State Mental Health Commisioner to Speak at UA Friday, Feb. 4.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Kathy Elmore Sawyer, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, will be the featured speaker for The University of Alabama School of Social Work’s 12th annual colloquium celebrating African American Heritage Month on Friday, Feb. 4.

“Building on Our Heritage ‚ Forging A Brighter Future” will be the subject of Sawyer’s lecture, scheduled for 1 p.m. in 223 Little Hall.

A UA alumnus, Sawyer is also the director of advocacy services at the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation where she designs and implements a statewide internal rights protection and advocacy program.

Sawyer currently serves as chairperson of the national conference committee of the National Association of Social Workers. Her professional affiliations include the Alabama Association for Retarded Citizens, the Mental Health Association of Montgomery and the Alabama Alliance for the Mentally Ill in Birmingham.

Her civic affiliations include the Alabama poverty project boards and the welfare reform steering committee at Day Street Baptist Church in Montgomery. She is also on the magnet school advisory committee for the Montgomery County Board of Education.

For more information, contact Mary Sella in the UA School of Social Work at 205/348-8557.

Contact

Abiola Sholanke or Suzanne Dowling, Office of Media Relations, 205/348-8324

Source

Mary Sella, UA School of Social Work, 205/348-8557