ACCENT Speakers Bureau at the University of Florida will bring former First Lady and mental health advocate Rosalynn Carter to speak March 31. The event will be co-sponsored by the Bob Graham Center for Public Service.
Carter, the wife of former President Jimmy Carter, has worked for more than four decades as a leading advocate for mental health, caregiving, early childhood immunization, human rights and conflict resolution. Her emergence as a driving force for mental health during the Carter administration assisted in the passage of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980.
The event will include a speech by Carter about her book, “Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis,” followed by a moderated discussion.
The moderator will be Dr. Nancy Hardt, professor and Director for Health Disparities at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
NAMI Gainesville (National Alliance on Mental Illness) will be hosting a series of book discussions around Gainesville throughout the month of March focused on Carter's “Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis.” For more information on these book readings, visit
http://namigvl.wix.com/withinourreach.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter founded The Carter Center in 1982. The Carter Center is a private, nonprofit institution. Rosalynn Carter created and chairs the Carter Center’s Mental Health Task Force.
Carter, a graduate of Georgia Southwestern College, is the president of the board of directors for the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI). The institute was established in her honor at her alma mater in Americus, Ga. The RCI promotes the mental health and well being of individuals, families and professional caregivers.
The former first lady has also written five books, including her autobiography, “First Lady from Plains.”
Some of the many awards Carter has received include the Volunteer of the Decade Award from the National Mental Health Association and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.
