Gail Griffith

Gail Griffith is a writer and communications consultant to non-profit organizations engaged in promoting mental health and disability rights. Throughout her career, she has been engaged in advocacy, public relations, and fund-raising, designing and implementing international humanitarian programs and cause-related campaigns. She is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley and holds a graduate degree from Georgetown University. Her book,Will's Choice, examines the paucity of treatment options for families with children with mental illnesses. Will's Choice was a finalist for the publishing industry's, 2005 "Books for a Better Life Award." In June 2006 Ms. Griffith received the "Tipper Gore, Remember the Children Award," from Mental Health America for her advocacy.

She is a member of a number of mental health advocacy organizations and from 2005 to 2008 served on the board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In 2004 she was appointed patient representative to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's scientific advisory committee charged with investigating the possible link between antidepressant medication and suicidal thinking in young people. She continues to consult for the FDA as permanent consumer representative to the psychopharmacological drugs committee of the FDA, and recently served as lead author of an assessment of the 2001 Surgeon General's National Strategy on Suicide Prevention.

She lives in Washington, DC, with her architect husband and loves spending time with her four children and two grandchildren.