Deal appoints 28 to boards

Yong D. Park, Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis

Park is a professor in the Department of Neurology and Pediatrics and is the chief of the Child Neurology section at Georgia Regents University. He is the medical director of the Georgia Regents University Pediatric Epilepsy Program. Park is American board-certified in Neurology, Child Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology, Pediatrics and Sleep Medicine. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a medical degree from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. He and his wife, Hae, have two children and two grandchildren. They reside in Martinez.

Mark Murphy, Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis

Murphy is a senior partner with the Center for Digestive and Liver Health and is an assistant professor of Internal Medicine at the Savannah campus of Mercer University School of Medicine. He is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. Murphy is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Gastroenterology and is a former president of the Georgia Medical Society. He served on the Medical Advisory Board for the Georgia Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and is a member of the board of directors of Memorial Health University Medical System. Murphy earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia. He and his wife, Daphne, have two children. They reside in Savannah.

Cynthia Wetmore, Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis

Wetmore is the director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Research for the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She is also the director of Developmental Therapeutics for the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and is the co-director of the Pediatric Program of the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Wetmore is board-certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. She earned a bachelor’s degree in History and Philosophy of Science from Harvard University, a medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School and a doctorate in Neurobiology from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Wetmore has one son and resides in Atlanta.

Allen Peake, Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis

Peake represents the 141st District of the Georgia House of Representatives, which includes parts of Monroe and Bibb counties. He previously served as the House Majority Caucus Secretary/Treasurer. Peake owns 21 restaurants around Georgia, including the Cheddars and Captain D’s franchises. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Mercer University. Peake and his wife, Betsy, have three children and three grandchildren. They reside in Macon.

Gary Gulledge, Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis

Gulledge is currently serving his second term as the sheriff of Paulding County. He is the vice president for Region 2 of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association and is a member of the association’s board of directors and legislative committee. Gulledge also is a member of the advisory board of the Northwest Georgia Law Enforcement Training Center. He and his wife, Susie, have one child. They reside in Powder Springs.

Renee Unterman, Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis

Unterman represents the 45th District of the Georgia Senate, which encompasses northeastern Gwinnett County. She is the chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee and sits on the Assignments and Administrative Affairs Committee. Unterman previously served as the mayor of Loganville and as a Gwinnett County commissioner. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of Georgia and a degree in Nursing from Georgia State University. She and her husband, Phil, have two daughters. They reside in Buford.

Butch Miller, Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis

Miller is a business owner and represents the 49th District of the Georgia Senate, which includes Hall and Jackson counties. He serves on the Appropriations, Banking and Finance Institutions, Ethics, Regulated Industries and Rules committees. Miller is a floor leader for Gov. Nathan Deal. He earned a bachelor’s degree from North Georgia College and State University. Miller and his wife, Teresa, have three sons, Carey, Charlie and the late Coleman Miller. They reside in Gainesville.

Sara (Mandy) Wilson Reece, Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis

Reece is an assistant professor and vice chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice with the Georgia Campus of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is an active member of the American Association of Diabetes Educators, American College of Clinical Pharmacy, Georgia Pharmacy Association and American Pharmacists Association. Reece earned a doctor of Pharmacy degree from Mercer University Southern School of Pharmacy. She and her husband, Stacey, have two children. They reside in Gainesville.

Brian Rickman, Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis

Rickman is a district attorney for the Mountain Judicial Circuit. He serves on the Georgia Board of Public Safety and the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia. Rickman has previously taught as an adjunct professor and currently serves on the board of trustees at Piedmont College. He was recognized by the Fulton Daily Report in 2013 as one of Georgia’s 40 Rising Legal Stars under 40. Rickman and his wife, Maggie, have two children. They reside in Tiger.

Katie M. Dempsey, Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis

Dempsey represents the 13th District of the Georgia House of Representatives. She is the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Human Resources. Dempsey is a member of First Lady Sandra Deal’s Children’s Cabinet, the Governor’s Office for Children and Families’ Advisory Board and the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Georgia. Dempsey and her husband, Lynn, have two children and seven grandchildren. They reside in Rome.

Stacey Cotton, Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis

Cotton currently serves as the police chief for the City of Covington. He is the past president of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police and is the current president of A Child’s Voice Child Advocacy Center in Social Circle. Cotton is also a member of the 2006 class of Leadership Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Mercer University and dual master’s degree in both Public Administration and Criminal Justice from Troy University. Cotton and his wife, Lana Lane, have three children. They reside in Covington.

Kimberly A. Spence, Bariatric Surgery Pilot Program Review Panel

Spence is a senior account vice president for UnitedHealthcare and currently manages the UnitedHealthcare State Health Benefit Plan programs. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Western Carolina University. She and her husband, Steve, have one child. They reside in Smyrna.

Cheryl Williams, Bariatric Surgery Pilot Program Review Panel

Williams serves within the Georgia Department of Community Health as a deputy chief of the State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP). She leads the SHBP Clinical Performance Quality and Outcomes Unit. Williams is a registered nurse and a certified case manager. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Francis and a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Hahnemann University School of Nursing. She and her husband, Donald, have four children and one grandchild. They reside in Snellville.

John Wright, Bariatric Surgery Pilot Program Review Panel

Wright is a member of the medical staff of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. He previously practiced as an emergency physician and has served as a manager of Health and Safety for a global manufacturing organization. Wright is certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Preventive Medicine. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory University, a master’s degree in Public Health from the Medical College of Wisconsin, a master’s degree of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee and a medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia. He and his wife, Barbara, reside in Woodstock.

Robert Richard, Bariatric Surgery Pilot Program Review Panel

Richard is the medical director for the Center for Surgical Weight Management at Gwinnett Medical Center. Prior to his current role at Gwinnett Medical Center, he began a bariatric surgical program at the Blanchfield Army Community Hospital in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he served as a bariatric and trauma surgeon. Richard served in the U.S. Army and during his service was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a member of the governing board at the Longstreet Clinic, P.C. and the Georgia Chapter of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Richard is also a member of the Medical Association of Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed his surgical and bariatric training at Harvard University. He and his wife, Carmele, have two daughters. They reside in Suwanee.

Jennifer A. Glover, SHAPE Council

Glover is an assistant principal at White County Intermediate School. She and her husband, Scott, are also owners of Glo-Crest Dairy and Mountain Fresh Creamery. Glover is a member of the board of directors for the American Dairy Association and previously was as a board member of the White County Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, the White County Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Dairy Youth Foundation. Glover and her husband have two children. They reside in Clermont.

Melvin Lindsey, SHAPE Council

Lindsey is the senior government relations director for Amerigroup Georgia. He previously served as the corporate vice president of Managed Care at Elder Health and has been appointed to Georgia’s Minority Health Advisory Council. Lindsey is a member of the board of the Ed Isakson YMCA in Alpharetta. He earned a bachelor’s degree in French and Psychology from MacMurray College and a master’s degree in Health Administration from Governors State University. He has two children and resides in Johns Creek.

Valencia Stovall, Georgia Council for the Arts

Stovall represents the 74th District of the Georgia House of Representatives. She is a member of the Education, Code Revision, Interstate Cooperation and Small Business Development committees. Stovall currently serves as vice ­chair of the Clayton County Delegation and treasurer of the Arts and Science Advisory Committee at Clayton State University. She is a member of Clayton County Public Schools CTAE Advisory Committee, Forest Park High School’s PTSA and the Utopian Academy for the Arts Charter School Advisory Board. Stovall resides in Lake City.

Albert Myers, Rockdale Circuit Public Defender Supervisory Council

Myers has been a trial lawyer for more than 25 years and currently practices at Green Street Law Offices. He previously served as the public defender for Rockdale County. Myers earned a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Dana, have two children. They reside in Conyers.

Linda G. Floyd, Georgia Board of Nursing

Floyd is a psychiatric nurse and serves as a nurse educator at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Valdosta State University. She works as a nurse practitioner with Dr. Livingstone Rasalam of Pathway Wellness Center and for Southland MD with Dr. Jonathan Williams and Dr. Allen Lee. Floyd earned a bachelor’s degree in Nursing, a dual master’s degree in Clinical Counseling and Nursing and a doctorate in Education from Valdosta State University. She has one son and one grandson and resides in Valdosta.

Joe Krzemien, Georgia Board of Chiropractic Examiners

Krzemien has been in chiropractic private practice in the Buford area for nearly a decade. He is a member of the Georgia Chiropractic Association, American Chiropractic Association, American Chiropractic Association Sports Council and the Professional Football Chiropractic Society. Krzemien is the official team chiropractor for the Atlanta Falcons. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Health Fitness, Prevention and Rehabilitation Serves from Central Michigan University and a doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life University College of Chiropractic. He has one child and resides in Cumming.

Kenneth Waldrep, Court-Martial Review Panel

Waldrep retired as the state judge advocate of the Georgia National Guard after 34 years of military service. He previously served three terms in the Georgia House of Representatives. Waldrep is a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, the American Cancer Society and the Monroe County Historical Society. He received a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the University of Georgia. Waldrep has two children and two grandchildren. He resides in Forsyth.

John Harris, Court-Martial Review Panel

Harris is a partner at Tisinger Vance PC. He previously served in the U.S. Army as a tactical control officer, platoon leader and executive officer of B/3-52 ADA. Harris also was an Allied Air Forces Central Europe Tactical Evaluator and a member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps with the 213th LSO, Team 2, in Fort Benning. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University and a law degree from Mercer University School of Law. Harris and his wife, Lori, have two children and one grandchild. They reside in Carrollton.

Michael Scott Carlson, Court Martial Review Panel

Carlson currently serves as a deputy chief assistant district attorney with the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office. Carlson also is the co-author of the legal manuals Carlson on Evidence, Comparing the Georgia and Federal Rules, Trial Handbook for Georgia Lawyers and Successful Techniques for Civil Trials. He was an adjunct faculty member of Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and Emory University School of Law. Carlson is a mentor and lecturer at the Gary Christy Memorial Trial Skills Clinic at the University of Georgia School Of Law. He has been named by James Magazine as one of the most influential lawyers in Georgia and has been awarded the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia’s J. Roger Thompson Award. Carlson earned bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a law degree from Washington and Lee University. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have two children. They reside in Duluth.

James Deichert, Court-Martial Review Panel

Deichert has been of counsel with the Fellows LaBriola, LLP law firm for the past 18 years. He is a former colonel in the Georgia Army National Guard. Deichert served as the state judge advocate for six years and as a judge advocate for more than 28 years. He retired as an assistant U.S. Attorney in 1997, holding the position of chief of the Organized Crime Strike Force for the Northern District of Georgia. Deichert earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers College and a law degree from Seton Hall Law School. He and his wife, Riley, have two children and three grandchildren. They reside in Lilburn.

John West Sheffield, III, Court-Martial Review Panel

Sheffield works as one of the three Associate Area Counsel for IRS Tax Court litigation in Georgia. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. Sheffield retired from the Georgia Air National Guard after over 30 years of military commissioned service as a judge advocate. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the Virginia Military Institute and a law degree from the University of Georgia. Sheffield and his wife, Debbie, have one child and reside in Marietta.

James Valbrun, Board of Juvenile Justice

Valbrun is the founding attorney of the Valbrun Law Group, LLC. He has been recognized as a Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Star and honored in Atlanta's Business Who's Who as well as Who's Who in Black Atlanta. Valbrun earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from the Georgetown University. His and his wife, Tanika, have one son. They reside in Lithia Springs.

Carolyn C. Hall, Board of Trustees of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund Commission

Hall retired as chair of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation. She was a recipient of the Tom Howell Award for commitment to service by the board’s advisory council and the Distinguished Service Award by the Workers’ Compensation Section of the State Bar. Hall is a member on the board of directors of Kids’ Chance of Georgia and currently serves as president. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Queens College and a law degree from Emory University. Hall resides in Atlanta.