Hopeful Horizons has announced the officers for its 2020 Board of Directors.

Meredith Bannon is the Chairperson, Sandy Berthelsen is the Chair-Elect, Sandi Atkins will be Treasurer and Jennifer Moneagle will fill the role of Secretary.

“Hopeful Horizons holds a special place in my heart,” Bannon said in a release. “During my years prosecuting sex crimes against children, they provided ongoing support and counseling to my victims and witnesses. As a member of the community, a woman and mother to a small child, their outreach programs strengthen my pride and love of Beaufort County.”

Bannon is a managing partner at the Bannon Law Group, LLC in Bluffton. She entered private practice after spending seven years working as a prosecutor in Arizona and at the 14th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's office. Bannon has served on Hopeful Horizons’ board since 2017.

Atkins had a 40-year career in financial services, including owning a CPA practice for the first 25 years and then a women-owned wealth management firm that provided comprehensive financial planning and fee-only investment management services.

Berthelsen served for 30 years as an educator. After retiring from the public school system in Fairfax, Va., she was an adjunct professor at George Mason University supervising graduate student teachers.

Moneagle taught middle school language arts for three years before embarking on a 28-year career with Ford Motor Company as a sales and marketing executive. After moving to the Lowcountry in 2009 she joined Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) as the Marketing Director. She currently serves on the board of trustees of the Historic Beaufort Foundation and volunteers at Auldbrass and with the Friends of Hunting Island.

Hopeful Horizons is a children's advocacy, domestic violence and rape crisis center that works to create safer communities by changing the culture of violence and offering a path to healing. The organization provides safety, hope and healing to survivors through evidence-based practices, outreach, prevention and education.

Hopeful Horizons serves Beaufort, Allendale, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties. For more information on the mission and vision of Hopeful Horizons, visit www.hopefulhorizons.org.