MOORE COMMUNITY HOUSE
Serving families since 1924
Leadership
Carol Burnett is Executive Director of Moore Community House, a community center in the diverse community of east Biloxi providing Early Head Start services and Women in Construction job training to support low-income women’s economic security. Carol has served as Mississippi’s federal CCDF Child Care Administrator where she significantly increased child care subsidy funding. Carol was a delegate to the 2015 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, she attended the White House Summit on Working Families, and she serves as a Center for American Progress Faith and Reproductive Justice Leader.
Carol has received many awards including the Lighthouse BPW Woman of Achievement award, the Ms. Foundation for Women’s Woman of Vision award, the MS Religious Leadership Conference Founder’s award, and the MS State NAACP Vernon Dahmer award. Carol holds a M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in New York City and is a United Methodist clergy (one of the first women in MS to become ordained).
Mary Harrington is the Early Head Start program director with Moore Community House. In this role, Mary leads a dedicated team providing all aspects of caring for and educating the youngest children, while providing parenting and personal support to their families.
Mary has dedicated most of her professional and personal life to caring for children. While in graduate school studying for her master’s degree in Child Development and Family Relations, she discovered the Head Start philosophy of caring for the whole child – providing for his/her physical as well as educational needs in order to raise resilient and self-sufficient adults.
Drawing on her education, a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, and the training Head Start provides, Mary relies on updated information and techniques to guide her staff. Mary has 28 years of varied experience in the Early Childhood Education field, including 15 years with Head Start, working in the positions of preschool teacher, college adjunct teacher, center director, EHS home visitor and EHS program director. These experiences provided the perfect foundation for connecting with staff and parents in the joys and challenges in caring for children.
Mary believes in an open door policy and is available as much as possible for her families and staff. She also can be reached at 228-436-0881 or by email at mharrington@moorecommunityhouse.org.
Ruth Mazara is the Program Director for the Women in Construction Program at Moore Community House. Ruth joined the program in 2018 as a Workforce Case Manager, helping place students in job opportunities and offering guidance in interviewing, resume writing and career skills.
A native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Ruth earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a Masters of Science in Human Capital Development from the University of Southern Mississippi. Prior to joining Moore Community House, Ruth was a Learning and Development Specialist in a corporate human resources department.
She can be reached at ruth.winc@moorecommunityhouse.org.