Jeff Winton

Jeff Winton is the founder and chairman of Rural Minds, the only national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves as an advocate and informed voice for mental health equality in rural America. Due to a tragedy in his farming family, Jeff devotes a significant portion of his time and energy to fighting the stigma, suffering and silence caused by mental illness and helps rural Americans tell their own personal stories to assist others on similar journeys. In addition to being the founder and chairman of Rural Minds, Jeff is the founder and owner of Wall Street Dairy LLC, a working family dairy farm in Chautauqua County, New York, and a member of a multigenerational farm family. Jeff has worked for four decades as a communications and corporate affairs leader with Fortune 100 agricultural and healthcare corporations, and is now chief executive officer of Jeff Winton Associates, a full-service communications and corporate affairs agency he co-founded in 2020. Jeff graduated with distinction from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, with a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences where he was named outstanding alumnus in 2020. Jeff currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. He was most recently honored by the New York State Agricultural Society with the 2025 Cap Creal – Communicator of the Year Award. Additionally, Jeff was appointed to the Advisory Board of NY FarmNet, a Cornell University-affiliated nonprofit organization that helps New York State farms navigate times of transition, opportunity, and challenge through educational programming and holistic consulting that addresses financial, family, and social stress.