet remembers one of its own. The late Virginia Mae Days was CalVet’s director from 1975-81, retiring more than a decade before CalVet became a cabinet level department headed by a secretary. Her story, published on CalVet Connect last fall, bears repeating. In a secluded […]
CalVet Women Veterans award winner Captain Elizabeth L. Hillman truly a trailblazer
In 2013, the U.S. House Armed Services Committee appointed former Air Force Captain Elizabeth L. Hillman, an expert on sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination in the military, to serve on a panel probing sexual assault in the military. The panel exposed how little progress had been made since the so-called “Tailhook” scandal of 1991, when […]
Governor Gavin Newsom appoints seven to leadership roles at CalVet
Governor Gavin Newsom announced a series of appointments this week, with the majority of them involving positions at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Xochitl Rodriguez Murillo, 36, of Woodland, is the new deputy secretary of Minority Veterans Affairs. Murillo has a long history of public and military service. She is the mayor of Woodland […]
California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery to receive national honor for quality
SEASIDE – The Central California Coast Veterans Cemetery (CCCVC) in Seaside has been selected to receive the prestigious Organizational Excellence Award from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA). The cemetery, which opened in 2016, is operated by the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet). It was jointly developed and constructed by the USDVA, […]
CalVet officials participating in California Native American Day at State Capitol
Native American and soon-to-be Oscar recipient Wes Studi will be the keynote speaker September 27 during the 52nd annual California Native American Day, on the west steps of the State Capitol. The celebration of California Native American culture begins at 10 a.m. and concludes at 2 p.m. The event is open to the public, and […]
Disabled veteran and small business owners lose longtime advocate Angel Carrera
Disabled veterans and other small business owners lost a great friend when Angel Carrera died suddenly on August 14. Carrera, 67, spent four decades working for the state of California, administering the Small Business and Disabled Business Enterprise programs for the California Lottery and then for the Department of Transportation. He also worked as an […]
Bond-ing family’s tradition of public service with CalVet’s Veterans Home in Ventura
When 49-year-old Julian Bond was recently appointed by Governor Newsom to run the Veterans Home of California-Ventura, CalVet got more than just an experienced administrator. It received a retired Army colonel from a family with a long, distinguished, and storied history of public service. His great-grandfather, James Bond, was born into slavery during the Civil […]
Landmark riot launches LGBTQ movement. Fifty years of activism leads to LGBTQ Veterans Inclusion Forum.
June 28 marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York. For six days in 1969, LGBTQ individuals who frequented the Stonewall Inn, a gay and lesbian bar in Manhattan’s West Village, rebelled against the harassment by the New York police who kept raiding it. They resisted, long before “resist” became a political […]
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