St. Vincent De Paul Names New Atlanta Director

Published: October 14, 2004

ATLANTA—There are several new faces at the Atlanta Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, including a new director of the Council.

The Atlanta Council has named Nina Harrison as its new executive director. Previously, Harrison was the director of the Catholic Foundation of North Georgia, a public charity that establishes trusts and endowments for individuals, and makes grants to various community organizations. She succeeds Sheila Bissonnette who served as executive director for 15 years.

In addition, the Atlanta Council named Martin Kraft as director of communications and Sherry Jackson as associate director of development. Kraft is responsible for the Council’s public relations, advertising, publications and media relations. Jackson is responsible for supervising special events, writing grants and managing the Council’s database.

Harrison, who has been very active as a local SVdP volunteer, served for several years as a member of the Atlanta Council’s executive committee. She also served on the boards of several other nonprofit organizations, including the Ashford-Dunwoody YMCA and Jerusalem House.

The new director said she feels “privileged to come into an organization that is so well respected and vibrant.”

“Two things are of paramount importance to me,” she said. “First, we must continue providing help to those we serve and, second, and equally important, we must continue to be good stewards of all donations, food, clothing, cars, money and volunteers.”

As the number of people living below the poverty level increases, SVdP must rise to meet the challenge, Harrison said.

“It is no secret that the numbers of those we serve are growing larger. We see that every day at our door, and we’ve read the recent statistics on poverty. We must meet the challenge of fulfilling those needs, both through our services and our volunteer force,” she said.

Harrison, whose background includes experience in market analysis and research for financial institutions and for-profit and nonprofit businesses, earned her master’s degree in developmental psychology from the University of Utah.

In her new position, Harrison said, she will draw inspiration from the message of one of her saintly role models.

“I firmly believe in the humbling and powerful message of St. Catherine of Siena, who said that we are all, whether we choose to be or not, linked together by the chain of charity and that we all have recourse to each other because of our linkage,” she said.

Founded in 1903, the Atlanta Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity. The Council assists people in need, regardless of their religion, with a wide range of services including direct financial aid, food, clothing, housing and educational and training programs. The Atlanta Council includes more than 65 local conferences throughout North Georgia, most of which are based in Catholic parishes. This past year, the Council and conferences together assisted over 75,000 needy people, with Society volunteers donating over 244,000 hours of service.