Deal appoints 15 to boards
Roger Garrison, Board of Commissioners of the Peace Officers’ Annuity and Benefit Fund (reappointment)
Garrison is the sheriff of Cherokee County. He sits on the state Board of Corrections and the executive board of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program. Garrison previously sat on the boards of the American Cancer Society and the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Reinhardt University and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbus State University. Garrison is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He and his wife, Sheila, have one child and reside in Canton.
Mark Bible, Board of Directors of the Georgia ABLE Program Corporation
Bible is the plant manager of the General Mills facility in Covington. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and earned a bachelor’s degree from the Naval Academy. He and his wife, Shirley, have four children and live in Bishop.
Tena Blakey, Board of Directors of the Georgia ABLE Program Corporation
Blakey is the family and community engagement director for Soto Health. She is the president-elect of the Service Provider Association for Developmental Disabilities and the secretary of Family YMCA Camp IVEY. Blakey earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of South Carolina. She and her husband, Jeff, have two children and reside in Thomson.
Justin Pressley, Board of Directors of the Georgia ABLE Program Corporation
Pressley is the founder and president of Access to a Better Tomorrow, Inc. He previously sat on the advisory boards for North Georgia Health Systems, the Disability Resource Center and the Atlanta chapter of the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis. Pressley was also a founding commissioner of the Georgia Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission. He lives in Gainesville.
Scott Bohlke, Georgia Board for Physician Workforce
Bohlke is the owner and operator of Bohler Family Practice. He is a past president of the Medical Association of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia Alumni Association. Bohlke sits on the board of directors for MagMutual Insurance Company and was previously a member of the Bulloch County Board of Education. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia. Bohlke and his wife, Jennifer, have four children and reside in Statesboro.
Rachel Mast, Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism
Mast works for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. She was previously a recruitment supervisor for the Peace Corps southeast regional recruitment office and a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama. Mast earned bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and International Business from the College of Charleston and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Georgia State University. She and her husband, Pedro, live in Decatur.
Gretchen Collins, M.D., Georgia Composite Medical Board
Collins is the CEO of ProVision Behavioral Health Consultants and the medical director for View Point Health. She is also an assistant clinical professor at Emory University and Augusta University. Collins earned a bachelor’s degree and a medical degree from the University of Missouri. She has two children and resides in Stone Mountain.
Sharon Beall, M.D., Georgia Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council
Beall is a pediatrician and the hospice medical director for Affinis Hospice-Augusta. She is an associate professor of Clinical Pediatrics with palliative care teaching responsibilities at Augusta University, the Augusta University Medical Center (AUMC) and the Children’s Hospital of Georgia (CHOG). Beall is also the service director for hospice and palliative care at AUMC and CHOG and a member of the AUMC Ethics Committee. She earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Georgia State University, and a medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia. Beall and her husband, Art, have three children and live in Evans.
Jamie Cramer, Georgia Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council
Cramer is the senior services manager for Gwinnett County and a part-time Gerontology professor at Georgia State University. She previously worked as section manager with the Department of Human Services’ Division of Aging Services and was the director of the Clayton County Aging Program. Cramer has been a member of the National Mental Health Association of Georgia, the Long Term Care Ombudsman Advisory Council and the Georgia Gerontology Society Advocacy and Public Policy Committee. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Cumberland College and a master’s degree from Georgia State University. Cramer resides in Tucker.
Tammie Quest, M.D., Georgia Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council
Quest is the director of the Emory Palliative Care Center and a professor at the Emory University School of Medicine. She is a board member at large for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Quest earned a bachelor’s degree and a medical degree from the University of California at Berkeley. She and her husband, Robert, have two children and live in Atlanta.
Barbara Harrison, Martin Luther King, Jr. Advisory Council
Harrison is the director of external affairs, strategic partnerships and programs at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. She previously sat on the board of Synergistic Youth Enterprises. Harrison earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Tuskegee University. She resides in Decatur.
Barbara Baxter, State Board of Nursing Home Administrators (reappointment)
Baxter is the nursing home administrator for the Center of Rehabilitation Excellence in Woodstock and has more than 30 years of experience in nursing home administration. She is also active with the Georgia Healthcare Association. Baxter earned a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management from Covenant College. She and her husband, Helmut, have one child and live in Canton.
Carolyn Hill, State Board of Nursing Home Administrators (reappointment)
Hill is the CEO of Sunshine Companion Care, LLC. She has clinical and administrative health care experience and has provided expert witness testimony in numerous states in medical malpractice cases. Hill earned a bachelor’s degree from Oglethorpe University. She resides in Brunswick.
Kerry Smith, State Board of Nursing Home Administrators (reappointment)
Smith is the director of long term care at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. He sits on the board of directors for the Georgia Healthcare Association. Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Cindy, have two children and live in Clarkesville.
Stephen Heinen, Subsequent Injury Trust Fund Commission (reappointment)
Heinen is a risk consultant for Pritchard and Jernen. He is a past chairman of the United Way Campaign and the Challenged Child capital campaign. Heinen is also a past president of the Gainesville Jaycees. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Risk Management from the University of Georgia. Heinen and his wife, Tammy, have two children and reside in Gainesville.