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TO HEALTH, MEDICAL, AND NATIONAL EDITORS:
Paul Gionfriddo Named President and CEO of Mental Health America
ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Paul
Gionfriddo, an experienced nonprofit leader and former state
legislator and mayor, has been named the new President and CEO of
Mental Health America by the organization's board of directors.
Gionfriddo was selected following an extensive national search.
"We are delighted to have Paul assume leadership of Mental Health
America," said Ann Boughtin, Board Chair. "A long-time advocate in the
mental health field and an experienced nonprofit executive, he is an
ideal choice to carry forward the organization's historic and leading
role in advancing the health and well-being of Americans."
Gionfriddo said: "For more than a century, Mental Health America has
been our nation's leading advocate for mental health-working for
prevention, early intervention, sound treatment and recovery. I look
forward to carrying on this work with affiliates across the country at
a time of growing need and often-diminishing investments in mental
health."
Gionfriddo has held key health and public health-related leadership
positions during a career spanning more than 30 years. In addition to
leading nonprofit organizations in three states, he ran his own
consulting business, specializing in public health, children's health,
primary care and mental health.
From 1978 through 1991, he served as a full-time elected official,
with eleven years in the Connecticut State Legislature, and two years
as Mayor of Middletown, Connecticut.
In 2013, he was appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary
Kathleen Sebelius to a four-year term on the 12-member National
Advisory Council to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration's Center for Mental Health Services.
Gionfriddo, who lives in Lake Worth, Florida, is currently a
consultant, speaker, and writer, and author of Our Health Policy
Matters, a popular weekly health policy blog. His essay, entitled
"How I Helped Create a Flawed Mental Health System That's Failed
Millions - And My Son," which was published in the September, 2012,
issue of Health Affairs as a "narrative matters" essay, was the most
widely-read journal article that month. It was also adapted as an
opinion article in The Washington Post.
At the national level, Gionfriddo has worked extensively with the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on health services research
dissemination to state and local policy leaders, helping to develop
workshops and programs on long term care, prevention and public
health, child health, minority health, and urban health, and was a
member of the faculty of the Applied Statistics Training Institute of
the National Center for Health Statistics. He also worked on health
policy projects with the National Center for Education in Maternal and
Child Health, the National Governors Association, and National
Conference of State Legislatures.
During the 1990s, Gionfriddo was a member of the adjunct faculties of
both Wesleyan University and Trinity College, where he taught
graduate-level courses on health care and public health policy. He
received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University.
Mental Health America ( www.mentalhealthamerica.net ), founded in
1909, is the nation's leading community-based network dedicated to
helping all Americans achieve wellness by living mentally healthier
lives. With our 228 affiliates across the country, we touch the lives
of millions-Advocating for changes in mental health and wellness
policy; Educating the public & providing critical information; and
Delivering urgently needed mental health and wellness Programs and
Services.
SOURCE Mental Health America
-0- 03/19/2014
/CONTACT: Steve Vetzner, (703) 797-2588 or svetzner@mentalhealthamerica.net
/Web Site: http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net
CO: Mental Health America
ST: Virginia
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-- DC85842 --
0000 03/19/2014 14:00:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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