Deborah Taylor Tate was honored for her service on the Centerstone of Tennessee Board beginning in 2002 after serving as Governor Sundquist’s legal counsel and senior policy advisor on mental health issues.Tate was instrumental in the creation and implementation of a Mental Health Commission culminating in the passage of Title 33, the comprehensive mental health law for Tennessee, including a historic chapter on children and youth.
Chairman of the Board, Parker Griffith, recounted a story of Tate’s commitment and service during her appointment to the Federal Communications Commission by President George W. Bush. Tate was serving as board chair for Centerstone Community Mental Health Centers, Inc. and was asked to relinquish all of her nonprofit board duties. She appealed this requirement and President Bush agreed that she could still serve on the board as its chair and subsequently many other leadership positions.
Since 2002, Tate has seen Centerstone’s exponential growth through the expansions with Indiana, Illinois, Florida and Kentucky resulting in Centerstone being the largest behavioral health community provider in the U.S.Tate continues to serve on the Centerstone Research Institute board, a national nonprofit dedicated to improving healthcare through technological advancement to integrate research and technology with clinical practice.
