Marny Skindrud, (left) a retired lieutenant colonel who served 20 years in the U.S. Army and Jill Castilla, who served in the Oklahoma Army National Guard, are the featured speakers at Oklahoma State University’s fifth annual Women Veterans Symposium.

OSU symposium brings together female veterans

Monday, February 17, 2020

Oklahoma State University’s fifth annual Women Veterans Symposium brings together women for a day of discussing mental, physical and financial health while connecting with others who serve or have served in the military.

The free event will be from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. March 7 at the Wes Watkins Center on the OSU-Stillwater campus. Female veterans, National Guardsmen, reservists, active duty military and ROTC cadets in Oklahoma are invited. Breakfast and lunch are provided. Spots can be reserved here or by emailing militaryveterans@okstate.edu by noon Feb. 28.

“This event is designed to not only inform our veterans and other military-affiliated women, but to allow them to also meet some of their peers and initiate or further develop relationships within the women veterans community,” said Rick Hansen, coordinator of OSU’s Office of Student Veteran Success, which co-hosts the event with the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs’ women veterans programs.

Attendees will learn about available programs and benefits and have the opportunity to get claims assistance from a veterans resource officer.

The keynote speaker is Marny Skindrud, a lieutenant colonel who retired from the U.S. Army last year after a 20-year career.

She served as both a transportation and field artillery officer with duty stations including Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Riley, Kansas; Forts Lee and Eustis, Virginia; and a NATO assignment to Stavanger, Norway. Skindrud deployed three times during her career, twice to Iraq conducting convoys and once to Afghanistan to control close air support for NATO and U.S. missions. Her awards and decorations include the Bronze Star.

Skindrud now lives in Elgin, Oklahoma and is executive director of the Lawton Food Bank.

The event concludes with motivational speaker Jill Castilla, the president and chief executive officer of Citizens Bank of Edmond who served in the Oklahoma Army National Guard. Last August, Castilla was appointed as a civilian aide to the secretary of the Army for Oklahoma.

MEDIA CONTACT: David Bitton | Communication Specialist | 405-744-9782 | david.bitton@okstate.edu