Anytown Alabama Co-Director Team

Fanicy H. Sears

Fanicy Sears, LMFT, LPC-S, serves as Board Secretary for ACE Alabama. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed professional counselor supervisor with extensive experience in clinical practice and community-centered mental health initiatives. Fanicy is currently pursuing her PhD in Biocultural Medical Anthropology at the University of Alabama. As an ACE Board member, she advances culturally responsive approaches within social and emotional learning (SEL) frameworks. She is committed to advancing equity, expanding cultural competency, and supporting transformative leadership development for youth and communities across Alabama. Fanicy and her two daughters are Anytown Alabama Alumni!

Sarah Patrick

Sarah Patrick is the Interim Programs Director for ACE Alabama. She participated in Heritage Panel in middle school, P.E.A.C.E. Birmingham in high school, and attended Anytown Alabama as a delegate in 2015. These programs played a huge role in guiding Sarah towards service and non-profit work, and she loves working with young people from preschool to high school age. Sarah has honed her skills by serving on Anytown staff in 2021 and 2024, and working as a Life Skills Education facilitator with ACE in the 2024-2025 school year. She is so thankful for the opportunity to continue to work with young people this summer as a co-director at the 35th Anytown Alabama youth leadership summit! In addition to her work with ACE, Sarah is passionate about advocacy work, mental health awareness, and literacy. When not working with youth or helping support ACE admin, she enjoys reading, baking, playing with her rescue dogs, and listening to Dolly Parton’s music. 

Kala Bhattar

Kala Bhattar is the Program Administrator at the Institute for Human Rights (IHR) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She helps manage the communications for the institute, assists in planning events, aids in research projects conducted at the IHR, and provides administrative support for the Human Rights major and minor at UAB. Kala started at IHR as a student in the Human Rights Lab in 2021. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a double minor in international studies and human rights, and a concentration in global politics and policies at UAB. She is currently pursuing her Master of Arts in the Anthropology of Peace and Human Rights Program offered at UAB. In addition to her academic and professional roles, she also serves various roles in community organizations, including as one of the co-chairs of the Young Professional River Defenders (YPRD), a junior board of the Alabama Rivers Alliance organization. In her free time, she enjoys being creative, spending time in nature, and loving on her four cats! ​