Photo courtesy of Down Syndrome Alabama.
Missy Haughery, a Vestavia Hills resident and former English teacher at Hoover High School, is the new executive director for the Down Syndrome Alabama nonprofit.
A Cahaba Heights woman has been hired as the new executive director of the nonprofit Down Syndrome Alabama.
The group chose Missy Haughery, who for the past 15 years has been an English teacher at Hoover High School, to take the job.
Haughery, who has a son with Down syndrome, said she is very passionate about people with special needs and said her calling toward education extends outside the classroom and into the broader community.
In this new job, she believes she can make a difference in the lives of a lot of families and teach acceptance and inclusion — “all those things that really make life worth living,” she said.
Haughery took over for Kelly Peoples, who now is the events manager for the city of Hoover, this spring.
Haughery, a native of Mobile, spent 26 years in education. She has a bachelor’s degree in language arts and secondary education from Birmingham-Southern College and a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Her entire career until now has been as an English teacher. She spent her first two years as a teacher at Hewitt-Trussville Junior High School, then nine years at Mary G. Montgomery High School in Mobile County, before coming to Hoover High 15 years ago.
Haughery said she always thought she eventually would go into an administrative position at a school, but after having a child with Down syndrome 10 years ago, she decided to remain a teacher, believing that would give her more time to raise her own three children.
But this new role allows her to blend her educational and administrative abilities, she said.
“I am truly excited to work with the board and to help grow this organization with clear goals and purpose,” Haughery said in a news release. “I want to see DSA thrive in our state and make a difference in the lives of people with Down syndrome as well as their families and communities. My initial goal is to connect with members and build relationships for the greater good of our children, our communities and our state.”
Haughery and her husband, Mark, live in the Cahaba Heights community with their 12-year-old daughter, Annmarie, and 10-year-old twin sons, Chapman and John, the latter of whom has Down syndrome.
The mission of Down Syndrome Alabama is to provide lifelong education, advocacy and connections for people with Down syndrome. The organization works across the state but is based in The Offices at 3000 Riverchase office tower, next to the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover.
The board of directors for this year includes President Katherine Gorham, Vice President Joe Lawhorn, Secretary Corrie Merchant, Treasurer Mary Meadows Livingston, Past President Stephanie Langford and directors Allison Crawford, Dr. Snehal Khatri, Dr. Christina Norman, Beth Olive, Jennifer Rucker, Scott Shunnarah, Brian Fleury, Lauren Woolley, Jonathan Wells, Kathy Olive, Jennyfer Goodnight, Deborah Mattison and Jenny McInerney.
