Ruben Cantu

Email: ruben_at_preventioninstitute_dot_org

Ruben Cantu is a Director on Prevention Institute’s Safety and Wellbeing Team. He has more than 20 years of nonprofit experience in public health and mental health and wellbeing through an equity and racial justice lens. At PI, he leads initiatives to address and prevent community trauma through application of PI’s Adverse Community Experiences and Resilience framework. He also works on strategies to improve mental health and wellbeing through a focus on community conditions. This recently included managing the Making Connections for Mental Health and Wellbeing Among Men and Boys initiative, a national community of practice comprising 13 sites across the U.S. implementing upstream, community prevention strategies to build resilience among men and boys of color and military servicemembers, veterans, and their families. Prior to PI, he was Associate Director at the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN), where he managed programs, development, and communications initiatives to inform, mobilize, and advocate for California’s communities of color. While at CPEHN, he authored the state’s strategic plan for reducing mental health disparities. He has also held positions at the Mosaica: The Center for Nonprofit Development and Pluralism, National Minority AIDS Council, and Human Rights Campaign. A native Texan, he serves on several state advisory committees. He has worked extensively with organizations and community members fighting for equity, justice, and liberation.