Athens Reporter

We are pleased to announce our new Executive Director Michelle McGowan, MBA, MS, APC. Michelle thrives on counseling, storytelling, and discovering the “aha moments" that shift an organization or individual from the past to the future they desire. As a visionary leader with over 8 years of experience, mostly in higher education and community and social service industries, Michelle has been a source of strong support which has led many to much improved outcomes.

Prior to joining Unified Healthcare for the Rural Underserved, Michelle was a servant leader at Brenau University as the Director of Career Services. During her time at Brenau, Michelle spearheaded numerous innovative initiatives for student empowerment, company advancement and community outreach, including but not limited to conceptualizing, creating, and implementing new marketing strategies that led to huge increases in customer engagement and connection. Additionally, she is credited by her colleagues with positively transforming the culture of the department at a time of crucial need, designing several learning and development programs, and creating increased equitable access to services.

Aside from her experience in higher education, Michelle is also an enthusiastic and driven mental health counselor. As a counselor, Michelle is extremely passionate about making a lasting positive impact on the lives of her clients and beyond including matters of physical health which is proven to be linked to mental health. Michelle is a constant source of compassion and support to her clients and others during these challenging times. She is commonly known for one of her greatest traits of being "highly resourceful."

Originally from North Carolina, Michelle moved to Gainesville, Georgia in order to earn her Bachelor's degree in Conflict Resolution and Legal Studies at Brenau University. Her interest in creating equity in the healthcare system, specifically, led her to obtain her Master’s in Business Administration in Health Administration. It is her commitment in creating an emotionally healthy world that guided her to ultimately obtain her Masters of Science in Clinical Counseling and Psychology in the midst of the pandemic. Currently, she is in the process of completing her licensure hours in counseling to become a Licensed Professional Counselor.

Michelle relishes spending time with her family which consists of her two children, Isaiah and Zachariah, her husband, Steven, and her mother, Cynthia. They have no pets at this time, but if Isaiah has his way, there will be a family kitty cat soon.

When asked about her new role at UHRU, Michelle shared "I am a change maker and I want to make a big impact in health care access in underserved communities. The mission and work of UHRU resonates with me and my desire to create change. We can and will be a leading catalyst in health equity and will create structural changes in the healthcare system. I want to work together and partner with the community to ignite a spark of health equity so everyone has access to quality and appropriate health services like cancer screenings."

Please reach out to Michelle at anytime if you have questions or want to learn more about her or UHRU. She can be reach at michelle@uhru.org.

In Service,

The UHRU Board and Team Members

Original source can be found here.