Literacy Nassau (formerly Literacy Volunteers of America - Nassau County) tapped finance executive Richard A. Mills of Plainview to join the 39-year old organization as a director of its board. He will serve his first three-year term ending in June 2010.

"The problem of low literacy is often overlooked," Mills says. "It's not obvious that the person behind you at the drugstore can't read his prescription, or that parents simply can't communicate with their children's teachers. As a member of the Long Island corporate community it is important that I can translate the literacy issue as a priority for the business community."

Mills, a 24-year veteran and officer in the accounting firm Israeloff Trattner said that "our economy, our very quality life depends on being a literate community - and that means everybody."

He is responsible for client contact, development and satisfaction at Israeloff and is active in the Long Island nonprofit community. He is currently treasurer of the board of directors of ExecuLeaders and on the development committee of the Hagedorn Little Village School. Mills is also affiliated with the Coalition on Child Abuse and Neglect, the Ronald McDonald House and the Plainview Chamber of Commerce.

Some estimates place over 240,000 Nassau County residents in this low literacy category. What makes Literacy Nassau different is that it specializes in personalized instruction-one-on-one or small group tutoring for adult students sometimes characterized as the hardest to reach, the hardest to teach. Some may come to the United States with little formal education in their home countries; others may have left public school without mastering reading and writing. Over the years, the organization has helped thousands open doors to opportunity and success.

Literacy Nassau is a nonprofit organization that offers free tutoring to adults in our communities who have low levels of literacy. Currently, more than 300 volunteers are matched with students, whom they work with in private, one-on-one tutoring sessions or in conversation groups. The organization is an accredited affiliate of ProLiteracy America, and is funded through state grants, corporate sponsorships and private donations. To learn more, call 516-486-2789 or visit www.literacynassau.org.