Wilson, Cynthia E., 1940-

Cynthia E. Wilson was born July 10, 1940 in Syracuse, New York. Wilson graduated in 1962 from St. Lawrence University with a degree in English and earned a graduate degree in journalism from the University of Texas in 1964. After graduation, Wilson held jobs with the Waco Times Herald and Columbia Records.

Wilson was recommended to Liz Carpenter, Lady Bird Johnson’s Press Secretary and fellow University of Texas alumnus, by the head of the University of Texas Journalism School, Dr. Dewitt C. Reddick.

Wilson began working as an aide in the White House Social Correspondence Office in January 1965. Later that year, Wilson began working primarily with letters related to Lady Bird Johnson’s beautification efforts, and then transitioned to working with Sharon Francis and the First Lady’s Committee for a More Beautiful Capital.

After the Johnson presidency in 1969, Wilson worked with Stewart Udall and Governor Castro of New Mexico. Wilson worked for the National Audubon Society in the mid-1970s and early 1980s, and in 1977 she joined the Department of the Interior as Special Assistant to Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus, where she was involved with Alaskan lands legislation.