Mary A Winnefeld

Mary A. Winnefeld is the co-founder of the S.A.F.E. Project, a non-profit organization working through a disciplined, collaborative, multi-pronged and non-partisan approach to end our country’s catastrophic opioid epidemic. Mary and her husband, retired Navy admiral and former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff James “Sandy” Winnefeld, established the organization in November 2017 following the loss of their 19-year old son Jonathan to an accidental opioid overdose. Through her personal experience as a military spouse and mother, Ms. Winnefeld has been actively involved in the health and welfare of military and veteran families, as well as the policies and procedures that affect their lives. She has a keen awareness of the hardships that affect military families─especially the stress involved with casualty, illness, multiple deployments and numerous moves─and has been a dedicated advocate to them for more than thirty years. Ms. Winnefeld currently serves on the board of directors for the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Cohen Veterans Network, USO Metropolitan Washington and is an Ambassador for the Tragedy Assistance for Survivors (TAPS). She previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) and on the grant committee for Newman’s Own Foundation. Prior to dedicating her life to the S.A.F.E. mission and the welfare of military and veteran families, Ms. Winnefeld was employed by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) for close to 20 years, serving as a program manager for NATO as well as a member of SAIC’s Ethics Board. Ms. Winnefeld is the recipient of both the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy Meritorious Public Service Award. Ms. Winnefeld holds a BA from the University of San Diego and a MA from San Diego State University.