Literacy Action, Inc. Welcomes New President & Executive Director

Contact:  Kristin Gray                                                                FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE          (404) 818-7326                                                                                                                                       kgray@literacyaction.org

Literacy Action, Inc. Welcomes 
New President & Executive Director

ATLANTA, GA−  Literacy Action, Inc. is proud to announce that Austin Dickson has been named its new President and Executive Director, effective October 23, 2012.

Literacy Action is Georgia’s largest nonprofit provider of adult basic education. The organization offers free literacy instruction and job-readiness services for adults with low-literacy skills. 

Austin Dickson previously served as the Director of Philanthropy for Action Ministries, Inc., a statewide, faith-based, homeless services and basic needs organization. Before joining Action Ministries, he worked for The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta on its regional and environmental initiatives.

A Texas native and Texas Christian University graduate, Dickson earned master’s degrees from the School of Divinity at The University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, where he was the student body president. He also holds a master’s in public policy from Georgia Tech. He has taught philosophy at Clayton State University since 2008.

Dickson serves in a leadership role at the East Lake Family YMCA and at several startup nonprofits, such as the Atlanta Music Project, Community Farmers Markets, Georgia Benefits Counsel, and L’Arche Atlanta. After his tenure as the President of the East Atlanta Community Association (2010-2011), the community received DeKalb County’s Ernest Prather Neighborhood Award, which recognizes best practices in community development. He is a member of the LEAD Atlanta Class of 2012 and the Leadership DeKalb Class of 2013.

“It’s exciting to take on this leadership role with one of the most high-performing organizations here in Atlanta. We look forward to expanding our services in the city and in the region”, said Dickson.

In the coming year, Literacy Action will continue to focus on its student-centered mission by providing exceptional programming for adults seeking literacy and work skills, as well as raising awareness on the low-literacy epidemic in the Atlanta region and throughout Georgia.

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About Literacy Action, Inc.

Literacy Action, Inc. has been teaching basic literacy skills to adults for more than 44 years and currently stands as the largest community-based adult literacy agency in Georgia.  The mission of Literacy Action is to provide high quality, sustainable literacy programs that break the cycle of intergenerational low literacy and empower students to reach their highest potential and propel them to self-sufficiency. 

For more information, visit www.literacyaction.org