January 10, 2023

Columbia, S.C., January 10, 2023 – Mirci, a nonprofit organization that helps Midlands residents with mental illness, has elected officers and welcomes four new professionals to its board of directors. 

Debra Hamm, Ph.D., a former superintendent of Richland County School District Two, has been re-elected chair of the board. Lucy Easler, Ph.D., has been elected vice-chair. She is director of Behavioral Care Services for Prisma Health-Midlands. Woody Moore, executive vice president of Colliers International | South Carolina, remains immediate past chair. 

New board members include Shayla Riley, the Rev. Troy R. Washington, Anthony Cortopassi, Ronald Burkett and Olivette Ford.

Riley is president of new construction sales and development for Raising Columbia SC, a residential real estate division within Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Midlands Real Estate. Washington is the business administrator for Bostick Tompkins Funeral Home and an ordained minister at Living Word of Deliverance Temple Worship Center. Cortopassi is a certified public accountant and manager for Elliott Davis with an MBA from Stony Brook University. Burkett is president of Burkett, Burkett and Burkett Certified Public Accountants. Ford is a retired certified nursing assistant who has served as a valuable Mirci volunteer for the past decade.

All have agreed to lend their talents, experience, and unique viewpoints to help Mirci move forward into the future. 

"Since there has been a 25 percent increase globally in diagnosed anxiety and depression following the pandemic, Mirci’s mission to provide behavioral healthcare, outreach services and affordable housing options for people who are vulnerable to the adverse consequences of mental illness has never been more important," said Mirci CEO Julie Ann Avin. "The talents these members bring to our board will be instrumental to our ability to continue helping people find a way forward.” 

For more than 60 years, Mirci has helped people take care of their mental health and has reduced homelessness in the process.

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For more information, please contact Karen Addy at (803) 786-1844, ext. 103, or kaddy@mirci.org