Maxine Bigby Cunningham ’70 is a recognized writer, author, speaker, and mental health educator/advocate. After nearly 30 years with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, she stepped down from a senior executive position to assume leadership roles at grassroots nonprofit organizations engaged in community economic development, civil and human rights enforcement, and mental health advocacy. In 2011, Cunningham founded Empowered Walking Enterprise, LLC, a training company that empowers people of every social and economic status to achieve holistic wellness. Her memoir, Power Walking: A Journey to Wholeness, reveals her steps to mental health recovery and wellness after battling major depression. Her writings have appeared in Optimal Living Magazine, On Purpose Woman magazine, and in the newsletters of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Metropolitan Baltimore, Inc. and the Maryland State Poetry & Literary Society. She earned degrees from Goucher College and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and she completed certificate studies at George Washington University and the Federal Executive Institute.
Maxine Bigby Cunningham ’70