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.