Jeff Winton
Rural Minds
Mayville, NY USA
"We’re all put here for a finite period of time and it’s our responsibility and privilege to walk side-by-side with each other, and to get each other through both happy times and times of trouble."
Career Roadmap
Jeff's work combines: Medicine, Non-Profit Organizations, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Agriculture, General
Cornell University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
I grew up on a multigenerational dairy farm in rural New York.
2.
I became the first in my family to attend college, studying agriculture and opening the door to opportunities my parents never had.
3.
I spent a few years in agriculture and then stepped beyond the farm, building a career in the healthcare industry, working around the world in patient advocacy and public relations.
4.
When my 28-year-old nephew died by suicide on our family farm, mental health stopped being just part of my job—it became deeply personal.
5.
Realizing the huge lack of mental health attention and care given to people in rural America, my family committed to breaking the silence around mental health in rural communities.
6.
After suffering a traumatic brain injury in 2020 and facing the possibility of losing everything I loved, I fought through recovery and gained a new sense of purpose.
7.
I moved back to my family’s farm and launched Rural Minds to advocate for mental health equity for the 46 million people living in rural America.
Defining Moments
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I lost my nephew to suicide. I had spent my career working in healthcare but that loss made mental health very personal for me. It propelled me to launch Rural Minds to help others in rural America get mental health help.
I had a brain injury that required a craniotomy. I was told I may never walk, run, or ride horses again. I was determined to push through and prove the doctors wrong.