Stewart Rutledge of Oxford has been named Vice Chair of the Mississippi Board of Mental Health for the state fiscal year that began July 1, 2022. 

Rutledge represents the First Congressional District. He is a licensed attorney, but his primary work is in real estate development, with a focus on developing affordable housing. He is also a family member of an individual who receives mental health services.

Prior to his focus on real estate development, he served as corporate counsel to Sta-Home Healthcare, Mississippi’s largest home health provider. 

He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Mississippi, enrolled in the University of Mississippi Medical School, but instead decided to attend the University of Mississippi Law School, from which he graduated with honors. 

In addition to his service on the Board of Mental Health, Rutledge previously served as Chairman of the Mississippi Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, and he served on the Mississippi Supreme Court’s Commission on Juveniles. He also served as Mississippi’s representative on the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice in Washington, D.C.

Additionally, Rutledge served as board member and general counsel for the Mississippi Freedom 50th, advising Congressman Bennie Thompson and former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Reuben Anderson in efforts to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Riders.

The Mississippi Board of Mental Health is composed of nine members appointed by the governor of Mississippi and confirmed by the state Senate. Members’ terms are staggered to ensure continuity of quality care and professional oversight of services.

By statute, the nine-member board is composed of a physician, a psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist, a social worker with experience in the field of mental health, and one citizen representative from each of Mississippi’s five congressional districts as existed in 1974.