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Meet Misty Williams: Recipient of a Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism

In September, 18 journalists met at The Carter Center to discuss an under-reported health problem: mental illnesses. Half of the journalists had spent the past year working on mental health topics of their choosing. The other half was preparing to spend the upcoming year doing the same thing.

The meeting was part of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, which aim to enhance public understanding of mental health issues and reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses through balanced and accurate reporting. Each fellow is awarded a stipend and provided with two trips to The Carter Center to meet with program staff and advisers. Fellows join a cadre of over 165 current and former fellows from the past two decades.

Misty Williams, a health care reporter in Atlanta, was used to reaching out to Carter Center staff for mental health expertise. But when she became a fellow, Williams’ pool of resources widened. At the annual fellowship meeting “you enter a room with experts from across the country and the world who are tops in their field,” Williams said.

Learn more about the Center’s Mental Health Program:
http://www.cartercenter.org/health/mental_health/index.html

Learn more about the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism:
http://www.cartercenter.org/health/mental_health/fellowships/index.html

Founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter in partnership with Emory University, The Carter Center is committed to advancing human rights and alleviating unnecessary human suffering. The Center wages peace, fights disease, and builds hope worldwide.