Lynn Rivers Red Jacket.jpeg
CC BY-SA 3.0
Painted adaptation; background changed to #f7f3ec by Bipolar Lives.
Adaptation shared under the same license.
Full image attribution details
Lynn Rivers
PoliticianUnited States
Lynn Rivers is a former U.S. representative from Michigan who served four terms in Congress from 1995 to 2003. Before entering Congress, she served on the Ann Arbor Board of Education and in the Michigan House of Representatives. [2]
Career and work
During her four terms in Congress, Rivers served on the House Science Committee throughout her tenure, on the Budget Committee for her first three terms, and on the Education and the Workforce Committee in her final term. Her legislative work included environmental policy, campaign and lobbying reform, labor protections, and student-loan issues. [2]
After leaving Congress, Rivers moved into teaching political science. She has taught at the University of Michigan, where her courses have focused on Congress, relations between the legislative and executive branches, and campaigns and elections. [3]
What has been publicly discussed
Sources and other resourcesExpand to view the sources used in this profile and resources to learn more.
Sources used for this profile
The following sources contain information that supports the claims made on this page.
Roll Call“Life After Congress: Lynn Rivers” A retrospective interview covering Rivers’s bipolar diagnosis, her public disclosure during the 1994 campaign, mood episodes, treatment, advocacy, and life after Congress.
U.S. House of Representatives, History, Art & Archives“RIVERS, Lynn Nancy” Official congressional biography covering Rivers’s education, political career, committee assignments, legislative work, and public discussion of bipolar disorder.
University of Michigan, Department of Political Science“Lynn N. Rivers” Faculty biography describing Rivers’s political-science teaching and courses on Congress, the presidency, campaigns, and elections.
View all 7 sources
American Archive of Public Broadcasting“The Infinite Mind; No. 32; Manic Depression; Part 1” Extended interview in which Rivers discusses severe depression, cycling moods, treatment, and her long period without symptoms.
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance“Bipolar Disorder: Stories of Coping and Courage” First-person account describing Rivers’s diagnosis, years spent finding effective medication, psychotherapy, relapses, and management of her illness.
Clinton White House Archives“June 9, 1999” Contemporary account of Rivers’s participation in the White House Conference on Mental Health and her discussion of treatment, monitoring her health, and stigma.
National Alliance on Mental Illness“NAMI Salutes Prominent Figures for Their Courage in Working to End Stigma Against Mental Illness” Documents NAMI’s recognition of Rivers and describes her public disclosure and mental-health advocacy.
Learn more
Recommended books and other resources about Lynn Rivers and their experiences.
- “White House Decries Stigma”The Washington Post
Coverage of the 1999 White House Conference on Mental Health, including Rivers discussing bipolar disorder and stigma.
- “TEDxUofM 2016”TEDxUofM
Event page for Rivers’s TEDxUofM appearance, with additional context on her congressional career and public discussion of mental illness.