Rae Simpson

A mental health advocate and writer, Rae specializes in public understanding of serious mental health conditions. Her recent, grant-funded advocacy initiatives have focused on improving messaging about mental health conditions, working with organizations such as the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, the Boston Museum of Science, and the FrameWorks Institute. She currently serves on the board of the Cambridge affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Holding a PhD in communication research from Stanford University, Rae served on the faculty at MIT for 11 years and senior staff for 25 years. She created and directed MIT's first undergraduate and graduate science journalism programs, then MIT's first family resource center. She also served as a consultant to the World Health Organization, United Nations, CBS, WGBH, Harvard's Center for Health Communication, and others, and founded the National Parenting Education Network. Rae has given over a hundred presentations in the US and abroad, and published over 50 books, book chapters, and journal articles, as well as popular articles in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Psychology Today, Cognoscenti, and elsewhere.