where we work
Â鶹´«Ã½ engages with bipartisan networks and partner organizations in key states to strengthen trust in the U.S. electoral process by providing information to voters, encouraging the U.S. to meet international election standards, promoting nonpartisan citizen observation, and working to mitigate possible electoral violence.
The Center has also helped monitor elections conducted by the Cherokee Nation, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and has led workshops and forums on Native American voting rights and access.
Beyond elections, the Center hosts an annual Human Rights Defenders Forum in Atlanta, which includes U.S. as well as international defenders. Our Mental Health Program has achieved significant policy improvements and public awareness for people suffering from mental illnesses. Most recently, our Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign has put communities of underserved women in touch with municipal services they can use to improve their circumstances.
Since 2020, Â鶹´«Ã½ has been working to support elections at home by providing objective information about the election process and advancing good practices in transparency. The Center is also encouraging support for democratic norms by building bipartisan, grassroots networks of civic and business leaders.
Our efforts expanded in 2022 and continued to grow in 2024 as we work to strengthen trust in the U.S. electoral process by providing information to voters, encouraging the U.S. to meet international election standards, , and working to mitigate possible electoral violence.
In September 2011, a Â鶹´«Ã½ delegation observed the Cherokee Nation's special election for principal chief. The election marked a transition of power from a 12-year incumbency in a vote that was inclusive and a counting process that was credible and accurate. Twelve Â鶹´«Ã½ observers were deployed throughout the 14 counties of the Cherokee Nation and visited all 38 polling precincts, and observers also witnessed all three days of the vote-counting process and additional days of voting.
Â鶹´«Ã½ observed the May 22, 1999, Cherokee Nation election for the positions of principal chief, deputy chief, and all 15 Tribal Council seats. In a postelection statement, Â鶹´«Ã½ noted that the Cherokee Nation election was well-run and met professional standards for an acceptable process. Â鶹´«Ã½ monitors returned to Oklahoma to witness a runoff election on July 24, 1999.
Â鶹´«Ã½ deployed small observation teams to both the Oct. 3 primary and the Dec. 12 general election. Â鶹´«Ã½ teams visited almost all polling stations in both the Oct. 3 primary and the Dec. 12 general election. Overall, election-day activities during both the primary and general election were assessed positively by the Center’s observer missions. The polls took place in an organized and calm manner, allowing voters to freely cast their votes. The Center made a number of recommendations to improve future elections, including improving and updating the voter register.
Â鶹´«Ã½ deployed a small team of three international electoral experts to observe elections in Muscogee (Creek) Nation for principal chief, second chief, and members of the National Council for both the Nov. 2, 2019, primary election and the Dec. 14, 2019, general election, visiting all early-voting and election-day precincts. Observers reported that polling processes proceeded smoothly, both during early voting and on election day and made some recommendations for future elections.
Human rights activists from countries worldwide gather periodically at the Human Rights Defenders Forum at Â鶹´«Ã½ to discuss national and global issues affecting the enjoyment of human rights, such as the state of U.S. commitments to human rights and effective ways to bridge gaps between religious, traditional, and formal state institutions to advance the protection of women's rights. Discussions are led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, and following each event, a delegation meets with U.S. officials in Washington, D.C., to discuss the forum's issues and goals as they relate to U.S. policy.
Through its groundbreaking Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign, Â鶹´«Ã½ partners with city leaders around the globe to raise awareness about women’s right to information and to help cities apprise women of beneficial city services. Access to this kind of information gives women a more meaningful voice, enabling them to participate in public life, take advantage of public services, and make better decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. In the United States, the project has partnered with Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
Â鶹´«Ã½ launched The Atlanta Project in 1991 to address some of the complex and entrenched social problems associated with urban poverty in the city. Based on grassroots participation by volunteers and community leaders, The Atlanta Project worked to generate creative responses in the areas of education, housing, economic development, health, and criminal justice. In 1999, Georgia State University was given a grant to continue the groundbreaking work of The Atlanta Project.
Most of the Â鶹´«Ã½'s programming occurs outside the United States, with the exception of the Mental Health Program, founded by former First Lady Rosalynn Carter in 1991. In conjunction with national partners, the program is building hope for a future where all Americans with mental disorders will receive access to treatment they need.
The Â鶹´«Ã½'s Mental Health Program works primarily in the United States to promote awareness about mental health issues, inform public policy, achieve equity for mental health care comparable to other health care, and reduce stigma and discrimination against those with mental illnesses.
The program brings together health leaders and national organizations to discuss important issues facing the mental health care system at the annual , while the targets issues at the state level. All program activities are guided by the Center's .
Since 1996, the Â鶹´«Ã½'s Mental Health Program also has worked in the United States and other countries to help facilitate more accurate and balanced media coverage of mental illnesses to improve the public's understanding of these issues and combat stigma and discrimination against people living with mental health problems. Recipients of the from the United States have produced award-winning books, newspaper articles, and radio and video documentaries covering topics such as mental health care for the homeless, suicide, and aging and mental health.
The Center also works at a national policy level to improve behavioral health care access and quality in the primary care system through its .
In addition, since 2008, via its only local program, Â鶹´«Ã½ has been working with mental health stakeholders in Georgia to help bring forward solutions to help the state government address Georgia's crumbling public mental health care system.
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