Plenary Session: Veterans and Military Families

Tuesday Plenary: Featuring Policymakers and Legal Experts!

Placing in Context: New Laws Involving Veterans and Their Families

Everyday military veterans and active-duty service members appear in court. How they access services through the court from the VA, a county or elsewhere, is crucial to their success. Recent changes in the law (SB 1182 [Family Code §§ 211.5 and 3040]) will have great impact on veterans appearing in court by expanding access to services and strengthening their families.

This plenary session will place the new legislation in the context of overall concerns regarding veteran and military issues because it is essential that these issues not be placed in silos. Rather, they must be considered from a broad, expansive vantage point. Anyone having to do with veterans and active-duty court users in any part of California’s courts will benefit from viewing veteran and military issues from a global perspective.

Presenters:
State Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman (pre-recorded)
Hon. Justice Eileen Moore, Associate Justice, Fourth District, Third Division, California Courts of Appeal

Panelists:
Hon. Mary Kreber Varipapa, Judge of the Superior Court, Orange County
Keith Boylan, Deputy Secretary for the Veterans Services Division at the California Department of Veterans Affairs
Matthew Stimmel, PhD. National Training Director for the Veteran Justice Programs

State Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman

5th Senate District of California

Dr. Susan Talamantes Eggman was elected to the State Senate in November of 2020, serving the 5th Senate District which is comprised of San Joaquin County, a significant portion of Stanislaus County and the Sacramento County community of Galt. Dr. Talamantes served in the State Assembly from December of 2012 through November of 2020. Susan joined the U.S. Army out of high school and served four years as a medic. After her service, she attended California State University, Stanislaus, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in social work. She worked as a mental health provider and medical social worker before completing a Ph.D. at Portland State University. Prior to joining the State Assembly, Susan was a Professor of Social Work at CSU, Sacramento. A lifelong learner, Susan passed the Licensed Clinical Social Worker examination shortly after assuming office.

Hon. Eileen Moore

Associate Justice, Fourth District, Third Division
California Courts of Appeal

Justice Eileen Moore is an associate justice on the Fourth District, Third Division of the California Courts of Appeal. Justice Eileen Moore served as a combat nurse in Vietnam in the Army Nurse Corps. She was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Cross of Gallantry with Palm. She is a member of Vietnam Veterans of America. Since 2008, she has chaired the Judicial Council's Veterans and Military Families Subcommittee. She is a member of the Council on Criminal Justice, the Veterans Justice Commission, an advisor to the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law, an advisor to the California Lawyers Association's Military and Veterans Committee and the Orange County Veterans & Military Committee as well as a founding member of US Vets' Women's Advisory Committee. She is the author of two award-winning books, Race Results and Gender Results.

Hon. Mary Kreber Varipapa

Judge, Superior Court of California, County of Orange

Hon. Mary Kreber Varipapa is a judge on the Superior Court of Orange County in California. She was appointed by former governor Jerry Brown on November 17, 2015, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Ronald P. Kreber.

Kreber Varipapa received a B.A. from Cal State Long Beach and a J.D. from Western State University College of Law. She began her legal career as an attorney for the Public Defender Juvenile Court Office in 1996. Kreber Varipapa has also worked as an adjunct professor in the Criminology Department of the University of Phoenix. Kreber Varipapa was born and raised in Orange County. She is the daughter of the retired Judge Ronald P. Kreber. She is married to Mike Varipapa, former Mayor Pro Tem for Seal Beach, California.

Keith Boylan

Deputy Secretary, Veterans Services

Keith Boylan was reappointed November 30, 2020, by Governor Gavin Newsom as Deputy Secretary for the Veterans Services Division at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Keith served in the US Army from 1989-1992 as a Tactical Fire Specialist and was deployed to Iraq with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in support of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Desert Calm.

Matthew Stimmel

National Training Director, Veteran Justice Programs

Matthew Stimmel, Ph.D. is the National Training Director for the Veteran Justice Programs (VJP). In his role, Dr. Stimmel is responsible for developing and sustaining the education and training of over 350 VJP field staff, contributing to national VA policy on justice-involved veterans, and cultivating operational partnerships both internal and external to VA that advance VJP’s mission of ensuring access and care to justice-involved Veterans and reducing risk of recidivism and homelessness in this population. He is also a clinical instructor at the Stanford University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry. Matthew has been employed by the VA since 2013, previously serving as Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist where he helped to establish several Veterans Treatment Courts in Northern California. Matthew received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fordham University with a specialization in forensic psychology.

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