It's Time To Connect With The RIGHT Connections

Listen in as Sheila and Ericka have a candid discussion with Irene Barton, Executive Director of Cobb Collaborative. Topics include childhood eduction and the impact of the pandemic on children and families. This episode is chock-full of information to raise awareness of needs Cobb Collaborative is filling.

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About Irene and the Cobb Collaborative:

Irene Barton was named the Executive Director of the Cobb Collaborative in September 2018 after serving as the organization's Resource Manager since July 2017.

Since becoming the Director, Irene has diversified the Collaborative's funding streams, doubled its membership roster, hired a full-time Program Manager as well as a Communications Director to overhaul and grow the communications channels.

Using the collective impact model, the Collaborative convenes community stakeholders to improve outcomes for children and families in Cobb County and is the local presence for the Georgia Family Connection Partnership. The Collaborative focuses on three priorities:

• 3rd Grade Reading Proficiency as the local contact for the Get GA Reading Campaign
• Mental Health through its Mind Your Mind (Cuida tu Mente) work
• Civic Engagement – voting and engagement at the grassroots level

Irene is a member of the East Cobb Civitans and is the President-Elect. She was recently appointed to the Georgia PTA Board of Directors as the mental health chair and has been presenting to PTA leaders across the state on the importance of mental health, risk factors, protective factors and local resources.

She is the Co-Chair of the Cobb & Douglas Public Health Behavioral Health Workgroup which is charged with implementing the strategies of the current Community Health Improvement Plan and was appointed to the Regional Advisory Committee for DBHDD's Region 1.

In 2022, she was named a Woman of Achievement by LiveSafe Resources. Prior to joining the Collaborative, Irene held numerous volunteer leadership positions with Georgia PTA at the local, district and state level and served on several nonprofit boards in a variety of positions, including as Board Chair.

Irene was selected as a member of the 2021 Regional Leadership Institute Class and was an Education Policy Fellow for the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education in 2016-17. She is an alumni of the Cobb Chamber's Honorary Commanders program. She worked in the financial services field for a number of years prior to joining the Cobb Collaborative.

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Irene and her husband Steve have resided in Cobb County for 30 years and are the proud parents of a daughter who is enrolled at Georgia Tech and a son who is a freshman at Auburn University. Her "favorite" child is their rescue dog, Harper. The Bartons are parishioners at the Catholic Church of St. Ann. Irene enjoys reading nonfiction and running in her spare time.

Do you have a question or comment for Irene, Sheila or Ericka ? Please leave your question or comment below. Feel free to contact us privately. Thank you!