Gov. Kemp Announces Over 70 Appointments to Boards, Authorities, and Commissions

Atlanta, GA – Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced the appointment and re-appointment of more than 70 individuals to the following state boards, authorities, and commissions:

Board of Corrections

Chris Clark will now represent the 6th Congressional District.

Janelle King will now represent the 7th Congressional District.

Alton Russell will now serve as an At-Large representative.

W.D. Strickland will now represent the 1st Congressional District.

Thomas Culpepper will represent the 11th Congressional District. Culpepper is a retired Chief of Police for the Cartersville Police Department. He spent more than 35 years in law enforcement before retiring in 2015 and becoming a safety and security consultant for both public and private entities. Culpepper spent 16 years in the Georgia Army National Guard and three years in the Georgia State Defense Force. He and his wife, Vivian, reside in Cartersville.

Gary Gulledge will represent the 14th Congressional District and currently serves as the Sheriff of Paulding County. First elected in 2008, he ran unopposed in 2012, 2016, and again in 2020. He has been employed with the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office since 1990, spending much of his career in the K-9 Division. He and K-9 Basco were the first dual-purpose K-9 team at the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office. He has served as the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association Regional Vice President for Region 1 and on their Board of Directors and Legislative Committee. In 2015, Governor Nathan Deal appointed him to the Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis. Sheriff Gulledge also serves on the Advisory Board of the Northwest Georgia Law Enforcement Training Center and is the Chairman of the Haralson-Paulding Drug Taskforce Control Board. He is a lifelong resident of Paulding County, and he and his wife, Susie, have one daughter.

Rossie Ross will represent the 2nd Congressional District. Ross is a retired lieutenant with the Georgia State Patrol. Most recently, he was a member of the Board of Public Safety. He serves as chairman of the Richland Downtown Development Authority and is a member of the Stewart County Board of Registrars. Ross is also an active member of the Masonic Lodge and attends Preston Baptist Church.

Board of Public Safety

Billy New retired from law enforcement after more than 25 years of experience in patrol, investigations, warrants, probation, and federal murder cases. He has worked with the Fulton County Marshal’s Department, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Community Supervision, and the Haralson County Sheriff’s Office. He also worked alongside the U.S. Marshals Service and the GBI State Drug Task Force. In 2018, Governor Nathan Deal appointed New to serve as the 13th district representative on the Board of Natural Resources. He and his wife, Kim, have five children and two grandchildren. They own a finance company and reside in Villa Rica.

Board of Education

Scott Sweeney will now represent the 11th Congressional District.

Richard Valladares is a Peruvian-American shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, LLP. He has practiced complex litigation law for over 20 years and has been with Greenberg Traurig for 17 years. He also currently serves as the Chair of the firm’s Atlanta Business Litigation Group. Valladares has extensive litigation and trial experience in state and federal courts, representing a wide array of clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to local businesses. He has been ranked by Super Lawyers magazine as a “Georgia Super Lawyer” for the last ten years, was listed in Georgia Trend magazine’s “Legal Elite” from 2011-2013, and was listed as a 2009 “Future Star” in Benchmark Litigation. He serves as a mentor to students participating in the Georgia Latino Law Foundation who have legal career aspirations, he has served as Vice President of the Peruvian-American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, and he worked with the Atlanta Public School System to develop the “Lawyer for a Day” after school program. In 2012, Valladares was awarded the Professional of the Year - XVII TUMI USA Award. Valladares received his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law. In 2021, Governor Kemp appointed Valladares to the Judicial Nominating Commission. He and his wife, Melissa, have four children and reside in Sandy Springs.

Board of Natural Resources

Dwight Davis will now represent the 4th Congressional District.

Charles DePriest will represent the 13th Congressional District. DePriest is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in Accounting. He also received an M.B.A. from Mercer University. DePriest joined Summit Materials in 2020, serving as the East Region's Chief Financial Officer. He and his wife, Jill, have one child.

Daniel "Dan" Garcia will represent the 11th Congressional District. Garcia is the President of C.W. Matthews Contracting Company, with expertise involving all facets of construction management. Garcia was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and moved to the United States at the age of 17 to attend The Citadel. After graduating with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, he earn an M.B.A. from Mercer University. He and his wife, Debbie, have five children and reside in Kennesaw.

David Pendleton “Penn” Hodge will represent the 6th Congressional District. In 1989, he formed Penn Hodge Properties to acquire and manage a diverse portfolio of real estate assets. He previously served on the Board of Economic Development and the Fulton County Development Authority and currently serves on the Canton Downtown Development Authority. Hodge is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Accounting and Law School. He and his wife, Cynthia, reside in Milton. They have three children.

State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia

Ben Bryant was reappointed.

Robert “Buzz” Law will now represent the 7th Congressional District.

Fran Millar will now represent the 4th Congressional District.

Tim Williams and Trey Sheppard will now serve as At-Large representatives.

Joseph Hsaio will represent the 13th Congressional District. Hsaio was born and raised in Atlanta, working and managing his parents' restaurants. He earned his bachelor’s in Business Management from Georgia State University. In 2010, he and his brother, Matthew, founded H Restaurant Group. Hsaio is involved with several non-profit organizations and is an active member of the Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Norcross. He currently sits on the board of the Georgia Restaurant Association, the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce, and the US Pan-Asian American Chamber of Commerce – Southeast. Hsaio is also a member of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce and Asian Restaurant Council. He and his wife, Vicki, have two young children.

Tim Perryman will represent the 6th Congressional District. He began his career in the roofing industry in 1990 and was the operating partner for the first branch of Roofing Supply of Atlanta (RSA). He expanded RSA to markets throughout the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, and Indiana. In 2006, he and his associates merged 63 branches across the country to form the Roofing Supply Group, which was later acquired by Beacon Roofing Supply. Perryman has partnered in a number of businesses ranging from food service, cremation, and real estate development. He has remained in the roofing supply business and owns and operates Atlanta Squares Supply LLC. Perryman is an Army Veteran, having served in Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.

Georgia Student Finance Commission

Eric Burrell and Middleton "Mid" Ramsey were reappointed.

David Perez will now represent the 5th Congressional District.

Scott Johnson will serve as the 11th Congressional District representative. Johnson is the senior vice president of Financial Supermarkets, Inc. of Cornelia. He currently serves on the Board of Human Services and previously served as the 11th Congressional District representative on the State Board of Education. He is a graduate of Leadership Cobb and the Coverdell Leadership Institute. Johnson and his wife, Janet, have three adult children and seven grandchildren. They reside in Marietta.

Department of Community Affairs Board

Adam Hatcher and Steve Taylor were reappointed.

Steve Broadbent will now serve as an At-Large representative.

Albert "Al" Hodge will now serve as the 14th Congressional District representative.

David Belle Isle will serve as the 6th Congressional District representative. He co-founded the law firm of Hipes & Belle Isle, which focuses on commercial and residential real estate transactions. In 2012, Belle Isle was elected Mayor of Alpharetta, where he spearheaded the effort to re-invent the downtown area, approve and launch Avalon, create a new conference center, land a new technical college campus, and make Alpharetta the “Technology City of the South.” Belle Isle launched the state’s first technology commission, hosted Georgia’s first Ag-Tech Conference, and started a technology incubator which now serves over 50 startups. Under his leadership, Alpharetta was named the No. 1 city to start a business in Georgia; the No. 1 city in Georgia for working families; the No. 1 small city to start a business in the Country; and the No. 1 city in the Nation for women entrepreneurs. In 2019, Governor Brian Kemp appointed Belle Isle to the Board of Economic Development, where he served until 2022. He graduated from the University of Georgia before attending Georgia State University for his J.D. and M.B.A. degrees. He and his wife, Candice, have two children.

Department of Juvenile Justice Board

Adam Kennedy was reappointed.

Penny Penn will now serve as the 6th Congressional District representative.

Quintress Gilbert will serve as the 8th Congressional District representative. She is a Juvenile Court Judge in Bibb County and has served in various judicial roles, including Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice for the Middle District of Georgia. Gilbert is a member of many committees and professional associations. She was elected district representative to the Georgia Council of Juvenile Court Judges while serving as a full-time juvenile court judge for the Macon Judicial Circuit and assistant professor at Georgia Military College. Judge Gilbert received her law degree from Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas.

Garland Hunt will serve as the 7th Congressional District representative. Hunt currently serves as executive pastor of the Father’s House. His leadership in ministry spans 32 years, with stints at the Fellowship of International Churches, Wellington Boone Ministries, and New Generation Campus Ministries. In 2011, he served as President of Prison Fellowship. Previously, Hunt served as Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice and was appointed to the Board of Pardons and Paroles by then-Governor Sonny Perdue. Hunt received his bachelor's from Howard University in 1980 and a J.D. from Howard University School of Law in 1983. He served as a judicial law clerk and staff attorney with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He and his wife, Eileen have been married for over 35 years and have three grown children.

Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities

Ellice Martin, Amanda Owens, Jean Sumner, and Jimmy Thomas were reappointed.

Board of Economic Development

Cassius Butts will now serve as the 11th Congressional District representative.

Dennis Chastain will now serve as the 9th Congressional District representative.

Drew Ellenburg will now serve as the 5th Congressional District representative.

Ron Garrard will now serve as the 6th Congressional District representative.

Dwight Evans will serve as the 4th Congressional District representative. Evans is a founding partner in the Pendleton Consultant Group. Previously, he held the position of executive vice president and group president at Southern Company. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Piedmont College and has chaired the New Orleans Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the Southeastern Electric Exchange, the Mississippi Economic Council, the Mississippi Partnership for Economic Development, and the Mississippi Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Evans earned a bachelor’s in Civil Engineering, a master’s in Environmental Engineering from Georgia Tech, and a law degree from Atlanta Law School. Appointed in 2013 by then-Governor Nathan Deal, Evans served on the Board of Natural Resources for nearly a decade. He and his wife, Sharon, have two children and six grandchildren, and they reside in Stone Mountain.

Nick Masino will serve as the 7th Congressional District representative. Masino is President and CEO of the Gwinnet Chamber of Commerce. He oversees the business recruitment and retention efforts for the county, as well as implementation of the Partnership Gwinnett Strategy. To create this community-focused economic development initiative, Masino worked with public and private leadership to spearhead the initial plan, which brought approximately 250 company expansions or relocations, over 13,000 jobs, and more than $900,000,000 in investment to Gwinnett. Previously, Masino spent twelve years in Division, Regional and Territory Management. He was also the Mayor of Suwanee for eight years. A graduate of Ohio State University, Masino holds a bachelor’s in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication. He and his wife, Suzanne, have three children.

Professional Standards Commission

Jeanine Bunn and Dr. Franklin Perry were reappointed.

State Board of Pharmacy

Michael Brinson was reappointed.

Criminal Case Data Exchange Board

Gary Yandura has been Chief of the Brookhaven Police Department since the City of Brookhaven incorporated in 2013. He has also served as Chief of the College Park and Hiram Police Departments. He began his law enforcement career with the Lake Forest, Illinois Police Department, where he rose through the ranks to Deputy Chief. He retired after 24 years of service to become Chief of College Park in 1999. Yandura currently serves on the Boards of DeKalb DFCS, Special Olympics of Georgia, Georgia NAMI, and Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange. He is also Chairman of the Crisis Intervention Team Advisory Board for the Georgia Public Safety Training Center and was recently named Chief of the Year by the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police. In 2020, Governor Kemp appointed Yandura to the Board of Juvenile Justice. He lives with his wife, Lynne, in Brookhaven.

State Workforce Development Board

Susan Andrews, Ames Barnett, Randy Beall, Kellie Brownlow, Tom Cook, Stuart Countess, Sam Dasher, Emily Davidson, Theresa Fisher, Bart Gobeil, Buddy Harden, Kevin Jackson, Dell Keith, Logan Leslie, Mike Long, Sam McCachern, Jerald Mitchell, Evelyn Olenick, Trey Taylor, Chris Tobiasson, Karen Viera, James Wilbern, and Joe Yarborough were reappointed.

Bill Hightower is a licensed funeral director, embalmer, cardiac technician, and critical care paramedic. He graduated from Carroll Technician School in 1986, the Metro Paramedic Program in 1987, and Gupton Jones Mortuary College in 1989. In 2020, Governor Kemp appointed Hightower to the Georgia Student Finance Board of Commissioners. He and his wife, Susan, have four children.

Lisa Winton is the CEO of Winton Machine Company founded by her and her husband, George Winton, in 1997. The mission at Winton is to design and build tube and coax fabricating machinery that adds value to their customers’ bottom line; to provide a stable and healthy environment for all team members; and to be known throughout the industry for delivering systems backed by expert and expedient technical support. In addition to their team of 35 employees, interns and apprentices, Winton partners with 120 vendors to produce their machinery of which 60% are Georgia based companies. Winton builds machinery that makes parts for a wide range of applications.

Child Advocacy Advisory Committee

Jay Watkins has served as pastor of Redland Baptist Church in Valdosta for over 20 years, growing the congregation from 60 to over 600 members. Watkins serves as a Trustee on the North American Missions Board and sits on several national committees. Watkins has led the Valdosta Baptist Association in large outreach events like Community Day where over 70,000 people have been given essentials like food, clothing, medical help, and more. Under his leadership, Redland Baptist Church has started a fine arts academy where at-risk children from the community are transported to the church for various classes (equestrian, various musical instruments, sports, etc.). He has his wife, Sandra, have five adopted children.

North Georgia Mountains Authority

Tim Lowe is a consultant in the real estate and construction industries. He is a former CEO of Lowe Engineers and a former chairman of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. He currently serves on the Board of Natural Resources. Lowe retired as a Captain from the U.S. Navy following 30 years of active and reserve duty. He is a member of the Georgia Chamber Board of Governors and a former chairman of the Chamber’s Health and Wellness committee. Lowe is also a former chairman of the Council for Quality Growth and a member of the Council’s Executive Committee. He is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, earned a bachelor’s from Auburn University, and a master’s in Business Administration from Emory University. Lowe and his wife, Traci, reside in Atlanta and St. Simons.