Six years after opening La Plaza Comunitaria, Mirtha Jones will leave her post as director at the end of the month to move to Florida near her family.
Mike Feely, former director of the St. Andrews Center, will take her place Dec. 1, according to officials.
"Mike has worked with me since the beginnings of the planning of La Plaza Comunitaria and is familiar with the purpose of the program more than anyone else I know," Jones said. "I am confident the program will continue and grow under his coordination."
La Plaza Comunitaria is an educational program sponsored by the Mexican government and Chattanooga State Community College for Hispanic immigrants. It teaches everything from literacy to studying for the General Educational Development test to job skill classes, including computers and gardening.
It has served more than 800 people since 2004, according to Jones.
Feely founded the St. Andrews Center -- a nonprofit that provides after-school programs for inner-city children and houses organizations that provide services to lower-income families -- about the same time that La Plaza was created.
He resigned in October. He is finishing his graduate degree and teaching a world history course at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a world religions class at Chattanooga State.
"The key thing to me that is so cool about [La Plaza] is that it really treats the students as family," Feely said. "People go there not just to get an education, but because it's a safe place, a place where they can learn and not feel embarrassed."
In an e-mail, Chattanooga State President James Catanzaro described Jones' service as "extraordinary."
"We are grateful for her service and we are fortunate to welcome Mike Feely as the new director of La Plaza Comunitaria," Catanzaro said.
"His relationships with the local Latino/Hispanic communities will benefit Chattanooga State as we work to expand our outreach to this important community."
Contact staff writer Perla Trevizo at ptrevizo@times freepress.com or 423-757-6578. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/Perla_Trevizo.