 Since 2008, the WDVA has recognized women veterans in Wisconsin who have compiled exemplary records of military service, veteran advocacy, and community engagement. The department is excited to recognize the 16th Woman Veteran of the Year, Yolanda Medina.
Yolanda is a dedicated advocate for veterans, especially women, Latinx veterans, and those affected by mental health challenges. With a career rooted in resilience and service, Yolanda’s legacy is truly inspiring.
Yolanda is the current Military Veterans Resource Center director at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She is a native of Waukesha, Wisconsin, graduating from Waukesha North High School in 1980 and enrolling at Carroll College that fall as a Theater Arts major. In her freshman year, Yolanda changed her direction in life and joined the US Marine Corps with her then-boyfriend Joe Medina. Yolanda attended boot camp at Parris Island, SC, and trained as an aircraft environmental system technician at the Naval Support Activity Mid-South in Millington, TN. Yolanda was assigned to the Naval Air Station, Cherry Point, NC. She was the first female to work on the AV8-A Harrier as an environmental systems technician, air-conditioning, ejection seats, and oxygen systems.
Yolanda is one of the first women veterans from Wisconsin to be featured in the Department of Veterans Affairs “I Am Not Invisible" (IANI) exhibit, a banner exhibit available through the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. IANI is a national pictorial campaign that brings awareness and aims to increase dialogue about women veterans' contributions throughout the United States. In 2019, Yolanda received the inaugural award of Women Veterans of Distinction from the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2020, she organized the IANI 3.0 event, where 48 women veterans from Wisconsin were photographed at UW-Milwaukee to be added to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, doubling their collection. She is working to expand the collection further at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and create a collection at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.
Yolanda plans to enter the Urban Education PhD program in Adult, Continuing, and Higher Education Leadership at UW-Milwaukee to continue researching Moral Trauma in the military. To read the rest of Yolanda's story click here.
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