01
Legislative Protection
Advancing H.1329 in Massachusetts and developing a model that can support future widow-protection legislation in additional states.
Elected Official · Widows Policy Advocate · Public Figure
Cynthia Blanc
Preiss MacLean
Advancing public policy. Protecting widows. Encouraging women to participate fully in civic and public life.
Cynthia Blanc Preiss MacLean is an elected official and widows policy advocate whose work brings together public service, legislative action, media, entrepreneurship, and civic leadership.
01 About Cynthia
“I did not know then that my loss would become my life's work, or that one woman's grief could become a shield for millions.”
After becoming a suicide widow in 2015, Cynthia spent a decade walking alongside widowed women, providing mentorship, community, and financial support. That work revealed the need for systemic change and led her to establish The Cynthia Policy Initiative for Widows and testify before the Massachusetts State House.
Today, she is working to advance stronger financial, legal, and housing protections for widows while encouraging women to participate fully in civic and public life.
Cynthia serves as an elected Library Trustee for the City of Framingham and as Vice Chair of the city's Women, Children and Families Commission, to which she was appointed by the Mayor. She is also a board member at Congregation Beth El in Sudbury and a member of the Massachusetts chapter of the Haitian American Elected Officials Network.
With an audience of two million followers across social media platforms, Cynthia uses independent media alongside institutional relationships to bring wider attention to public policy, women's leadership, and the issues shaping women's lives.
She is also the founder of La Reine Cynthia, author of Big Money Lies Exposed, creator and host of several thought-provoking interview series, and a student at Harvard Extension School.
Cynthia is married to attorney Dr. Charles MacLean. Together, they have three children and five grandchildren.
02 The Cynthia Policy Initiative for Widows
Personal Loss Became
Public Purpose
The Cynthia Policy Initiative for Widows is a policy-advocacy initiative with a national vision, dedicated to advancing laws that protect widows' financial and housing security across the United States.
It is not a grief-support organization. Its work is focused on legislation, public policy, institutional engagement, and civic awareness.
When a woman loses her husband, she should not also lose her home, her security, or her dignity.
02
Economic Stability
Addressing the financial and housing instability widows can face immediately following a spouse's death, before grief has even had time to settle.
03
Institutional Recognition
Using legislative engagement, civic partnerships, public education, and International Widows Day on June 23 to bring sustained attention to the experiences and policy needs of widows.
With State Representative Priscila Sousa, sponsor of H.1329
Flagship Legislation
H.1329
Widow Foreclosure Protection Legislation
Official title: An Act temporarily protecting recently widowed spouses from foreclosure
Sponsored by Massachusetts State Representative Priscila Sousa, H.1329 would require mortgage lenders to delay foreclosure proceedings for 60 days following the death of a borrower, provided that the surviving spouse or family member notifies the lender and supplies proof of death.
This protection would give surviving families time to address documentation, insurance, estate matters, and other critical affairs without the immediate additional fear of accelerated foreclosure proceedings.
Cynthia testified before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Financial Services in support of the legislation.
A Decade of Powerful Work
Before the Legislation,
There Were the Women
You were one of the first to reach out to me when my husband passed. You helped me through that dark time and helped me be around others who truly understand. Cynthia, you are an angel.
During the pandemic, I became very sick and had to quarantine alone. Cynthia worked with my daughter for days until she was able to send me a care package. It was a remarkable experience to have someone I don't know send love and care to me.
Cynthia has been very supportive with the recent loss of my husband. Her caring and considerate manner has helped to increase my faith and hope that my circumstances will not defeat me. She is truly a blessing.
Just being able to share my feelings and listen to others helps so much. I love the reminders you gave us to take care of ourselves and thrive. I took notes!
Press · Media · Public Recognition
A Voice With Reach.
A Story With Substance.
Cynthia's work and public life have been featured across print, broadcast, digital media, and cultural publications, including a Boston Globe Thrive cover story and an appearance on Boston Globe Media's Turning Points podcast.
Boston Globe Media · Turning Points
“I Don't Believe in Moving On.”
Cynthia joins host Frantzces Lys for an honest conversation about widowhood, grief, and the health toll of loss.
Listen to the full episode
Public Recognition
Cynthia's public service, entrepreneurship, cultural leadership, and advocacy have been acknowledged by the Governor of Massachusetts, the Mayor of Boston, the Mayor of Framingham, Miami-Dade County, the City of North Miami, the City of Miami, the Aruba Minister of Tourism, and the Ambassador of Haiti in Washington, D.C.
- 01 “Mrs. Cynthia Blanc Preiss MacLean and Mrs. Framingham Day” Resolution — July 20, 2021
- 02 Recognition as a Caribbean-American elected official — June 17, 2026
- 03 First reader at Framingham's 250th-anniversary Declaration of Independence reading — June 9, 2026
03 Her World
One Life.
Many Expressions.
Public service remains the center. Media, entrepreneurship, mentorship, beauty, and reinvention reveal the fuller world around it.
Pageantry & Public Presence
Glamour, confidence, and command of the stage.
Cynthia is a former Mrs. Framingham, Mrs. Massachusetts, Mrs. New England, and Mrs. Atlantic. Her pageant journey reflects the confidence, discipline, and presence she brings to every public platform.
Community Service
A family tradition of giving.
For more than six years, she, her husband, and their youngest son have organized the annual Framingham Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway for local families in need.
Beauty & Entrepreneurship
Elegance, femininity, and personal distinction.
La Reine Cynthia is a luxury beauty and lifestyle brand.
Visit LaReineCynthia.com
Money, Mentorship & Reinvention
Economic agency. Wealth. The next chapter.
Through her book Big Money Lies Exposed, Cynthia encourages women to recognize their economic agency, build wealth, and intentionally shape the next chapters of their lives.
Work With Mentor Cynthia04 Work With Mentor Cynthia
Mentorship · Reinvention · Private Guidance
You are not starting over.
You are starting from experience.
Whether you are moving through widowhood, divorce, reinvention, or simply a season of knowing that more is possible, you deserve more than a course. You deserve a guide.
I work with women who are navigating significant life transitions and are ready to move with intention, clarity, and elegance.
There are two ways to work with me.“Some women are not looking for motivation. They are looking for a trusted guide who has walked through fire and came out wearing pearls.”
01
Free Community
Join the Grande Dame Community
This is where it begins.
The Grande Dame Community is a free space for women who are done shrinking and ready to step fully into who they are becoming.
When you join, you will receive periodic letters from me: reflections, resources, and encouragement for women navigating life on their own terms.
No noise. No spam. Just substance.
02
Private Coaching · By Inquiry Only
Private One-on-One Coaching
This is my most intimate offering.
Private coaching with me is not a package off a shelf. It is built entirely around you: your transition, your timeline, your goals. The investment and duration are determined together, based on what your life actually requires.
I accept a very limited number of private clients. If you are ready to be seen, guided, and held accountable at the highest level, I invite you to reach out.
Send an email and tell me about where you are and where you are trying to go. I read every message personally.
A Note From Cynthia
I have rebuilt my life more than once. I know what it costs—and I know what it is worth.
Every woman I work with is navigating something real. I do not take that lightly.
If you are ready, I am here.
— Mentor Cynthia
Let's Create Something Meaningful
Invite Cynthia.
For speaking engagements, legislative partnerships, media appearances, interviews, civic initiatives, and cultural collaborations, reach out directly.
Areas of Engagement
- Widows' rights and financial protection
- Legislative and policy advocacy
- Women's civic participation
- Public leadership and reinvention
- Media interviews and commentary
- Cultural and institutional collaborations
- Beauty, identity, and feminine power
Public InitiativeThe Cynthia Policy Initiative for Widows
Based InFramingham, Massachusetts
Advocacy Inquiries
Media & Speaking
Two Million
followers across platforms
A public voice with an established community.
Cynthia brings civic life, widows policy, women's leadership, marriage and family, beauty, pageantry, culture, and reinvention into conversation with a global digital audience.
Through thoughtful interviews, public commentary, and original series, Cynthia creates space for women whose experiences and accomplishments deserve serious attention while extending her public work beyond institutional rooms and into direct conversation with the people who watch, listen, respond, and return.