Bobbie Jo Bensaid

Bobbie Jo Bensaid, MA, serves as Project Manager of the Prevention and Wellness Starkville (PAWS) Coalition, an initiative focused on reducing youth substance use and strengthening protective factors across Oktibbeha County. She provides statewide trainings in Adult and Youth Mental Health Gatekeeper, Alliance Project Suicide Prevention, and workshops on stress management, coping skills, and emotional wellbeing—reaching more than 10,000 Mississippians since 2021.

Bensaid has also worked to develop programs and curriculums that address mental health disparities and combat the opioid epidemic through prevention and safe-disposal education.

Fluent in multiple languages, she holds bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and German and a master’s in Spanish from Mississippi State University, where she is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science. She is an active member of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and remains dedicated to promoting mental wellness and community resilience across Mississippi.