Deal appoints 17 to boards

Bob Pierce, Board of Driver Services (Reappointment)
Pierce is the public relations and special projects coordinator for the Cobb County Superior Court. He retired from the Cobb County Police Department after 30 years of service. Pierce is the founder and president of the Cobb Police Foundation, sits on the executive board for the Cobb County Fraternal Order of Police and is an honorary member of the Cobb County Bar Association. Pierce was named Officer of the Year by the Cobb County Fraternal Order of Police in 2005 and 2015, and earned the Distinguished Service Award from the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce in 2012. He has two children and six grandchildren. Pierce resides in Powder Springs. 

Anne Cardella, Board of Trustees of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (Reappointment)
Cardella is a teacher in the gifted program at W.G. Nunn Elementary School and has more than 26 years of teaching experience. She also serves as the public relations coordinator, technology teacher leader, writing coordinator and as a mentor teacher at W.G. Nunn Elementary. Cardella is a member of the National Association for Gifted Children, the Georgia Association for Gifted Children and the Professional Association of Georgia Educators. She was named Teacher of the Year for the Valdosta City School District in 2009. Cardella earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia. She and her husband, Craig, have two children and five grandchildren. They live in Valdosta.

William G. Sloan, Jr., Board of Trustees of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (Reappointment)
Sloan is the executive director of the Georgia Retired Educations Association. He retired as principal of East Hall High School in Gainesville in 2005. Sloan was named the State High School Principal of the Year in 2004 by the Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University, two degrees from the University of Georgia and a doctoral degree in Educational Administration from Nova Southeastern University. Sloan and his wife, Janice, have two children and two grandchildren. They reside in Gainesville.

C. Andrew Fuller, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (Reappointment)
Fuller is the chief superior court judge for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit. He was previously the district attorney for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit. Fuller is a member of the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution and the Gainesville Rotary Club. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a law degree from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. Fuller and his wife, Gay, have two children and two grandchildren. They live in Gainesville.

Liz Hausmann, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (Reappointment)
Hausmann represents District 1 on the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. She is the vice chair of the Atlanta-Fulton County Water Resources Commission and a member the Federal Government Policy Council for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia. Hausmann sits on the boards of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and Encore Park for the Arts, as well as the Fulton County Retirement Board. Hausmann also sits on the boards for WellStar North Fulton, the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Community Resources Committee and the Fulton Education Foundation. She is a member of the House Commission on Transit Governance and Funding. Hausmann attended DeKalb College. She has two children, two grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. Hausmann resides in Johns Creek.

Joseph W. Hood III, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (Reappointment)
Hood is a deputy commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Health. He has more than 20 years of service for the State of Georgia, including working as the division director of Public Safety for the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget and as comptroller for the Georgia Department of Public Safety. He is a former staff member of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, serving five years as the council’s grants division director. Hood earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Renee, have three children and live in Chamblee.

Janis Mangum, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (Reappointment)
Mangum is the sheriff of Jackson County and has 32 years of experience in law enforcement. She is a former member of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit Domestic Violence Task Force and the Piedmont Judicial Circuit for Child Advocacy. Mangum is a member of the Tree House Advocacy Center and an ex-officio member of the Georgia Sex Offender Task Force. She and her husband, Jerry, have one son and three grandchildren. They reside in Pendergrass.

Erika Shields, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
Shields is the chief of the Atlanta Police Department (APD). She has served with APD since 1995 and has held numerous roles within the department. Prior to her appointment as police chief, Shields served as the commander of the APD Field Operations Division. She earned a bachelor’s degree in International Politics from Webster University and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Saint Leo University. 

Jimmy Allgood, Georgia Ports Authority (Reappointment)
Allgood is the board chairman of Allgood Pest Solutions, a company he founded in 1974. He is the past president of the Georgia Pest Control Association. Allgood is a past chairman of the Georgia Structural Pest Control Commission, the Dublin-Laurens County Development Authority, the Rotary Club of Dublin and the board of First United Methodist Church in Dublin. He is a graduate and past president of Leadership Georgia. Allgood earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Kathy, have three children and three grandchildren. They reside in Dublin. 

Doug Hertz, Georgia Ports Authority
Hertz is the president and CEO of United Distributors. He sits on the boards of Georgia Power Company, Atlantic Capital Bank and Narrative Content Group. Hertz is the founder and chairman of Camp Twin Lakes. He is a former board chairman of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Georgia Research Alliance and the Woodruff Arts Center. Hertz was named to the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “The 100 Most Influential Atlantans” list in 2013. He earned a bachelor’s degree in History and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Tulane University. Hertz and his wife, Lila, have four children and four grandchildren. They live in Atlanta.

Julie Hunt, Georgia Ports Authority (Reappointment)
Hunt is the president of J.H. Services, Inc. She is a former English teacher and has experience in the restaurant, advertising and real estate industries. Hunt is a member of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College President’s Club, an emeritus trustee of the University of Georgia Foundation and a former Regent of the University System of Georgia. She is the chair of the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association and a past president of the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce. Hunt is a former member of the the Commission for the Privatization of State Government and the Georgia Economic Development Authority. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Education from Valdosta State University. Hunt has two children and seven grandchildren. She resides in Tifton.

Joy Burch-Meeks, Jekyll Island State Park Authority (Reappointment)
Burch-Meeks is the chief financial officer of FMR Burch Farms. She sits on the board of directors for Altamaha Technical College, the executive committee of the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce and the executive council of the Okefenokee Council of Boy Scouts. Burch-Meeks earned a bachelor’s degree from Mercer University. She and her husband, Steven, live in Screven.

Dr. L.C. “Buster” Evans, Jekyll Island State Park Authority
Evans is the executive director of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia. He was previously the superintendent for the Bleckley County School System and Forsyth County Schools. Evans is a graduate of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Valdosta State University, and earned a doctoral degree in Educational Administration from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Debbie, have two children. They reside in Bolingbroke.

Mandi Ballinger, Juvenile Justice State Advisory Group
Ballinger represents the 23rd District in the Georgia House of Representatives. She is the chair of the House Juvenile Justice Committee. Ballinger also serves on Rules, Appropriations- Public Safety, Transportation, Judiciary Non-Civil, and Information and Audits Committees. She sits on the Georgia Child Fatality Review Board and is a member of the Georgia Commission on Domestic Violence. Ballinger began her career working for a domestic violence shelter and worked as a victim advocate for the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office. She lives in Canton.

Bert Reeves, Juvenile Justice State Advisory Group
Reeves represents the 34th District in the Georgia House of Representatives. He is the vice chair of the Judiciary Non-Civil Committee and chairs a Judiciary Non-Civil subcommittee. Reeves is also a member of the Ways & Means, Insurance, Higher Education and Interstate Cooperation Committees. He is an attorney and partner at Smith, Schnatmeier, Dettmering, Collins, Reeves, Hobson & Hobson, LLP. Reeves is a member of the Rotary Club of Marietta and a graduate of Leadership Cobb. He sits on the boards of the Davis Direction Foundation and the Kennesaw Business Association, as well as the regional board of directors for WellStar Kennestone. Reeves earned a bachelor’s degree in Science Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a law degree from Stetson University. He and his wife, Amy, have two children and reside in Marietta.

Andrew “Andy” Welch III, Juvenile Justice State Advisory Group
Welch represents the 110th District in the Georgia House of Representatives. He is the chairman of the Appropriations- Public Safety subcommittee and a member of the Judiciary, Juvenile Justice, Code Revision and Regulated Industry Committees. Welch is a partner at Smith, Welch, Webb & White LLC. He served an extended tour in Ghana with the Peace Corps. Welch and his wife, Cara, have three children and live in Locust Grove.

Eve Byrd, State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless Commission (Reappointment)
Byrd is the director of the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program. She is a former faculty member of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University and previously served as the executive director of the Fuqua Center for Late-Life Depression at Wesley Woods. Byrd earned a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Emory University a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Florida State University, as well as a doctoral degree in Nursing Practice, a master’s degree in Health Policy, and a master’s degree in Nursing with a concentration in psychiatric/mental health nursing from Emory University. She and her husband, Gene, have two children and reside in Decatur.