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Press Release

Hogg Foundation Names New Communications Director

For immediate release: January 11, 2008
Contact: Merrell Foote, merrell.foote@austin.utexas.edu, (512) 471-9142

AUSTIN, TX – The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health today announced that Merrell Foote has joined its staff as communications director. Foote will lead the foundation’s internal and external communications programs and activities and serve as its chief media liaison.

Foote previously was a senior communications specialist for the Lower Colorado River Authority, where she managed internal and external communications for a variety of programs and services, such as electric and water utility projects, public parks, water safety campaigns and community grants.

Prior to working at LCRA, Foote was a policy analyst for the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission and an information specialist for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. She also was a staff writer for the southwest bureau of the Washington Post and for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Foote has received numerous communications awards, including the national Clarion Award from the Association for Women in Communications, the Regional District 5 Silver Quill Award of Excellence from the International Association of Business Communicators, and the International Technical Publications Competition Award of Excellence from the Society for Technical Communication.

Foote earned a master’s degree in Communications from Georgia State University and a bachelor of arts degree from New Mexico State University. She resides in Austin with her husband John and their two children.

The foundation is an administrative unit of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin. Since its founding in 1940, the foundation has worked to improve the mental health of all Texans through the support of effective mental health services, research, policy and public education. The foundation accomplishes its mission through strategic grantmaking and programs that benefit organizations and communities statewide. The foundation’s endowments are a living legacy of renowned Texan Miss Ima Hogg and her visionary commitment to Texans’ mental health. Information about the foundation’s work and strategic priorities is available online at www.hogg.utexas.edu.

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