This Georgia native is a former First Lady of the United States and Founder of The Carter Center...
Rosalynn Smith Carter
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Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has worked for more than four decades to improve the quality of life for people around the world. Today, she is a leading advocate for mental health, caregiving, early childhood immunization, human rights, and conflict resolution through her work at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The Center is a private, nonprofit institution founded by former President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter in 1982.
A mother of four, with 12 grandchildren (one deceased) and 14 great-grandchildren, she has maintained a lifelong dedication to issues affecting women and children. In 1991, she launched with Mrs. Betty Bumpers, wife of former U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas, Vaccinate Your Family (founded as Every Child By Two), a nationwide campaign to protect children from vaccine-preventable diseases by raising awareness of the critical need for timely infant immunizations. |
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Mrs. Carter also works with Habitat for Humanity, participating in the annual week long Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project that in 1984 began building homes for the needy, and 3Keys (formerly Project Interconnections), a public/private nonprofit partnership to provide housing for homeless people living with mental illnesses.
She served as distinguished centennial lecturer at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, from 1988-1992 and as distinguished fellow at the Emory University Department of Women's Studies in Atlanta, from 1990-2018. Since graduating from Georgia Southwestern College in 1946, Mrs. Carter has received many honors, among them the Volunteer of the Decade Award from the National Mental Health Association; the Award of Merit for Support of the Equal Rights Amendment from the National Organization for Women and the Notre Dame Award for International Service. She has also received the United States Surgeon General's Medallion and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor. In 2001, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. |
Rosalynn Carter, White House
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Mrs. Carter has written five books: her autobiography First Lady from Plains; Everything To Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life; Helping Yourself Help Others: A Book For Caregivers; Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers and Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis.
This special tribute film was a surprise to former First Lady Rosalynn Carter at the Gala Awards Banquet during the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving's 30th Anniversary Summit. — RCI Caregiving
How & Where to Connect
In Atlanta, the best places to connect with Rosalynn Carter are: 1) The Carter Center and 2) the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum. Instructions for getting to both are provided below.
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A full partner with the president in all the Center's activities, the former first lady is a member of the Carter Center Board of Trustees. She created and chairs the Carter Center's Mental Health Task Force, an advisory body of experts, consumers, and advocates promoting positive change in the mental health field. She brings together leaders of the nation's mental health organizations to address critical issues. Mrs. Carter emerged as a driving force for mental health when, during the Carter administration, she became active honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health, which resulted in passage of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980.
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Getting there...The Carter Center and Jimmy Carter Presidential Library are located in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta. The campus is a one-mile walk from the Inman Park MARTA station.
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum
441 Freedom Parkway Atlanta, Georgia, 30307 404-865-7100 Driving Directions | Visitor Info |
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