Meet the Staff
Joan Putnam
Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center Director
As director of the SDSU Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center, Joan Putnam directs the Center which serves as the hub for all student veteran support services on campus. This includes all aspects of the veteran benefit programs for SDSU's undergraduate and graduate veterans, active duty military, reservists, and dependents. She also oversees SDSU's Veterans House.
Joan chairs the SDSU Veterans Scholarship Committee, is co-chair of the SDSU Troops to College working group, serves on the SDSU War Memorial Committee and team-teaches a "Military to Student" transition class. Her commitment to veterans extends beyond her work life – her father was a World War II veteran.
Todd Kennedy
Veterans Coordinator
Todd Kennedy was hired as the Veterans Coordinator in 2012. He retired from the Marine Corps as a First Sergeant after 22 years of service and deployments in support of Operations Desert Storm (Gulf War), Restore Hope (Somalia), Iraqi Freedom (Iraq), and Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). Following his retirement, Todd began studying at SDSU in fall 2011 where he is pursuing a degree in History with a minor in Anthropology and has been involved in several groups and organizations to include the SDSU Student Veteran Organization.
Lynn Nusbaum-Haines
Academic Adviser
As the Academic Adviser at the Wounded Warrior Battalion West, Camp Pendleton, Lynn provides academic advising and planning to severely injured veterans and their dependents. Her primary goal is to help veterans and their dependents achieve academic success in higher education.
Ms. Nusbaum-Haines has over 20 years' experience as a higher education counselor and instructor, program director/coordinator, and non-profit community agency director. She received a B.A. in Psychology at CSU San Marcos, an M.A. in Education with an emphasis in Multi-Cultural Counseling at San Diego State University, and has additional graduate-level coursework and training in Rehabilitation Counseling and The Psychology of Deployment.
Lynn is proficient in comprehensive academic, career, vocational, transfer, personal counseling, and disability management. Her higher education work experience includes Saddleback College, Palomar College, Mt. San Jacinto College, Chaffey College, and College of the Desert. She has also worked at CSU San Marcos and CSU Long Beach.
Lynn was born in Minnesota and grew up in a military family and has lived and traveled throughout the United States. She lives with her husband of 30 years, her two children, 5 dogs, 3 cats, and 2 guinea pigs. Lynn has a strong commitment and interest in working with students, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. Lynn can be reached at 760-331-7443 or lnusbaumhaines@projects.sdsu.edu
Natacia E. Cordle
VetSuccess Counselor
Natacia E. Cordle is a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor selected by Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), under the Department of Veterans Affairs, to provide benefits assistance and education to Veterans attending San Diego State University. The pilot program, VetSuccess on Campus, is a partnered effort by SDSU and VBA to provide additional support and resources to the increased number of veterans accessing benefits to attend school and to assist in facilitating their educational success.
Ms. Cordle began working in the field of Vocational Rehabilitation in 2004 after graduating from SDSU with a bachelor’s degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. She went on to earn her master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from SDSU while working for several non-profit organizations, grant-funded projects, and San Diego Unified School District providing transition services to students with disabilities. In 2007, Ms. Cordle began working as a Case Manager for the San Diego, VA Regional Office’s Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment Services. As a Case Manager, she provided vocational, educational, and employment guidance to veterans with disabilities. She served as the self-employment specialist in addition to providing outreach and benefit guidance to Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) seriously injured veterans. She is a San Diego native and grew up in a Navy family. Natacia can be reached at natacia.cordle@va.gov.
Frank Roberts
Military Liaison Officer
Frank Roberts is responsible for outreach with local military bases (except Camp Pendleton) and the military/veteran community in the San Diego area. He also co-chairs the SDSU Troops to College Committee, is a member of the SDSU Veterans Scholarship Committee, a member of the San Diego region Troops to College Committee, and serves as the campus-military liaison for CSU and SDSU Troops to College admissions programs. This includes tracking the retention of veterans admitted under these programs. Frank was an officer in the United States Army and retired after more than 23 years of service. Frank can be contacted at froberts@mail.sdsu.edu or (619) 594-0496.
Marilyn Nichols
Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center Assistant
Marilyn Nichols has worked in the Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center since September 2006. She provides information to the general public and campus community regarding all aspects of Veterans benefits. She also serves as the liaison between Veterans Affairs and students to help resolve payment and overpayment issues. Marilyn also works closely with other campus offices to verify and process undergraduate and graduate student VA benefits.
Ronnie Landfair Jr.
Student Veterans House Manager
Ronnie is responsible for creating a warm, friendly and safe environment for all military personnel, dependents and supportive civilians during their visit to the Veterans House. He is also responsible for scheduling and managing the veteran work study program in the Veterans House. Ronnie has worked for the Veterans Center for over a year and is highly dedicated to the advancement and enrichment of his fellow veterans. He is a Navy veteran who served four years and three deployments, is currently a senior at SDSU and majoring in Sociology. Ronnie is also a fellow in The Mission Continues, an organization in which veterans are able to serve other veterans.
Robert Turner
Military and Veteran Services, College of Extended Studies
In April of 2008, the College of Extended Studies (CES) created the Military and Veteran Services Office for extended education and promoted Robert Turner to manage this new office. He assists veterans, active duty military and their family members obtain their desired education goal while maximizing their education benefits. The College of Extended Studies offers numerous programs that are approved for Veterans Education Benefits, Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (MyCAA), and active duty Tuition Assistance (TA).
He started with CES as a Program Coordinator in December 2006 after completing 20 years of service with the U.S. Navy. He is a veteran of Desert Shield/Storm, Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In addition he has served tours of duty in Hawaii, Guam, and the American Embassy Berlin, Germany. Robert can be contacted at rturner@mail.sdsu.edu or 619-594-3047.
Patricia Reily
SERVICE Coordinator, College of Engineering
As coordinator of SDSU College of Engineering’s SERVICE program, Dr. Patricia Reily’s goal is to create a clear academic path from active duty to a successful career in engineering for military veterans. She works with local industry partners and military veterans to match veterans with paid engineering internships and full time employment in engineering jobs. She also works with community colleges and the SDSU College of Engineering to ensure that military experience translates into academic credit where ever possible so that veterans can maximize their educational benefits and complete degree requirements in the minimum amount of time.
A former senior naval officer, Patricia Reily’s Navy career encompassed a wide array of jobs in command, operations, human resources management, recruiting, program management, education and training. Subsequent to her military career, Dr. Reily managed the University of San Francisco’s Tutor Mentor Outreach program and was the Deputy Campus Director of Americorps*National Civilian Community Corps in San Diego, California. Her areas of specialty are: education, organizational behavior, organization development, leadership development, strategic planning, morals and ethics education, sexual harassment prevention training, narrative theory and complexity science. Dr. Reily is also an Adjunct Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of San Diego. Her book on the effective use of story and narrative in organizations: “So there we were…” Leadership lessons from the men and women who make the Navy work is slated for publication in Spring, 2011 by ISCE Press.
David Silva
Employment Representative, Employment Development Department, State of California
David is part of the Veteran Intensive Program for The State of California, Employment Development Department (EDD). He finds jobs for veterans. networks with San Diego area employers from Fortune 100 companies to micro-businesses, and connects these businesses with veteran representatives and their veteran clients at one of the five San Diego County Career Centers. In addition, Davidrepresents the San Diego office of EDD Workforce Services on business and veteran organizations such as the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business Network, United Veterans Council, Veteran’s Employment Committee, Honor A Hero-Hire a Vet Job and Resource Fair, San Diego Stand Down, and others.
David served in the Navy for four years, then attended community college in Bakersfield and transferred to UC Santa Barbara where he earned a Bachelor's in History. He returned to serving his country when he enlisted in the Army National Guard and earned a commission in the Infantry. David has had multiple deployments in both branches.
