By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A former Shelby County assistant district attorney will help Shelby County Probate Judge Jim Fuhrmeister administer the probate office’s mental health programs, and will serve as an advisor in the office’s navigation of issues such as same-sex marriage licenses after she was named to a new position on Jan. 4.

Fuhrmeister appointed Allison Boyd to the newly created position of programs coordinator for mental health services and legal counsel to the probate judge – A job she began on Jan. 4.

Boyd’s position will be funded through the Probate Court’s existing mental health fund, and will not have an effect on the county’s budget, Fuhrmeister said.

“It has always been a hallmark of the Probate Office to bring new ideas and programs to our county while being good stewards of taxpayer funds,” Fuhrmeister said. “I am excited to bring Allison’s skill, passion and energy to bear on the important issues our communities are facing without increasing our budget or affecting current employees’ positions.”

Through her new position, Boyd will serve as legal counsel for Fuhrmeister, and will provide guidance on issues such as same-sex marriage licenses, voting rights and elections.

“The legal landscape affecting the Probate Office is rapidly changing,” Fuhrmeister said. “Allison will bring her knowledge as an attorney and help me anticipate and prepare for new developments affecting my office.”

Boyd also will work with the county’s mental health program, drug court and veterans’ court, and will work with local mental health and law enforcement agencies in an effort to provide stronger services for those facing such issues.

“With prison reform, state mental hospital closures and substance abuse, including heroin use, at critical levels in our county, it is important that we devote our full attention and resources to treating those in need and to protecting our communities,” Fuhrmeister said. “It’s a very loosely defined job because I want her to go out with the limited resources the state offers and work with all the community organizations to come up with new ideas and new programs we haven’t tried in Shelby County.”

Boyd has served as an assistant district attorney since July 2007, and previously operated a private law practice in Tuscaloosa. In addition to serving on the board of directors of the Chilton-Shelby Mental Health Center, Boyd is president of the advisory board of Shelby Volunteers in Service, a county non-profit benefiting senior citizens and volunteer efforts in the county, and she is on the board of directors of Leadership Shelby County.

Boyd earned her law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law, a master’s in business administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a bachelor’s degree from Samford University. She is married to Candler Boyd and they have two young children. The Boyd family lives in North Shelby County.