The Epilepsy Foundation of Alabama has a new leader.

In a Wednesday press release, the organization announced Sara Franklin will serve as its executive director.

The Epilepsy Foundation, headquartered in Hoover, offers education programs on how to recognize and respond to seizures, as well as providing community services, public education, federal and local advocacy, seizure first aid training and research funding into new treatments and therapies.

A native of Hoover, Franklin comes to the Epilepsy Foundation with nearly a decade of public and community relations experience. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in public relations and communication studies at the University of Alabama in 2010 and is an accredited public relations practitioner.

Garland Stansell, Epilepsy Foundation of Alabama advisory board chair and chief communications officer at Children’s of Alabama, said, “We are extremely fortunate to have Sara Franklin as the Executive Director of the Epilepsy Foundation here in our state.”

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Sara in a number of professional and volunteer organizations over the past decade and I know she will bring strong leadership and enthusiasm to our statewide chapter,” Stansell added.

In addition to her career experience, Sara’s life was personally touched by epilepsy last year, as she outlined in a Facebook post announcing her new role.

“One in 26 people in the United States will develop epilepsy during their lifetime, and more than 54,000 people in the state of Alabama have epilepsy or another type of seizure disorder,” said Gregg Fort, regional director for Chapter Operations at the Epilepsy Foundation. “There are many new developments in the works in the treatment of epilepsy, especially with research being done at hospital institutions in Alabama, and we look forward to Sara leading our organization’s efforts to provide services related to epilepsy throughout the state.”

Franklin has served on the Alabama Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) board for the past nine years, and she is currently serving as the University of Alabama PRSA/PRSSA liaison.

She is also a member of the Junior League of Birmingham, the Hoover City Schools Foundation Board, the Bob O. Finley Committee for Character Education in Hoover City Schools and the Shades Mountain Baptist Church Women’s Leadership Team. Franklin is a graduate of the Leadership UAB Program and the Junior League of Birmingham’s Leadership Institute Program. Most recently, she worked at the Lollar Group.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn