Deal appoints 17 to boards
Christopher M. Jones, State Board of Pharmacy
Jones is a pharmacy manager for Walgreens in Macon. He is a member of the Georgia Pharmacy Association and the Internal Review Board at Macon State College. Jones earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southwestern State University and a doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Julie Anne, have three children and reside in Macon.
Jan H. Ligon, Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (reappointment)
Ligon is an associate professor of Social Work at Georgia State University and a licensed clinical social worker. He currently serves on the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists. He is past president of the Georgia Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Ligon earned a bachelor’s of Business Administration from the University of Central Arkansas, as well as a master’s and doctorate of Social Work from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Ann, have one daughter and two grandchildren. They reside in Atlanta.
Steven C. Teske, State Commission on Family Violence (reappointment)
Teske is the chief judge of the Juvenile Court of Clayton County and a designated Superior Court judge. He is past president of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges and the Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity. Currently, Teske serves as president of the Clayton County Bar Association and as a member of the Department of Juvenile Justice Judicial Advisory Council, Governor's Office for Children and Families Advisory Board and the Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity Advisory Board. Teske earned his master’s degree and juris doctorate from Georgia State University. He and his wife, Sheryl, have five children and one grandchild. They reside in Jonesboro.
Stephen D. Kelley, State Commission on Family Violence (reappointment)
Kelley is a Superior Court judge for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit. He was elected district attorney of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit in 1996 and served there until his appointment in 2010. He has served as president of the Georgia District Attorneys’ Association and received the “State of Georgia District Attorney of the Year” award. Kelley was also elected chairman of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia. He received a bachelor’s degree in Theology from Southern Adventist University and juris doctorate from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Diana, have three children and reside in Brunswick.
E. John Flythe, State Commission on Family Violence (reappointment)
Flythe is currently a State Court judge in Richmond County. After beginning his legal career as an assistant district attorney in the Augusta circuit, Flythe worked for a private practice and served as a part-time Municipal Court judge in Grovetown. He earned both his bachelor’s degree and juris doctorate from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Mandy, have two children. They reside in Augusta.
Michelle R. Girtman, State Commission on Family Violence (reappointment)
Girtman is the executive director of the Magnolia House Shelter for the Abused in Waycross and The Haven Battered Women’s Shelter in Valdosta. Girtman has served as chairman and vice chairman on the Domestic Violence Shelter Advisory Board for the Department of Human Services and as a member of the board of the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Girtman is a member of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Georgia Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She has an educational background in criminal justice and physiology. Together, she and her husband, John, have seven children and one granddaughter. They are also foster parents and reside in Hazlehurst.
Suzanne M. Dow, State Commission on Family Violence (reappointment)
Dow is the executive director of Circle of Hope, a domestic violence agency located in northeast Georgia. She is a member, as well as the secretary, of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence and has served on the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence Board of Directors. She has also served as co-chair of the Allocation Committee for the Department of Human Services Family Violence Advisory Board and is on the Infolink Advisory Board in Habersham County. Dow earned a bachelor’s degree from Valdosta State University and a master’s degree from Clemson University. She and her husband, Jason, have two children. They reside in Clarkesville.
Elaine Wilson, State Commission on Family Violence (reappointment)
Wilson is currently the ombudsman for the Southwest Georgia Council on Aging. She is on the advisory board for the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, where she has been awarded Ombudsman of the Year. Wilson is also active on the advisory board for the Albany Symphony Orchestra, where she has helped plan concerts to raise funds for and awareness of elder abuse and prevention. She has worked with local law enforcement officers who have elder abuse prevention training and has been awarded Citizen of the Month by the Albany Police Department. In 2005, Wilson received the Martin Luther King Dream Award for helping long-term care residents of nursing homes in southwest Georgia get their Miller Trust implemented. She resides in Moultrie.
Valerie L Williams, State Commission on Family Violence (reappointment)
Williams is an author and motivational speaker. Notably, she has spoken at Fort Valley State University, Clark State University, the Federal Law Enforcement Center and the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Troy University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Troy University. She has three children and resides in Brunswick.
Terry E. Barnard, State Commission on Family Violence
Barnard currently serves as a member of the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parole and was recently elected vice chairman. A graduate of Atlantic Community College, Barnard went on to serve as a Georgia state representative for more than 16 years. With more than 18 years of experience in the financial industry, he also served as vice president and manager of First Citizens Bank of Reidsville and as a regional marketing director for Green Tree Acceptance. He and his wife, Susan, reside in Shellman Bluff.
Rachel M. Lazarus, State Commission on Family Violence
Lazarus is the director of the Gwinnett Pro Bono Project and a staff attorney with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society. She obtained her juris doctorate from the University Of Southern California School Of Law and is a member of the Georgia and California state bars. Lazarus and her husband, Jeffrey, have two daughters. They reside in Dunwoody.
Holly L. Comer, State Commission on Family Violence
Comer has served as the chief executive officer/executive director of the YWCA of Northwest Georgia since 2007. She is involved with the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Kiwanis, the Cobb County Prayer Breakfast, the Honorary Commanders, the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association and the Cobb County Youth Leadership. Comer has also received multiple awards including the 2011 Outstanding Community Service Award, presented by the Marietta Chapter of Business Women’s Association. She resides in Marietta.
Robert C. McBurney, State Commission on Family Violence
McBurney was a federal prosecutor for 10 years before recently being appointed as the newest judge on the Fulton County Superior Court. He earned his bachelor’s degree and juris doctorate from Harvard University. He and his wife, Courtney, have three children and two dogs. They reside in Atlanta.
Melissa D. Carter, State Commission on Family Violence
Carter is a clinical professor of law and director of the Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory University Law School. Previously, she was appointed as a state child advocate for Georgia and worked in various capacities for the Supreme Court of Georgia’s Committee on Justice for Children. Carter earned her bachelor’s degree and juris doctorate from the University of Illinois. She and her husband, Theodore, live in Decatur.
Michael V. Kraft, State Commission on Family Violence
Kraft is the deputy director of probation operations for the Georgia Department of Corrections. He has served as the chief probation officer in both the Alcovy and Western Circuits. Kraft is a member and past president of the Georgia Probation Association. Kraft earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, a master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbus State University and graduated from the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College. He and his wife, Maureen, have two children. They reside in Watkinsville.
Asha F. Jackson, State Commission on Family Violence
Jackson is a Superior Court judge in DeKalb County. She is the national advisory chairperson of Forever Family, a youth mentoring organization, and is an active member of a number of local and national bar associations. She is the 2012 Recipient of the Community Service Award from the Atlanta Bar Association and was recognized as one of Atlanta Daily Report’s 2012 Lawyers On the Rise Under 40. Jackson received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and a juris doctorate from Tulane University School of Law. She resides in Atlanta.
Danny D. Bowman, Board of Public Safety
Bowman currently serves as Forsyth County’s fire chief. He was previously a member of the U.S. Air Force and a member of the Fulton County Fire Department. Bowman served as president of the Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs and was named “Georgia Fire Chief of the Year” in 2010. He and his wife, Donna, have five children and seven grandchildren. They reside in Cumming.