Cynthia Wainscott

Cynthia Wainscott served as education director of the Mental Health Association of Minnesota, an affiliate of Mental Health America, from 1987-1990, and was executive director of the Mental Health America of Georgia from 1990-2003. Ms. Wainscott served most recently as Mental Health America's acting president and CEO and previously as its Board chair.

She was a founding member of the Georgia Prevention Credentialing Consortium and a member of the Center for Mental Health Services' National Mental Health Advisory Council from 2000-2004.

With 16 years experience, Ms. Wainscott is an established leader in mental health education. She directed a pilot site for the National Institute of Mental Health's Depression: Awareness, Recognition and Treatment program – a ground-breaking public education campaign – developing a training model for education programs nationwide.

She is an active member of the Georgia Governor's Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Advisory Council (MHMRSA) Advisory Council, the state Medicaid agency's Drug Utilization Review Board; and the Georgia Mental Health Planning and Advisory Council.

Ms. Wainscott is a board member of the Georgia Parent Support Network (an affiliate of the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health), the Advisory Committee for Emory University’s Fuqua Center for Late Life Depression and the Georgia Community Trust. She is also co-chair of the Governance Committee of the Mental Health Services Coalition.

In addition, she is a member of the Institute of Medicine committee that authored a recently-released report, "Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions.” Her passion for advocacy and education is fueled by the experiences of her mother, daughter and granddaughter, who have all successfully lived with mental illness.

Ms. Wainscott holds a bachelor of arts degree from Metropolitan State.