About Us
MISSION STATEMENT
FACTOR convenes Community Stakeholders to assess and strategically improve the health and well- being of local residents.
VISION
A collaborative community, committed to sustaining the highest quality of life and well-being for all residents.
Upstream Thinking and Downstream Issues
Please see this 80 second video at this Link
Fayette FACTOR is involved in Upstream Thinking to help address Downstream Issues that threaten the well-being of the community
How does Fayette FACTOR facilitate community well-being?
By working with the community to identify and address “upstream” root causes of downstream negative impacts.
An Example of “downstream” impacts of Mental Health Issues in Fayette County:
FACTOR convenes Community Stakeholders to assess and strategically improve the health and well- being of local residents.
VISION
A collaborative community, committed to sustaining the highest quality of life and well-being for all residents.
Upstream Thinking and Downstream Issues
Please see this 80 second video at this Link
Fayette FACTOR is involved in Upstream Thinking to help address Downstream Issues that threaten the well-being of the community
How does Fayette FACTOR facilitate community well-being?
By working with the community to identify and address “upstream” root causes of downstream negative impacts.
An Example of “downstream” impacts of Mental Health Issues in Fayette County:
- Mental health and behavioral disorders – including suicide - were the second leading cause of death for all county residents between 2013 and 2017 (Piedmont Fayette Community Health Needs Assessment)
- Increases in isolation and loneliness from senior citizen population
- Increases in difficulty with coping with life events across all ages
- Increases in Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD
- Increases in the presentation of more complex mental health issues
- Increase in demand for mental health services not being met by current capacity
- Stigma in acknowledging mental health issues as both personal and community issues
- Lack of comprehensive community leadership around:
- An assessment of behavioral health needs and available resources to address them
- Increased need for awareness and education about mental health services
- Reducing barriers to increased screening
- Access to affordable mental health care for all, especially the uninsured and underinsured
- Models for the promotion of good mental health
- Understanding impact of social media and technology on mental health
- Understanding the link between mental health issues and substance abuse
How Can FACTOR Help Mitigate Issues that Impact the Well-being of Our Community?
FACTOR Utilizes A Strategic Prevention Framework
What are the specific roles FACTOR can play to help address important human services issues?
1. Collect and summarize data to better understand and prioritize issues, through focus groups, key informant interviews, surveys, and scientific research
2. Develop logic models that hone in on defining problems, identifying local conditions and determining root causes
3. Work with stakeholders to build community capacity, such as increasing partner participation, engaging community champions, and raising financial and in-kind resources
4. Convene community stakeholders to share the issues and supporting data
5. With community support develop data driven and best-practices strategies to address identified issues
6. Help provide oversight and project management
7. Evaluate progress of strategically addressing these issues, and working with partners to adjust and prioritize as needed
An easy analogy to understand the role of FACTOR in the Fayette Community
“FACTOR is to the Human Services Community what the Chamber of Commerce is to the Business Community.”
Under the leadership of Dawn Oparah, Executive Director, FACTOR's current major initiatives include: Substance Abuse Prevention through the Drug-Free Fayette Coalition, Darkness to Light's - Stewards of Children training, ENCORE! Fayette Leadership Program for Older and Seasoned Adults, Back to School Annual Community Event, School Readiness Needs Assessment for the children ages 0-5, and a Mental Health Community Needs Assessment.
As a 501c3 non-profit, all donations to FACTOR are tax deductible. Only through the generous support of our community are we able to create significant and lasting change. If you would like to contribute to our efforts, simply click on any Donate Now button. And thank you for your support!
1. Collect and summarize data to better understand and prioritize issues, through focus groups, key informant interviews, surveys, and scientific research
2. Develop logic models that hone in on defining problems, identifying local conditions and determining root causes
3. Work with stakeholders to build community capacity, such as increasing partner participation, engaging community champions, and raising financial and in-kind resources
4. Convene community stakeholders to share the issues and supporting data
5. With community support develop data driven and best-practices strategies to address identified issues
6. Help provide oversight and project management
7. Evaluate progress of strategically addressing these issues, and working with partners to adjust and prioritize as needed
An easy analogy to understand the role of FACTOR in the Fayette Community
“FACTOR is to the Human Services Community what the Chamber of Commerce is to the Business Community.”
Under the leadership of Dawn Oparah, Executive Director, FACTOR's current major initiatives include: Substance Abuse Prevention through the Drug-Free Fayette Coalition, Darkness to Light's - Stewards of Children training, ENCORE! Fayette Leadership Program for Older and Seasoned Adults, Back to School Annual Community Event, School Readiness Needs Assessment for the children ages 0-5, and a Mental Health Community Needs Assessment.
As a 501c3 non-profit, all donations to FACTOR are tax deductible. Only through the generous support of our community are we able to create significant and lasting change. If you would like to contribute to our efforts, simply click on any Donate Now button. And thank you for your support!
Meet Our Board
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Jack Bernard, Chairperson. Jack began his career as a community organizer with local poverty programs, eventually becoming Georgia’s first Director of Health Planning. Jack became an executive with national health care firms, serving on local boards (American Cancer Society and American Heart Association).
Jack is currently the Fayette FACTOR Chair and Chair of the Fayette County Board of Health. He also Chaired the Jasper County, GA Board of Commissioners and was chair of the state ACCG Tax and Property Tax Committees. Other boards include- the Jasper County Board of Health, Georgia’s Public Health Association Executive Board, the national NALBOH board, the Georgia Steering Committee (Board) of the Physicians for a National Health Program, the Peachtree City Zoning Commission, and SCORE Board (SBA affiliate). He is also active on Georgia AARP and American Heart Association Advocacy Committees. In his spare time, he’s an editorial writer with 1500 columns in print nationwide. |
Stephen Ott. Stephen has resided in Fayette County since 1997. He obtained his B.A. from Mercer University in 1989
and his Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University, College of Law in 1992. Stephen joined the FACTOR board in 2015. Stephen is currently the Presiding Juvenile Court Judge for the Griffin Judicial Circuit (Fayette, Pike, Spalding and Upson Counties). Stephen has one son who lives in the Griffin area. |
Paige Muh. Paige serves as Director of Community Relations for Piedmont Fayette Hospital, a 310-licensed-bed non-profit hospital that serves Fayette, South Fulton, Spalding, Clayton and surrounding counties. In this role, she oversees the implementation of strategies to address the hospital’s current Community Health Needs Assessment. She connects the hospital and its services lines to community events and opportunities, serves on task forces and committees to provide hospital perspective to community initiatives, and creates relationships to align with both business development objectives and community healthcare initiatives.
Prior to this role, Paige served as Director of Community Development at the Fayette Chamber of Commerce, leading chamber communications, governmental affairs, programming and workforce development partnerships. During her time at the chamber, she oversaw multiple cohorts of the Leadership Fayette program, coordinated and executed a 45-person strategic leadership visit to Greenville and Rock Hill, SC, and helped coordinate the Fayette Visioning Initiative and Fayette rebranding campaigns. Paige attended University of Georgia, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. In 2019, Paige received her Institute of Organization Management certification from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. She completed the Regional Economic and Leadership Development Program through the Georgia Academy of Economic Development. Paige has a passion for Fayette County and its business, civic and nonprofit sectors and seeks to make connections to bring positive impact for the community. She serves on the board of directors of Fayette Senior Services, Fayette Care Clinic, Fayette FACTOR and The Atlanta Airport Chamber of Commerce. Paige resides in Peachtree City and has two daughters. |
Stella L. Owens-Murrell is a native of New York City. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Lehman College, City University of New York in 1970. Before her graduation from Lehman College, she attended the American University, Washington D.C. from September 1968 to January 1969 and Harvard University, Cambridge Massachusetts, summer semester program, in June 1969 as a Washington Semester Fellow in Political Science. Ms. Owens-Murrell attended the University of Notre Dame, School of Law in Notre Dame Indiana from August 1970 to May of 1973 where she received her Juris Doctor Degree.
Ms. Owens-Murrell was appointed as an Administrative Law Judge for the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board in July 2004. She went on to serve as an Administrative Law Judge in the Office of Administrative Hearings for the State of California where she presided over administrative law matters from May 2006 to July 2014, when she retired from state service. Prior to her appointment as an Administrative Law Judge she served as a Senior Trial Counsel to the Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations where she represented the State in civil matters. Prior to going into government service, she practiced Labor and Employment Law. As a civil litigator she developed expertise in the field of labor, employment law, and civil rights litigation. In July1988, Ms. Owens- Murrell was lead trial attorney in the U.S. District Court case of Young vs. Von’s Grocery Company where the plaintiff was awarded a $12.2 million jury verdict, the highest verdict for a single plaintiff in a race discrimination case of its time. Ms. Owens-Murrell also published articles in 1990 and 1991 for the Minority Employment Law Journal on Civil Rights Act Reform. Ms. Owens-Murrell has served in the past on various State, local and civic organizations among them are the California State Bar Committee on Women in the Law, where she served as Chair from September 2001- August 2002 and Vice Chair from September 2000- September 2001. She is a past member of the California Conference of Workers’ Compensation Judges; California Women Lawyers; Black Women Lawyers; Antelope Valley branch of the NAACP; Resources Board for the Boys & Girls Club of the San Fernando Valley; the Antelope Valley Hate Crimes Task force, where she served as the Legal Advisor; the Board of Directors for the Antelope Valley College Foundation, and the Antelope Valley Partners for Health. She has also served on the boards of other organizations and is the recipient of numerous awards. Ms. Owens-Murrell relocated to Atlanta in June 2018 and currently resides in Peachtree City, Georgia. She is a member, and serves on the Executive Committee, of the Fayette County Branch of the NAACP. She also serves as a member of the Legal Resources Ministry at World Changers Church International. |
Dr. Ted Lombard is a retired Fayette County Public School educator and school administrator. He resides in Peachtree City with his wife, Linda, a retired special education teacher and elementary school administrator. They have been married for over 45 years. They have three adult children and four grandchildren, all living in Peachtree City. Ted was an Army “brat,” living in many places around the world and the USA and attending over thirteen K-12 schools as one of four sons of a career Army officer. He earned a BS in Engineering from the US Military Academy, West Point, NY, an MBA from Florida Institute for Technology, Melbourne FL, an Ed.S. from Univ. of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA and his Ed.D. from Univ. of West Georgia. Following his commissioning as a US Army officer, he served as a combat arms officer stationed in the USA and West Germany, 1974 – 1993, including assignments in combat units, college ROTC and recruiting. Retiring from the US Army after 20 years of enlisted and commissioned service, Ted became an elementary school teacher in Clayton County Public Schools and a middle school teacher in Fayette County Public Schools, 1994 – 2001. He served as a high school and middle school administrator in Fayette County Public Schools, 2001 – 2015, including twelve years as a middle school principal. He was selected as a school district administrator in Fayette County Public Schools in charge of safety, discipline, attendance and athletics, 2015 – 2022. He retired from education after twenty-eight years. He currently serves as a part time district administrator in charge of student and school safety in Fayette County Public Schools. He previously volunteered with his church, the Boy Scouts of America, the Fayette County Children in Need of Services (CHINS) committee and Drug Free Fayette. He volunteered as a Fayette FACTOR board member in 2024, representing the Fayette County School System.
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Dr. Vanessa Johnson. Dr. Johnson is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and Special Education and graduated Cum Laude from Dillard University, a master’s in educational administration from San Diego State University, a Master's in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, Newport Rhode Island and a Doctorate in Education Leadership from Clark Atlanta University.
Commissioned as an Ensign in the U. S. Navy, after teaching for 4 years, Lieutenant Commander Johnson’s last duty station was as the Executive Officer of Georgia Institute of Technology and Morehouse College ROTC where she retired in November 1995. Dr. Johnson retired as a principal in 2013 and then served as a head of school. In September 2017, she was recognized as one of Atlanta’s 100 Top Black Women of Influence by the Atlanta Business League. In March of 2019, she was recognized at the Georgia Minority Business awards dinner as “the Educator of the Year.” Dr. Johnson is married to Reverend Edward J. Johnson, Jr., senior pastor of Flat Rock A.M.E. Church and the First Black Mayor of Fayetteville, Georgia. |
Malcolm Hughes.
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