#33: Cynthia Germanotta (Lady Gaga's Mother) on 'Born This Way'

Therapy Cafe: The Future Of Mental Health

Cynthia Germanotta is the World Health Organization's Goodwill Ambassador for Mental Health. She's also Lady Gaga's Mother. She and her daughter co-founded Born This Way Foundation to support adolescent mental health. Her passion is to empowering young people to build a kinder, braver world.

Born This Way Foundation

Under Cynthia’s leadership, Born This Way Foundation has reached hundreds of thousands of young people across the country and around the world, launched innovative youth-focused programming such as teen Mental Health First Aid, and conducted cutting-edge research to improve the understanding of mental wellness and the impact of kindness.

Cynthia and Born This Way Foundation have been the recipient of numerous honors including the 2019 Behavior Research Foundation’s Honorary Pardes Humanitarian Prize in Mental Health for their advocacy work surrounding mental health, the 2018 Children Mending Heart’s Global Changemaker’s Award for their commitment to positive change through empathy, and the National Association of School Psychologists Special Friend to Children Award.

In May 2019, the United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO) appointed Cynthia as a WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Mental Health. In this role, she promotes healthy living, works to eliminate the mental health stigma, and advocates for mental health awareness on a global scale. Cynthia is an alumni member of the Board of Governors for the Parsons New School of Design.

Cynthia is a former telecommunications executive whose career in sales & management spanned 25 years. A graduate of West Virginia University, she earned her master’s degree in public administration from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., which she considers invaluable to her work with the foundation.

Born and raised in West Virginia, Cynthia now resides in New York City with her husband, Joe Germanotta. Joe and Cynthia have two wonderful daughters, Natali and Stefani, and are owners of a charming NYC neighborhood restaurant, Joanne Trattoria. In her free time, Cynthia enjoys writing, walking, and studying ballet, a lifelong passion. She is honored to work alongside young people, hear their stories, amplify their voices, and collaborate on ways to make the world a kinder and braver place.

Links:

Follow Cynthia on Twitter, https://twitter.com/momgerm.

Check out Born This Way Foundation’s Get Help Page, https://bornthisway.foundation/get-help-now/.

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