Where
Shasta College’s Red Bluff/Tehama Campus770 Diamond Ave.
Red Bluff, CA 96080
Driving Directions
Contact
Minority Veterans DivisionCalifornia Department of Veterans Affairs
916-503-8039
minorityveterans.calvet@calvet.ca.gov
Northern & Rural California Veterans Collaborative Meeting
Xóchitl Rodriguez Murillo, Deputy Secretary
Minority Veterans Affairs, CalVet
Xóchitl Rodriguez Murillo was appointed on October 8, 2019 by Governor Gavin Newsom as Deputy Secretary for Minority Veterans Affairs at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. She serves as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve since 2012 and she is an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran.
Xóchitl previously served as Councilmember from 2016 to 2020, and Mayor from 2019 to 2020, to the City of Woodland. She subsequently worked for the California State Assembly and California State Senate from 2008 to 2019, under different capacities.
Xóchitl holds a bachelors degree in International Relations (Peace and Security Studies), and Spanish, from the University of California, Davis and a masters degree in Spanish from California State University, Sacramento. She is a member of the American Legion Yolo Post 77, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1985, California Latino Capitol Association Foundation and the UCD and Sac State Alumni Associations. She currently resides in Woodland with her husband Antonio.
Master of Ceremonies:
Women Veterans Affairs, CalVet
Virginia Wimmer was appointed on August 24, 2021, by Governor Gavin Newsom as Deputy Secretary for Women Veterans Affairs at the California Department of Veterans Affairs.
Prior to her appointment, Virginia was the Deputy Director of Veterans Services and the County Veterans Service Officer at the San Joaquin County Health Care Services Agency since 2014. While serving veterans in San Joaquin, she worked with Superior Court Judge Barbara A. Kronlund, CalVet, and other veterans support groups to establish the county’s first Veterans Treatment Court (2015).
Virginia served 26 years in the U.S. Air Force as Security Forces, cross-trained to Health Care Services Manager, and retired in 2012 as a Senior Master Sergeant (E-8). She completed tours in South Korea and Italy, and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Virginia earned a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California. She has been the education and training chair at the California Association of County Veterans Services Officers. She currently resides in Vacaville with her husband, Mike, and two dogs. She has two children.
Keynote Speaker
& Panel Member:
Sergio S. Chao, Executive Director
Oakland VA Regional Office Veterans Benefits Administration
Sergio Chao was appointed Executive Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Oakland Regional Office in January 2022. He is responsible for the administration of disability compensation and Veterans Readiness and Employment programs in northern California, which delivers more than 3.5 billion dollars annually in disabiity compensation and pension payments to over 183,000 Veterans and their families.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Chao held the position of Director in the Honolulu Veterans Affairs Regional Office. Mr. Chao began his career in 1998 at the Houston Veterans Affairs Regional Office and credits his experience serving on active duty in the U.S. Army with instilling a true sense of mission in service to our nation's Veterans.
Meet Our Panelists:
James Konopitski, Veterans Services Program Coordinator
Shasta College
James Konopitski is a U.S Air Force Veteran with Service during Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn. Service included support for the operational commands that encompassed the Air Force District of Washington, Special Airlift Missions, overseas NATO operations, and multiple other missions.
After separating from the Services, James has continued to serve over ten years in public service while holding multiple roles within the California Community College system. Currently, he is the Veterans Services Program Coordinator for the Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District.
James was the first person in his immediate family to serve in the Military and succeed as a first-generation student graduate. James holds a Bachelors in Anthropology from CSU Sacramento, with a focus on cultural linguistics, ethnography, and applied studies. He is currently pursuing his Master’s in Organizational Leadership with a specialization in Organizational Learning and Performance.
Roberto Herrera, Assistant Deputy Secretary
Veterans Services Division, CalVet
Roberto Herrera serves as Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Veterans Services Division at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Roberto oversees the design, strategy, and operation of CalVet’s mental health, housing, and supportive service programs, CalVet’s District Offices, and the administration and accreditation of California’s County Veteran Service Offices.
His prior experience includes the development of the California Transition Assistance Program, Justice Involved Veteran Initiative, the Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program, and oversight of CalVet’s Mental Health Services Act funding. Roberto is a veteran of the United States Air Force and holds a Master of Public Health from the University of San Francisco.
Shawn Bondon, County Veterans Service Officer
Tehama County
Shawn Bondon served in the United States Navy for six years as an Electronics Technician. Shawn was stationed for more than 3 years at NAVCAM WESPAC on the island of Guam. Shawn met his wife of 36 years there. Prior to serving the Veteran community, Shawn spent ten years as an Electronics Technician at the Grass Valley Group in Grass Valley, CA.
Shawn has also serviced the Veteran community in prior roles, to include; VSR in Lassen County for 15 months and Veterans Services Officer for 2 ½ years in Plumas County.
In addition, Shawn and his wife are pastors and have been for over 14 years in Chester, CA.
Deborah L. Taylor, MSW, LCSW
Suicide Prevention Community Engagement & Partnership Coordinator
VA Northern CA Health Care System
As the new Suicide Prevention, Community Educator & Partnership Coordinator (CEPC) for the Northern California region, Deborah's role is geared towards working with local community members and partners to help establish coalitions focused on addressing Veteran suicide in Califronia, and more importantly, in our local community. Having worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs for nearly 8 years, Deborah is familiar with many of the VA’s programs. She has experience with the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, Community Nursing Home (CNH), Medical Foster Home (MFH), Care Giver Support (CSP), Mental health Intensive Case Management (MHICM), and many other support programs.