Cynthia Ann Telles

Dr. Cynthia A. Telles is the director of the Spanish-Speaking Psychosocial Clinic of the Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. She has published extensively in the area of mental health, particularly with respect to the assessment and treatment of Hispanic populations. Her deep experience in philanthropy includes serving as past Board Chair of The California Endowment, the largest health foundation in California, and currently serving as the chair of the Community Benefit Committee of the Board of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals, Inc. (Kaiser Permanente). Dr. Telles also serves on the boards of General Motors, the Pacific Council on International Policy, a non-partisan international affairs organization, the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Airport Commission and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health. She is a founding board member of the Public Policy Institute of California, Sanwa Bank, Americas United Bank and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. Dr. Telles was appointed by President Obama to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. She formerly served on the Mental Health Task Force for the Carter Center in Atlanta, on the National Advisory Council to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Department of Health and Human Services) during the Clinton administration, and as chair of the board of the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Service Organizations in Washington, D.C. In addition, Dr. Telles served for 13 years as Commissioner of the City of Los Angeles and also served as vice president of the City of Los Angeles Ethics Commission and the Los Angeles Board of Library Commissioners, as president of the Los Angeles Commission on the Status of Women and as a member of the Los Angeles Commission on Children, Youth and Families. Dr. Telles received a bachelor of arts degree from Smith College and a doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Boston University.