Alyssa Cypher

Welcome to my website! I am an activist, community organizer, and self-appointed “professional crazy person.” I enjoy connecting to and educating others through public speaking engagements, spoken word performances, writing, and podcasting. My work focuses on radical mental health, Mad Pride, and the expertise and rights of people with lived experience of mental illness and madness.

I am the founding Executive Director of Inside Our Minds, an organization that works to elevate the voices of people with lived experience of mental illness and madness in Pittsburgh. I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration in Policy Research and Analysis from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. I was recently honored for my work as a Pittsburgh Business Times 30 Under 30 winner.

In addition to my work at Inside Our Minds, I serve on the Steering Committee for the Western Pennsylvania Disability History and Action Consortium (WPDHAC) and the Temple Institute on Disabilities Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Advisory Committee. I co-facilitate writing groups for Queer youth and adults through Write Pittsburgh (Rainbow Writers and Queers Write Pittsburgh, respectively). I was also elected to the board of Lawrenceville United as a 6th Ward Representative for the 2019-2021 term.