About Us

Myrtle S. Habersham is the Managing Member of M S Habersham Consulting Services, LLC. She retired in August 2010 after more than three decades of senior level Federal employment. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Habersham provides cutting-edge guidance and targeted insights to support competitive decision-making across a wide spectrum of leadership and management areas. For more than 18 years as a member of the Senior Executive Corp, about 6,000 out of more than 2 million Federal employees, Habersham demonstrated excellence in her performance. She was promoted to increasingly responsible regional and national senior leadership positions in three of the Federal government’s most important, visible, and publicly significant agencies: Social Security Administration (SSA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Key senior level positions included:

Regional Commissioner for the Social Security Administration’s two largest regions:

Atlanta Region: (southeastern eight-state region) Workforce of 14,500 Federal and state employees; $770 million budget; 277 facilities
Chicago Region: (mid-west six-state region) Workforce of 10,000 Federal and state employees; $700 million budget; 234 facilities

HHS Regional Inspector General for the 8-state Southeastern Region:

Headed-up the white-collar criminal and civil investigative operation for the department’s 300 plus programs which included Social Security Administration (SSA), Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Public Health Services (PHS) and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Associate Director, FHFA’s Office of Management Planning (OMP): In 2007, Habersham was chosen competitively to lead this new office within the Federal Housing Finance Administration, previously the Office of Federal Housing Enterprises and Oversight (OFHEA). The FHFA is the financial regulator for the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Enterprises and the twelve Federal Home Loan Banks. Habersham exemplified excellence in the execution of:

Overseeing the organization’s strategic and performance planning processes
Coordinating The President’s Management Agenda (PMA)
Managing other critical agency-wide management and operational initiatives, including liaison and performance responsibilities with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB-the Executive Office of the President of the United States); and,
Overall responsibility for facilities, business continuity, and emergency planning operations

Visiting Senior Fellow for Policy (June 2009 - July 2010): Dual assignment with Emory University School of Nursing and the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI), both located in Georgia. Duties and responsibilities related to:

Liaison services with select Federal agencies regarding national public policy initiatives on caregiving
Coordination of national, state and local partnerships committed to building quality, long-term home and community-based services for relevant projects
Technical assistance and consultation to caregiver professionals regarding coalition building and developing advocacy strategies and skills on local, state and national levels
Communication with expert researchers, clinicians and other caregiver professionals throughout the country
Facilitation of extensive research and policy analysis required to identify/evaluate current caregiver related policies and practices
Development of forward thinking options for evidence-based family caregiver programs
Briefing presentations to high-level decision makers at universities, executive board members, and former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.

CARE-NET Coordinator and Government Consultant, Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (October 2010 - October 2011): Worked with the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) and its collaborative partners, Caregivers Networks (CARE- NETs), to build and enhance state-wide advocacy that promotes the health of Georgia's caregivers, both family and professional. The twelve CNs, strategically located throughout the state of Georgia, form a unique coalition of caregiver support organizations across a broad array of illnesses and disabilities. Members are comprised of volunteer leaders from a wide range of agencies and organizations. As Consultant to RCI, Habersham had overall responsibility for leading these organizations, reporting and evaluating successes and working with CN members to implement successful practices that were designed to improve their overall effectiveness of the operations in three specific areas:

Building CN Infrastructure and Communication Processes
Coordinating/Supporting State-wide Outreach And Education Events
Obtaining and Expanding Support and Recognition of Key Stakeholders

Senior Representative, Primerica Financial Services Company (June 2010 - Present): Worked with Primerica leadership and colleagues to identify current/potential clients who can benefit from the company’s services and products. Primerica is the largest financial services company in North America (in business since 1977) and has over 100,000 licensed representatives who work to fulfill the mission of helping clients become properly protected, debt free and financially independent. Continue to plan and conduct Financial Improvement Program (FIP) Workshops to provide relevant briefings. FIPs are designed to educate the public on the company, recruit new representatives, and/or enroll citizens in the appropriate suite of comprehensive services and products as shown below:

Term Life insurance
Long Term Care Protection
Home and Automobile Insurance
Debt Solutions
Pre-Paid Legal
Investments

Consultant and Executive Council/Key Volunteer for Georgia State AARP Office, (November 2011-Present): Completed nationally sponsored AARP Key State Volunteer/Advocate Training in November 2011. Provide assistance in developing and coordinating projects that involve working with municipal officials and local stakeholders. Projects are designed to improve the quality of life of family caregivers and/or the aging population (50 plus) in such areas as housing, caregiving, community engagement, volunteerism, social inclusion and combating social isolation among seniors. Two specific projects currently underway include:

Middle Georgia (Nine-County Area) Caregivers Outreach and Educational Programs: Workshops are being conducted in March, May, and November 2012. Major sponsors are the Middle Georgia CARE-NET and Georgia AARP. Hundreds of organizations and local citizens (mostly family caregivers of seniors and persons with disabilities) will meet to discuss services and programs that exist/needed to help improve the quality of life of these populations. Feedback from the programs will be considered to help improve the effectiveness of each activity.

Age Friendly Cities International Project, World Health Organization (WHO) and AARP, (March 2012-Present): Macon-Bibb will be admitted into this international project, sponsored by the National office of AARP and the WHO, in March 2012. This initiative is designed to ensure that cities and towns are prepared for two significant trends in the world regarding the (1.) rapid aging of the population and (2.) increasing urbanization. The project is a two-five year commitment and requires the participants to seek milestone accomplishments in eight specific areas that include Outdoor Spaces and Buildings, Transportation, Housing, Social Participation, Respect and Social Inclusion, Civic Participation and Employment, Communication and Information and Community Support and Health Services. The Macon-Bibb area has agreed to work toward these positive improvements. The formal launch of this initiative will be held in April 2012 with officials from City/County governments and other key stakeholders.

Awards and Commendations:

Three-time recipient , The United States President’s Executive Rank Awards shown below (only about 1% of the 6,000 Federal senior executives are recipients of these awards)

Meritorious Executive, 1996 and 2005
Distinguished Executive, 1999

HHS Secretary’s Award for Exceptional Achievement, Efficiency and Effectiveness
SSA Deputy Commissioner’s Citation in recognition as Chief Negotiator, SSA/Association of Federal Government Employees (AFGE) National Contract (representing over 50,000 Federal employees)
Atlanta Federal Executive Board’s Outstanding Manager and Leadership Award
Andrew and Walter Young Southwest YMCA’s Special Recognition Award
Clark Atlanta University’s Special Recognition Award
Outstanding Recognition Award, Southern MECCA Records, Inc.

Past and Present Community Service and Organization Affiliations:

Macedonia Baptist Church
Clark Atlanta University Alumni Organization
AIDS Atlanta, Inc. Executive Board
Atlanta’s Andrew and Walter Young Southwest YMCA Executive Board
Urban League of Atlanta Executive Board
Middle Georgia CARE-NET
Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce
National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) Association
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Past and Present Professional Affiliations and Services:

Federal Executive Boards, Atlanta and Chicago, Executive Board Member
Performance Improvement Council , Executive Office of The President ,Office of Management and Budgets (OMB)
National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Association of Government Accountants (AGA)
Performance Improvement Officer, Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA)