Governor Nathan Deal - Georgia’s 82nd Governor (2011-2019)

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Deal appoints 17 to boards

March 15, 2013

Arthur J. Williams, Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage & Family Therapists

Williams is chair of the Counseling and Human Sciences department at Mercer University. He retired as a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1967. He was director of the juvenile detention center in DeKalb County from 1972 until 1985. Williams earned a bachelor’s degree from the former Augusta College, a master’s degree and doctoral degree in Counseling from Georgia State University. He and his wife, Darlene, have four children and three grandchildren. They reside in Hoschton. 
 
Tommy D. Black, Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage & Family Therapists (Reappointment) 
Black is co-owner and clinical director of Darsey, Black & Associates, LLC, as well as Atlantic Counseling Services, LLC. He has been licensed as a professional counselor in Georgia since 2001. He is on the advisory board and serves as the chair of the Policy and Procedures Committee of the National Board of Forensic Evaluators. Black earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tampa, a master’s degree from Georgia Southern University, and a doctoral degree from Northcentral University. He and his wife of 18 years, Trang, have twins. They currently reside in Midway.
 
Eunice L. Mixon, Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage & Family Therapists (Reappointment)
Mixon is a retired teacher from the Tift County School System. She also retired as the Senate Doorkeeper in 2010. She currently serves on the Tifton-Tift County Library Board, the Coastal Plain Regional Library Board, the Georgia Civil War Commission and is a lay member of the State Bar of Georgia Disciplinary Board. She was the first recipient of the annual Eunice Mixon Award created by the State Bar of Georgia in 2010. She has been named Teacher of the Year and Distinguished Alumnus of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, where a scholarship fund was endowed in her name. She is a member of the Tift County Chamber of Commerce Wall of Fame and was named one of the “Most Influential South Georgians” in 2004. She earned her associates degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, a bachelor’s degree from Valdosta State University and a master’s and specialist degree from the University of Georgia. She has two children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She resides in Tifton.
 
Richard P. Long, Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists (Reappointment)
Long is a faculty member in the department of counseling, foundations and leadership in the Columbus State University College of Education and Health. He also counsels individuals, couples and families and supervises therapists at the Family Center of Columbus, a United Way community mental health facility. Long is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a clinical fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. He earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from West Virginia University, a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Southern Connecticut State University and a doctorate degree from Southern Illinois University. Long resides in Columbus.
 
John Robert Thornton, State Commission on Family Violence (Reappointment)
Thornton is director of the grants and policy division with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. He previously served as the director of the victim services division. He has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 2008. Thornton earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and a law degree from Georgia State University. He and his wife, Kari, have three children. They reside in Newnan.
 
Mary Frances Bowley, State Commission on Family Violence (Reappointment) 
Bowley is the founder and chief executive officer of Wellspring Living, Inc. She is a founding member of the Governor’s Task Force for CSEC Victims. She serves on the advisory councils for Shared Hope International and Abolition International. She has been awarded the Martin Luther King Community Service Award, the Daughter’s of the American Revolution Community Service Award, the Soroptomist Ruby Award, and the Drop Dead Gorgeous Lifetime Achievement Award. Bowley is also author of A League of Dangerous Women and The White Umbrella. She and her husband, Dick, have two sons and two grandsons. They reside in Peachtree City. 
 
Karen Brandenburg Viera, State Workforce Investment Board
Viera is senior director of human resources for the South division & Southwest region of WellCare Health Plans Inc. She currently serves on the Human Resource Masters Curriculum Board for Florida International University. Viera holds a Senior Professional Human Resource certification and earned a master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Florida International University. She has two children. They reside in Roswell. 
 
Earl L. “Buddy” Carter, State Workforce Investment Board
Carter is a pharmacist with Carter’s Pharmacy, Inc. He currently serves as a state senator representing the 1st District. He also serves on the board of trustees for the Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum, Young Harris College, and the Coastal Bank. He served as mayor to the city of Pooler from 1996 to 2004 and was elected as a state legislator in 2005 to the House of Representatives. He was elected to the state Senate in November 2009. Carter earned a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Amy, have three adult sons. They reside in Pooler. 
 
Ames M. Barnett, State Workforce Investment Board
Barnett is president and owner of Barnett Southern Corp., a heavy civil site contractor. He is a native of Washington and was elected mayor in November 2011. He was elected to the Washington City Council in 2007. He is an alumnus of Leadership Georgia, class of 2011, and served as program chair in 2012. Barnett earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering Technology from Georgia Southern University. He and his wife, Ashley, have one son. They reside in Washington. 
 
David B. Kay, Georgia Board for Physician Workforce
Kay is owner and OB/GYN of Middle Georgia Women’s Health Practice in Warner Robins. He also serves as chairman of the Surgery and Anesthesia Department at the Medical Center of Peach County. He has worked in the past with Donalsonville Hospital and Memorial Hospital of Adel. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and medical degree from Mercer University School of Medicine. He and his wife, Clelia, have three children. They reside in Macon. 
 
George M. McCluskey III, Georgia Board for Physician Workforce
McCluskey is director of the St. Francis Shoulder Center, director of the St. Francis Shoulder Fellowship Program and chief of shoulder surgery at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. He is a member of 16 professional societies and currently serves as secretary and treasurer of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Society. He has served on the St. Francis Hospital Board of Trustees and as chief of staff. McCluskey earned a medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia, completed an orthopaedic surgery internship and residency at Tulane University School of Medicine, and a shoulder fellowship at Columbia University. He and his wife, Gigi, have three children. They reside in Columbus. 
 
Mark G. Hanly, Georgia Board for Physician Workforce (Reappointment) 
Hanly is a pathologist who has served the rural counties of southeast Georgia since 1997. He is active in medical education, lecturing at Georgia Regents University, the Southeast Georgia Health System Brunswick Campus and the College of Coastal Georgia, where he is a professor of Laboratory Science. He is consultant pathologist to East Georgia Regional Medical Center, Wayne Memorial Hospital, Satilla Regional Medical Center, Coffee County Hospital and Meadows Regional Medical Center. Hanly currently serves on the Communications Committee for the Medical Association of Georgia and is active in the College of American Pathologists. He graduated from the Godfrey Huggins School of Medicine, University of Rhodesia and undertook additional training at the University of Cape Town, the Medical College of Georgia and the Anderson Cancer Center, University Of Texas. He and his wife, Kim, have two children. They reside in St. Simons Island. 
 
Jimmy Childre, Jr., Georgia Board for Physician Workforce (Reappointment)
Childre is chief executive officer and past chairman of Washington County Regional Medical Center and the owner of Childre Ford, Inc., located in Sandersville. He serves on the boards of the Citizens Bank of Washington County, the Georgia Southern University Foundation and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce where he is the vice chair of the Health Care Committee. Childre earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University, a  master’s degree from Duke University, a master of studies from the University of Cambridge, and an executive specialized master from HEC Paris. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management Program, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Health Sector Management Program and Saïd Business School, University of Oxford’s Consulting and Coaching for Change Program. In 2009, he was named Washington County’s “Citizen of the Year.” Childre lives in Sandersville, where he is active in the Sandersville Rotary Club. 
 
Jeffrey H. Korotkin, Special Advisory Commission on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits
Korotkin has been the co-director of the Center for Perinatal Medicine at Northside Hospital for more than 23 years. He is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in Gynecology and Obstetrics at Emory University, where he remains on faculty. Korotkin went on to earn a master’s degree in Business Administration from Kennesaw State University in 1997. He and his wife, Kathy, have three children. They reside in Atlanta.  
 
Johnny Grant, Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities 
Grant recently retired from the Georgia General Assembly where he served four terms representing the 25th Senate District. Presently, he is the director of community engagement and economic development for Georgia College and State University. He also serves as vice chairman of the Exchange Bank Board of Directors in Milledgeville and is on the boards of several volunteer organizations in the Middle Georgia area. During his service as state senator, Grant received numerous legislative awards for his work in the fields of mental health and public safety. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech as well as a master’s degree in Public Administration from Georgia College. Grant and his wife, Carol, have three grown children. They attend St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and reside in Milledgeville. 
 
Carter Brown, Board of Commissioners of the Superior Court Clerks’ Retirement Fund of Georgia
Brown was recently elected to his second term as clerk of the superior court for Walker County. He is completing his third year as chairman of the 7th District of the Superior Court Clerks' Association. He was elected the 7th District “Clerk of the Year” in 2012 by his peers. He also serves on the state executive boards of both the Superior Court Clerks' Council and Superior Court Clerks' Association. Brown earned a bachelor’s degree from Covenant College. He is a native of Walker County and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He resides in Chickamauga. 
 
Duke C. Blackburn, Jr., Board of Corrections
Blackburn retired from the Georgia Department of Corrections after a 20-year state career. He is a former executive assistant to the commissioner and former director of special operations. He is a founding member of the U.S. Marshal Southeast Region Fugitive Task Force. He previously served on the board of trustees of the Heritage School in Newnan. Blackburn is a sixth-generation member of Central Baptist Church and attended Georgia Southwestern College and DeKalb College. He and his wife, Lynn, have three sons and five grandchildren. They reside in Newnan.