Governor Kemp Names 38 Appointments

Atlanta, GA – Today Governor Brian P. Kemp announced 38 appointees to serve on various state authorities, commissions, and boards.

Technical College System of Georgia

Mary P. Flanders, Anne Kaiser, and Baoky Vu were reappointed.

Georgia Council for the Arts

J. Barry Schrenk was reappointed as Chairman.

Maxine Burton, Gina H. Jeffords, John B. White, Jr., and Gladys P. Wyant were reappointed.

State Personnel Board

Robert Joseph was reappointed.

All-Payer Claims Database Advisory Committee

Crystine McLeod Odom is retired from St. Mary’s Health Care System, Inc in Athens, Georgia after 40 years of service. She served as the St. Mary’s Foundation Director for eighteen years. Under Odom’s leadership, the organization grew to cover three hospitals and initiate several major capital campaigns which included an $8 million campaign to the build the new hospital in Greensboro, Georgia, St. Mary’s Good Samaritan. A native of Athens, Odom attended undergraduate school at St. Mary’s College and North Carolina State University. She has been married to Tom Odom for 42 years, and they have two sons together.

Matthew Hicks is the Chief Policy Officer at Grady Health System. Prior to his tenure at Grady, Hicks served as Associate Legislative Director for the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Emory University and is in the process of completing his MBA at Yale University. Hicks is a longtime resident of the state and currently lives in Atlanta.

Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority

Nancy Marlowe Thrash has been a paralegal for 32 years and has been serving civil process in Georgia for over 15 years. Thrash has represented the 4th District on the Lamar County Board of Commissioners since January 2009. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Managers of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, the Lamar County Regional Solid Waste Authority, and the Towaliga Accountability Court. She attended Clayton State University where she studied Private Investigations. Thrash resides in Barnesville, Georgia and has two sons.

Dena Adams and James C. Weidner were reappointed.

North Georgia Mountains Authority

Ray Lambert, Jr. is the 10th District Representative on the Board of Natural Resources.

Joe Hatfield serves as an At-Large member on the Board of Natural Resources.

Nancy Addison represents Coastal Georgia on the Board of Natural Resources.

Duncan Johnson, Jr. was reappointed.

Board of Natural Resources

Gary Vowell, Sr. is a lifelong Georgian. He has dedicated his career to public safety and served as the Sheriff of Tift County for nearly 16 years. Most recently Vowell served as Interim Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety and Colonel of the Georgia State Patrol. In 2011, Vowell was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal to serve on the Board of Public Safety. He and his wife, Beth, reside in Irwin County where Vowell volunteers on his grandchildren’s baseball, football, and soccer teams.

Ray Lambert, Jr. was reappointed.

State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors

Casey Brent Smith is Principle and CEO of Cogdell & Mendrala Architects, PC in Savannah, Georgia. Smith attended Savannah College of Art in Design where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architecture as well as a Master of Architecture. He and his wife, Brittany, reside in Savannah with their daughter, Elena.

Charles Garbutt and Ted Noe were reappointed.

MARTA Board of Directors

W. Thomas Worthy was reappointed.

State Workforce Development Board

Downing Barber is the Founder and CEO of Barberitos Franchising, Inc. He received a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Valdosta State University and continued his education at Mercer University earning an M.B.A in International Business. Barber and his wife, Candace, reside in Oconee with their daughter Mary Brooke-Downing, Jr.

Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission

Dr. John Bleacher is a Pediatric Surgeon, Director of Trauma Services, and Chief of General Pediatric Surgery at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Scottish Rite Hospital. He earned a B.S. degree in Chemistry at John Carroll University in 1983 and an M.D. degree from Wright State University School of Medicine in 1988. He and his wife, Angela, live in Sandy Springs.

Georgia Auctioneers Commission

Larry “Bo” Benton and Perry T. Walden were reappointed.

Agricultural Education Advisory Commission

J. Kenneth Morrow, Wayne E. Shannon, and Micah Story were reappointed.

Georgia Board of Nursing

Joshua Y. Batson, NP-C, is the owner of The Migraine and Spine Clinic of Valdosta. He received both a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing from Valdosta State University. Batson and his wife reside in Hahira with their five daughters.

Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund Commission

Tom C. Rawlings is appointed to serve as Chair.

Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists

Jacqueline Michelle Brown-Pinkney is a licensed Social Worker, Homeless Liaison, and Family and Communities Liaison for the Effingham County Board of Education. Dr. Brown-Pinkney attended Georgia Southern University for her undergraduate education and continued her education at GSU to earn her Doctor of Education. She and her husband, Thomas, reside in Springfield, Georgia.

Annjeanen “Angie” Smith is a Licensed Professional Counselor and holds the Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor credential in the state of Georgia. Ms. Smith is originally from Ohio where she received her master’s degree from Xavier University and obtained her license in 2006. Ms. Smith’s primary focus in her career has been working with the severe and persistent mental health population in both inpatient and outpatient settings. As a member of the Georgia Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists, Ms. Smith is committed to strengthening the integrity of the profession by streamlining the licensure process, making licensure more accessible to clinicians in rural areas, and ensuring that ethical violations are met with swift sanctions. Ms. Smith and her family reside in Flowery Branch.

Andrew Paul Carrier is a licensed Social Worker and Clinical Director at Valor Station in Augusta, Georgia. Carrier is a former law enforcement officer and has work published in both the FBI National Academy Magazine and The Washington Examiner. In 2016, he received his M.S.W. from the University of Georgia. Carrier has two children and resides in Augusta.

Georgia Board of Landscape Architects

Jon M. Williams is CEO of W&A Engineering in Athens. For more than 20 years, he has entitled, designed, permitted, and managed large-scale construction and development projects. Jon graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Georgia in 1996. Jon and his wife, Amy, live in Athens and have four children.

Ricardo J. Nunez is appointed as the consumer member for the Georgia Board of Landscape Architects. Ricardo is the General Counsel, Vice President, and Chief Compliance Officer for SWM International, Inc. (NYSE). He earned a JD degree from Columbia University School of Law and a B.S. degree from the Wharton School of Business. Ricardo and his wife live in Marietta and have three children.