Ronne Froman Veronica " Ronne " Froman ( RADM , USN , Ret . ) is an American retired naval officer . She was the first woman to serve as commander of the United States Navy Region Southwest , a position known as the " Navy Mayor of San Diego " . She retired from the Navy in 2001 with the rank of Rear Admiral , after a 31 - year career . Following her retirement she took on several high - profile civilian positions in San Diego , California : chief of business operations for the San Diego Unified School District ; CEO of the local chapter of the American Red Cross ; and the first Chief Operating Officer for the city of San Diego . She is currently chairman of the board of directors of the Monarch School , a public school for homeless youth . Military career . Froman was born in Uniontown , Pennsylvania , and graduated from Seton Hill College . She received a Navy commission in 1970 as a General Unrestricted Line Officer . When she retired in 2001 as a Rear Admiral ( two - star admiral ) , she was one of the highest - ranking female officers in the Navy . During her military career the role of women in the Navy was greatly expanded . " When I joined , we ( women ) couldn ' t go to sea ; we didn ' t have command ; there were no lady admirals " , she said in 2009 . " It kind of evolved over the years I was in the Navy . " Her assignments during her 31 - year career included commanding the Navy ' s Southwest Region from 1997 until 2000 . She was the first woman to hold that position . The command supports Navy shore installations in six western states and is headquartered in San Diego . The commander of the Southwest Region is often referred to as the " Navy Mayor of San Diego " . At the time the Southwest Region employed approximately 86 , 000 sailors and 35 , 000 civilians . There were 56 ships , five submarines and 600 aircraft home - ported in the region . She also served two high - level assignments at the Pentagon , including Director of Shore Readiness for the Chief of Naval Operations from 2000 to 2001 . During her time on active duty she received the U . S . Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal and the United States Navy Distinguished Service Medal . Civilian career . Following her retirement from the Navy she settled in San Diego . She served as chief of business operations for the San Diego Unified School District from 2001 till 2003 . She is credited with trimming millions of dollars from district business operations during that time . In 2003 she became CEO of the San Diego - Imperial Counties chapter of the American Red Cross . She was recruited to that position by chapter chairman Jerry Sanders to restore the unit ' s reputation and credibility . The chapter had come under heavy criticism because of controversy over the use of funds donated for the relief of victims of a 2001 wildfire . She instituted changes in accountability and transparency which earned praise when the region was again struck by fire in 2003 . In 2005 Sanders ran for mayor of San Diego in a special election , promising that if elected he would appoint Froman as his second - in - command . When he took office in January 2006 he appointed her as the first - ever Chief Operating Office of the city , with functions similar to a city manager . She resigned in June 2007 and took a position as senior vice president for the energy group of General Atomics . She has had a longtime interest in homeless issues and particularly in the Monarch School , a public K - 12 school for students who are at risk or actually impacted by homelessness . She served on the school project ' s board of directors since 2004 and served as interim vice president of the public - private partnership . In July 2011 she took over as CEO of the nonprofit organization . In January 2012 she became chairman of the organization ' s board of directors . She also helps to train returning military troops for civilian life . In November 2012 it was announced that she plans to marry Linden Blue , co - owner of General Atomics . On July 25 , 2013 , Froman made headlines when she and three other women held a joint news conference accusing San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of unwanted sexual advances . Froman recounted how , two years before , then - Congressman Filner blocked the door after everyone had left a meeting . Filner became very close to Froman , ran his finger up her cheek , and asked whether she had a man in her life . After confirming she did , Froman left the meeting " rattled " by the encounter , and asked two male companions she had driven with to " never to leave [ her ] alone in a room with Bob Filner again . ”