Hoover Institute to host post-9/11 veterans’ town hall in San Mateo

The event will feature former U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier and former San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheinmer as opening speakers and Cathy Cohn, Mikhail Venikov and Michael Wendler — military veterans and current public servants — as panelists. Dr. Jacquelyn Schneider, Hoover Institute Fellow and post-9/11 veteran, will moderate the discussion.

Community members interested in attending the event can register to attend and submit questions for the panelists online at the Hoover Institute website.

Wendler, a current military diversion San Mateo County Superior Court judge, oversees the court cases of military veteran defendants who have committed crimes but need treatment related to their service. He believes the event will be a way to connect the average community members to the unique stories of post-9/11 veterans.

“This particular panel is focused on our contributions to public service and why we stayed in public service post-service,” he said. “I don’t think anybody feels unsupported, but I don’t think there’s a connection — as much as a connection — as there should be.”

As a longtime Bay Area resident, Wendler wants community members to understand the unique experience of volunteering to serve one’s country during a time of active war, knowing the chances of active deployment were high.

“Sometimes I think it’s important to take a step back and understand the sacrifices that post-9/11 veterans have made and value the services and skills that they learned overseas and to have that connection,” he said.

Wendler was already in active service in Australia during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but is also a post-9/11 veteran due to his subsequent service in Afghanistan. The event will feature unique accounts of a variety of service members, including him.

“This event, there’s no ulterior motive. It’s just simply to link communities with post 9/11 veterans,” he said of the nonpartisan town hall.

The discussion is put on by the Hoover Institute’s Veteran Fellowship Program, a yearlong program for military veterans interested in solution-seeking for public sector challenges, according to its website.

Go to hoover.org/events/how-veterans-continue-public-service-civilian-sector for more information. The Elks Lodge is at 229 W. 20th Ave., San Mateo.