Deal appoints 26 to boards

Reid Lawson, State Board of Physical Therapy

Lawson serves as area director of rehabilitation for Liberty Regional Medical Center, Coastal Manor Nursing Home and Wayne Memorial Hospital. He is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and the Physical Therapy Association of Georgia. Lawson earned a bachelor’s degree from the Medical College of Georgia and a doctorate degree in Physical Therapy from Utica College. He and his wife, Ashley, have four children. They reside in Jesup.

J. Chad Whitefield, State Board of Physical Therapy (reappointment)

Whitefield is a founder and managing partner of Advance Rehabilitation Management Group, which provides operational and clinical support for rehabilitation providers throughout the country. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has been a licensed physical therapist assistant in Georgia since 1995. He and his wife, Lauren, have two children. They reside in Rome.

Emily W. Garner, State Board of Physical Therapy (reappointment)

Garner works as a staff physical therapist for Southern Therapy Services. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She and her husband, Griffin, have two children. They reside in Carrollton.

Stefanie Palma, State Board of Physical Therapy (reappointment)

Palma is the associate dean in the College of Health Sciences & Professions at the University of North Georgia. She is a board certified clinical specialist in Neurology by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties and is a certified brain injury specialist by the American Academy of Brain Injury Specialists. She has served as a commissioner and vice chair for the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). Palma was appointed to and served on the Examination Development Committee for the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) 2010-2013. She and her husband, Michael, have three children. They reside in Dahlonega.

Monty M. Strickland, State Board of Physical Therapy (reappointment)

Strickland is a licensed physical therapist with 12 years experience in outpatient orthopedics and home health rehabilitation. He is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association. Strickland earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University and a master’s degree in Physical Therapy from North Georgia College and State University. He and his wife, Mara, have two children. They reside in Marietta.

W. Chase Jones, Brain and Spinal injury Trust Fund Commission 

Jones began his career as a budget analyst in the Georgia House of Representatives Budget Office. He most recently worked as a project manager and government affairs officer for the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. Jones earned a bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Georgia's School of Public and International Affairs in 2007. Jones is an active advocate in the spinal cord injury community. He resides in Carrollton.  

Thomas G. Smith, Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission

Smith has been a licensed physical therapist assistant since 2000. He is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association. He is active in the community serving both Wayne and Long county athletic programs. He was awarded the Daughter of the American Revolution Scholarship. Smith earned degrees from Waycross College, Middle Georgia College and Valdosta State. He and his wife, Terri, have four children and one grandchild. They reside in Jesup. 

Andrew C. Dennison, Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission (reappointment)

Dennison is a board certified physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at Shepherd Center. He is active in the American Congress of Rehabilitation and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dennison earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory University and a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Olivia, have three children. They reside in Atlanta.

J.D. Frazier, Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission (reappointment)

Frazier owns and operates a small business and volunteers at the Shepherd Center. He currently serves as elected president of the Metro Fair Housing Services, as treasurer of the Georgia Association of Community Care Providers and has served 14 years on the Kennesaw State University Alumni Association Board of Directors. He received the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on accessible, affordable and integrated housing. Frazier earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Kennesaw State University. He and his wife, Julie, have one daughter. They reside in Marietta.

Henry R. Craig, Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission (reappointment)

Craig currently serves as a Baldwin County Commissioner. He retired from the US Army in 1988 and as an assistant chief pilot from Continental Airlines in 2007. Craig earned degrees from Georgia Military College, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and Webster University. He and his wife, Celia, have two children and four grandchildren. They reside in Milledgeville.

Randy T. Owens, Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission (reappointment)
Owens is president of Gainesville Civitans. He serves as a board member of Challenged Child and Friends, a nonprofit founded in his honor after a car accident left him permanently injured as a child. He is also a board member of Red Rabbit Transit and an adviser to the North East Georgia Medical Center. He is co-founder and honorary board member of Our Neighbor Inc., a nonprofit that serves the needs of those with limitations and enables them to be active in the community. He has been an advocate for young adults with disabilities since high school. He resides in Gainesville.

Robert Bauer, Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission (reappointment)

Bauer is professor emeritus at Valdosta State University, where he was professor and chair of the Department of Psychology and Counseling for 23 years. In addition to his academic and professional activities, he served the Family Connection Partnership locally as chair and on its State Board of Directors. He served on the initial board of directors for the International Elderhostel Program (Roads Scholar) and has served as a consultant to the American Psychological Association. He and his wife, Anunciacion, have two daughters and two grandchildren. They reside in Valdosta.

T. Jane Warnock, Brain and Spinal injury Trust Fund Commission (reappointment)

Warnock is an accountant with Ocmulgee Electric. She was first appointed to the commission in 2010. She has been an advocate for people with disabilities since her daughter, Christy, received a traumatic brain injury in a car accident in 2002. Warnock and her husband, Howard, have one daughter. They reside in Eastman.

Timothy A. Wall, Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission (reappointment)

Wall was as a sales and service technician for Statesboro Archery. His is also a certified therapeutic recreation specialist by the National Council of Therapeutic Recreation. He serves as a coach for the Bulloch County 4-H Archery team and is an active member of USA Archery and US Collegiate Archery. Wall earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Georgia Southern University. He resides in Brooklet.

Julianne C. Busbee, State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

Busbee retired after 34 years of service with state government, most recently as a licensing supervisor for the Georgia Secretary of State, Professional Licensing Boards Division in Macon. Prior to working for the Professional Licensing Boards, she was with River Edge Behavioral Health Center. Busbee attended Wesleyan College and the University of Georgia. She is an active member of Ingleside Baptist Church. She and her husband, Keith, reside in Macon.

L. Russell Pennington, State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

Pennington serves as the director of Policy and Public Affairs for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD). Prior to joining EPD, he was an associate vice president and water business group manager at HDR Engineering. He is a member of the Water Environment Federation’s Government Affairs Committee, American Water Works Association, Georgia Association of Water Professionals, Georgia Rural Water, UGA Environmental Engineering Advisory Board and Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. Pennington earned a bachelor’s in Biological Engineering and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Kelli, have two children. They reside in Brookhaven.

Darien M. Sykes, State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

Sykes is president, owner and managing director of Sykes Consulting, Inc. He has more than 16 years of diversified management and structural design experience. Sykes earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and a master’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He and his wife, Natasha, have two children. They reside in Atlanta.

Robert M. Blackburn, Sr., County and Municipal Probation Advisory Council

Blackburn owns a real estate sale and consulting firm. He serves as chairman of the Coweta County Commissioners. He holds a certified county commissioner designation from the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia. Blackburn earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, majoring in Finance, from Auburn University. He and his wife, Jenni, have two children. They reside in Newnan.

Marsha B. Sauls, State Board of Examiners of Psychologists (reappointment)

Sauls is owner of the Atlanta Network for Individual and Family Therapy in Dunwoody, where she has a private psychology practice. She is a fellow and past president of the Georgia Psychological Association. She is also a member of the American Psychological Association, where she received the Heiser Award for service on behalf of psychology in the political arena. Sauls earned a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Clemson University and a doctorate degree in Counseling Psychology from Georgia State University. She and her husband, Austin, have two children and five grandchildren. They reside in Marietta.

Larry R. Brown, State Board of Optometry

Brown has practiced optometry in Cartersville since 1995. He has served as a consultant to several electronic medical records software providers and has lectured on the topic at national optometry meetings. Brown is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry, and is a member of both the Georgia Optometric Association and the American Optometric Association. He and his wife, Holly, reside in Waleska.

D. Wright Edge, Georgia Drivers Education Commission

Edge is in his 14th year of teaching with the Georgia School System. He is currently the work based learning coordinator for Floyd County. Edge is also in his fifth year as head baseball coach for Pepperell High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Berry College, a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Jacksonville State University and an educational specialist degree in Educational Leadership. He and his wife, Trista, have three children. They reside in Linale.

Ashley Nalley, Georgia Drivers Education Commission

Nalley is vice president of Taggart’s Driving School. She is licensed as both a driver training and driver improvement instructor. She is an appointed ambassador for the AAA Traffic Safety Foundation. Nalley earned two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree from the University of Georgia, and a master’s in Business Administration from Ashford University. She and her husband, Zachary, have two children. They reside in Douglasville.

Stephen W. Henderson, State Board of Registration for Professional Geologists

Henderson has been a professor of Geology at Oxford College of Emory University since 1985. One of his interests includes the influence of geology on military history, especially the Civil War. Henderson earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Geology from Indiana University. After working as a petroleum geologist, he earned a doctoral degree from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Kathryn, have one child. They reside in Covington.

Ken Simonton, State Board of Registration for Professional Geologists

Simonton is a licensed professional geologist with the Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division. He works as a project manager for environmental monitoring and corrective actions and also coordinates the Georgia Landfill Operator Certification Training Workshop. He is an active member of the Atlanta Geological Society, where he is the chair for the Professional Registration Committee. Simonton earned a bachelor’s degree in Geology from the University of West Georgia. He and his wife, Angie, reside in Decatur.

Lillian J. Furlow, State Board of Registration for Professional Geologists (reappointment)

Furlow is a principal project manager/hydrogeologist with CH2M HILL, a full service engineering firm, located in Sandy Springs. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Furlow earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Emory University and a master’s degree in Hydrogeology from Clemson University. She and her husband, Brandon, have two children. They reside in Dunwoody.

Jannine M. Miller, Board of Directors of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority

Miller is a senior manager for Home Depot in supply chain finance. She has held various positions in the public and private sector with the Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority, the Atlanta Regional Commission, a national transportation consulting firm, and Emory University. She has been awarded the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts' Golden Eagle as a Champion of Transportation, and in 2011, she was recognized by Georgia Trend Magazine as a "Top 40 Under 40 Best and Brightest.” Miller is a graduate of Georgia State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, with both a master of Public Administration and master of Business Administration. She resides in Atlanta.