Cynthia M. Mendes (born June 14, 1980) is an American politician who formerly served as a member of the

Rhode Island Senate The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of w ...

from the 18th district. Elected in November 2020, she assumed office on January 5, 2021, and left office in January 2023. She is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Early life and education

Mendes was born to a mother with Puerto Rican background from New Bedford, Massachusetts, and a father of Cape Verdean background. Mendes earned an associate's degree in social sciences from the

Community College of Rhode Island The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is a public community college in Rhode Island. It is the only community college in the state and the largest community college in New England. The college's primary facility is located in Warwick, with ...

. She is also a certified orthodontic assistant and dental radiology technician.

Career

From 2004 to 2017, Mendes was a clinical supervisor at an orthodontics clinic in

Barrington, Rhode Island Barrington is a suburban, residential town in Bristol County, Rhode Island located approximately southeast of Providence. It was founded by Congregationalist separatists from Swansea, Massachusetts and incorporated in 1717. Barrington was cede ...

. She later worked as a manager at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island. She was elected to the

in November 2020 and assumed office on January 5, 2021. Mendes unsuccessfully ran for

lieutenant governor of Rhode Island The current lieutenant governor of Rhode Island is Sabina Matos, who was sworn in on April 14, 2021, after Daniel McKee succeeded to the office of governor. The first lieutenant governor was George Brown. In Rhode Island, the lieutenant gove ...

in the

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

election. In the 2024 presidential election, Mendes endorsed author

Marianne Williamson Marianne Deborah Williamson (born July 8, 1952) is an American author, spiritual leader, and political activist. She has written 14 books, including four ''New York Times'' number one bestsellers in the "Advice, How To, and Miscellaneous" cate ...

's presidential bid.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendes, Cynthia 1980 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Community College of Rhode Island alumni Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Rhode Island Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Living people Democratic Party Rhode Island state senators Women state legislators in Rhode Island American politicians of Cape Verdean descent American politicians of Puerto Rican descent