Tipper Gore

As an advocate for families, women and children, Tipper Gore is actively involved in issues related to mental health, education and the plight of homeless people everywhere.

Gore's passionate advocacy for eradicating the stigma associated with mental illness and educating Americans about the need for quality, affordable mental health care is greatly appreciated and well recognized by the psychology community. Her expertise on this issue gave her the unique opportunity to serve as the Mental Health Advisor to President Clinton during her husband's tenure as vice president. In June 1999 she chaired the first-ever White House Conference on Mental Health, which interactively involved tens of thousands of Americans in over 1,000 cities across the country. In 1990, Gore founded Tennessee Voices for Children, a coalition to promote the development of services for children and youth with serious behavioral, emotional, substance abuse or other mental health problems. She also served as co-chair of the Child Mental Health Interest Group, a non-partisan group of Congressional and Administration spouses.

During the historic 1999 White House Conference on Mental Health, Gore called for the creation of the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign (NMHAC) and now serves as the honorary chair. NMHAC was created in order to educate the public about mental health issues and eradicate the fear, shame and stigma commonly associated with mental illness. Through its website, www.nostigma.org, NMHAC has reached thousands of young people and is preparing to launch campaigns targeting adults and seniors in the near future.

Gore co-founded and chaired Families for the Homeless in 1986, to raise public awareness of homeless issues. She forged a partnership with the National Mental Health Association to produce a major photographic exhibit titled “Homeless in America: A Photographic Project,” which toured the nation.

Gore received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Boston University in 1970 and a master’s degree in Psychology from Vanderbilt University in 1975.

In recognition of her passionate advocacy for all facets of mental health, the Trustees of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology awarded the degree of Doctor of Psychology Honoris Causa to Tipper Gore, November 11, 2001.