Deal appoints 31 to boards

Faye DiMassimo, Board of Directors of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
DiMassimo is the general manager of Renew Atlanta. She is a member of the 2017 Atlanta Hall Management Board of Directors for the College Football Hall of Fame and the Earl Smith Strand Theatre Board of Trustees. DiMassimo is a graduate of the Regional Leadership Institute and Leadership Cobb. She earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degrees in Public Administration and City Planning from Auburn University. DiMassimo and her husband, Tom, have three children and two grandchildren. They reside in Powder Springs.

Ansley Saville, Capitol Arts Standards Commission (reappointment)
Saville is vice president of Marketing and Public Relations for the Coosa Steel Corporation. She is chairman of the Sara Hightower Library Board and the Parks and Public Lands Program for the Laurel District of the Garden Club of Georgia. Saville is the advisor and former president of the Rome Federated Garden Clubs. She is a member of the Xavier Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Governmental Affairs Committee for the Rome Floyd Chamber. Saville received the Northwest Georgia Council of Boy Scouts of America’s Distinguished Citizen Award. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. Saville and her husband, Dean, have three children and two grandchildren. They live in Rome. 

Tracey Blalock, Georgia Board of Nursing (reappointment)
Blalock is the chief nursing executive for Navicent Health and the chief nursing officer for the Navicent Health Medical Center. She is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the American Nurses Association and the Georgia Organization of Nurse Leaders. Blalock earned master’s degrees in Nursing and Business Administration from Georgia College and State University. She and her husband, Richard, have four children and reside in Warner Robins.

Tammy Bryant, Georgia Board of Nursing
Bryant serves as the chair of the Associate of Science in Nursing program for Southern Regional Technical College. She is a member of the Nursing Education Committee for the Georgia Board of Nursing and the Steering Committee for the Inaugural Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing - Nursing Education Accreditation Conference. Bryant received the Southern Regional Technical College’s Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Brenau University and a master’s degree in Nursing from Walden University. Bryant and her husband, Danny, have one daughter and live in Thomasville. 

Dr. Linda Floyd, Georgia Board of Nursing (reappointment)
Floyd is a nurse practitioner for Pathway Wellness Center, Greenleaf Behavioral Health Hospital and Behavioral Health Services of South Georgia. She is a psychiatric nurse and retired as an educator from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Valdosta State University. Floyd has two children and two grandchildren. She resides in Valdosta.

Merry Fort, Georgia Board of Nursing (reappointment)
Fort is the executive vice president of Clinical Services for Accountable Healthcare Staffing. She is a member of the state and district chapters of the Georgia Organization of Nurse Leaders and the American Organization of Nurse Executives. Fort earned a bachelor’s degree from Mercer University and a nursing degree from Middle Georgia State University. She and her husband, Samuel, have two children and two grandchildren. They live in Macon.

Amy Hooper, Georgia Board of Nursing (reappointment)
Hooper is a community relations representative for PruittHealth. She is a community nurse liaison for long-term and acute care facilities and physician offices. Hooper earned a licensed practical nursing degree from Chattahoochee Technical Institute. She and her husband, Trenton, have one son and reside in Good Hope.

Darrell Thompson, DNP, Georgia Board of Nursing
Thompson is a nurse practitioner and the director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program Primary Care Tracks for the College of Nursing at Augusta University. He is a member of the Georgia Nurses Association, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Georgia Association for Nurse Educators. Thompson earned a bachelor’s degree in Nursing and a master’s degree in Nursing from Georgia College and State University and a doctoral degree in Nursing Science from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. He resides in Augusta..

Blair K. Train, Georgia Board of Nursing (reappointment)
Train works with the Fund Development Department for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Georgia, the Career Women’s Network, the Rotary Club of Downtown Macon, the Historic Macon Foundation and the Museum of Arts and Sciences. She received the Career Women’s Network’s Woman of Achievement Award in 2012. Train earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Salem College. She lives in Macon.

Vernon Keenan, Georgia Board of Private Detectives and Security Agencies (reappointment)
Keenan is the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and began his career in 1973 as a special agent. He is a member of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and the Executive Committee for the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Keenan earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Valdosta State University and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbus State University. He and his wife, Joan, have two children and reside in Ball Ground.

Antonio Long, Georgia Board of Private Detectives and Security Agencies (reappointment)
Long is the chief of the Department of Public Safety at Atlanta Metropolitan State College. He is a president of the Georgia Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators and sits on the Criminal Justice Advisory Board for Atlanta Technical College. Long earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Georgia State University, a master’s degree in Professional Counseling from Liberty University and a master’s degree in Public Safety Administration from Columbus State University. He and his wife, Thesa, have three children and live in Fayetteville.

David B. Dunaway, Georgia Circuit Public Defender Supervisory Panel (reappointment)
Dunaway is an attorney and has been practicing for 46 years. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the Walter F. Georgia School of Law at Mercer University. Dunaway and his wife, Barbara, have one child and reside in Thomaston.

Brian Hardison, Georgia Circuit Public Defender Supervisory Panel (reappointment)
Hardison is a criminal defense and civil litigation attorney. He also serves as the Municipal Court Judge for the cities of Dallas and Braswell. Hardison is a member of the Paulding County Indigent Council. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Georgia and a law degree from Atlanta Law School. Hardison and his wife, Cindy, have two children and three grandchildren. They live in Dallas. 

Pandora Palmer, Georgia Circuit Public Defender Supervisory Panel (reappointment)
Palmer is the owner of Pandora E. Palmer, P.C. She was previously a managing partner for Smith, Welch, Webb and White, LLC. Palmer is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Hawaii State Bar Association, the Henry County Bar Association, the Clayton County Bar Association, the Lawyers Club of Atlanta, the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Pre-Law from the University of Georgia and a law degree from the Georgia State University College of Law. Palmer and her husband, Keith, have two children and reside in McDonough.

J. Stanley Smith, Georgia Circuit Public Defender Supervisory Panel (reappointment)
Smith is a managing partner of Smith, Garner, LLC. He served as a Juvenile Court Judge for 18 years and as a Superior Court Judge for 12 years. Smith retired from the bench and returned to private practice in 2013. He and his wife, Annette, have two children and two grandchildren. They live in Dublin.

Roger Tutterow, Georgia Commission on Child Support (reappointment)
Tutterow is a professor of Economics at Kennesaw State University. He has given numerous lectures and testimony on policy matters before the Georgia General Assembly and the Georgia Public Service Commission. Tutterow earned a bachelor’s degree from Berry College and a master’s degree and doctoral degree in Economics from Georgia State University. He resides in Smyrna. 

Robert Law, Georgia Composite Medical Board
Law is a financial advisor and investment manager at Creative Financial Group. He is a certified financial planner and a CFA Program Level III candidate. Law earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. He lives in Atlanta.  

Louise Hill, Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Services Board (reappointment)
Hill is a public service and outreach faculty member of the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development at the University of Georgia (UGA). She is the former director of Development and Alumni Relations for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Hill earned an associate’s degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and a bachelor’s degree in Science and a master’s degree in Education from UGA.

Vincent Martin, Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Services Board (reappointment)
Martin is a blind graduate research assistant and Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech. He is the vice president of the Georgia Radio Board of Directors. Martin is a former U.S. Paralympic athlete and the first blind graduate of Southern Polytechnic University. He earned an associate’s degree and a bachelor’s degree from Southern Polytechnic State University and a master’s degree from Georgia Tech. Martin and his seeing eye dog, Karson, reside in Atlanta.

Faye Perdue, Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Services Board
Perdue is an insurance agent for State Farm. She was previously a senior vocational rehabilitation counselor for the Independent Living Skills Training Program at Roosevelt Warm Springs and a senior disability adjudicator. Perdue is secretary of the Three Rivers Regional Commission, a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Meriwether County and a member and former chairperson of the Meriwether County Chamber of Commerce. She is also a graduate of Leadership Meriwether. Perdue earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a master’s degree in Guidance Counseling from the University of West Georgia. She and her husband, Chip, have two children and two grandchildren. They live in Gay.

Chris Erwin, Professional Standards Commission
Erwin retired as the superintendent of the Banks County School System. He was previously a teacher, assistant principal, and middle and high school principal. Erwin is a former president of the Georgia School Superintendents Association and executive board member of the School Superintendents Association. He is the president of his local rotary and chamber clubs and was recognized as the 2013 Georgia Superintendent of the Year. Erwin is an active member of Homer United Methodist Church and recently served as lay-leader. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and earned graduate degrees from Georgia State University and the University of West Georgia. Erwin and his wife, Laurie, have two children and reside in Homer.

Susan Thayer, Professional Standards Commission (reappointment)
Thayer retired as an educator with more than 30 years of experience. She is a former teacher, guidance counselor, principal, director of leadership development, executive director of high schools and assistant superintendent for three metro Atlanta school systems. Thayer earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and graduate degrees from the University of West Georgia. She and her husband, Ed, have two children and live in Smyrna.

Katrina Young, Professional Standards Commission
Young is serving her third elected term on the Rockdale County Public Schools Board of Education and is the president-elect of the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA). She is a member of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta - Spark Newton Advisory Committee, Conyers Rockdale Council for the Arts, Conyers Rockdale Economic Development Council and the Rotary Club of Conyers. Young earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Georgia State University. She and her husband, Simeon, have two children and one grandson. They reside in Conyers.

Christopher Cohilas, Public Defender Council 
Cohilas is a partner with the law firm of Watson Spence LLP. He is the chairman of the Dougherty County Board of Commissioners and a former Chief Assistant District Attorney for Dougherty County. Cohilas earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a law degree from the Georgia State University College of Law. He and his wife, Karen, have four children and live in Albany.

Ron Cross, Public Defender Council (reappointment)
Cross is the chairman of the Columbia County Commission. Prior to public service, he was an engineer and a general contractor for 35 years building schools in both Columbia and Richmond counties. Cross is the chairman of the Savannah-Upper Ogeechee Council. He earned an associate degree from Anderson Junior College and earned a bachelor’s degree from Furman University. Cross and his wife, Janice, have one daughter and reside in Martinez. 

Lamar Paris, Public Defender Council (reappointment) 
Paris is the commissioner of Union County. He is a member of the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council and the Georgia Public Defender Council. Paris is a past president of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia and received the Lifetime Achievement Standard of Excellence Certification. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from University of Georgia. Paris and his wife, Dinah, have one daughter and live in Blairsville.

Frank Gipson, Stakeholder Advisory Board
Gibson is the manager of the Erosion Control Division for the Cobb County Community Development Agency. He is a member of the International Erosion Control Association. Gipson earned a bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness from Alabama A&M University. He and his wife, Sharon, have two children and reside in Covington.

Brandt Keller, Stakeholder Advisory Board
Keller is the director of Public Works and Utilities for the City of Griffin. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Keller sits on the board of directors for the Flint River Council Boy Scouts of America and the editorial board of Stormwater magazine. He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Griffin. Keller and his wife, Ann, have two children and two grandchildren. They live in Williamson.

Mark Masters, Stakeholder Advisory Board
Masters is the director of the Water Planning and Policy Center at Albany State University. He has directed numerous research and outreach projects focused on agricultural water use, watershed planning and water management practice evaluation. Masters earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southwestern State University and a master’s degree from Auburn University. He and his wife, Amy, have three children and reside in Dawson.

Ben Ruzowicz, Stakeholder Advisory Board
Ruzowicz is a certified professional in Erosion and Sediment Control, Certified Erosion, Sediment and Storm Water Inspector, certified wetland delineator, and a certified Nutrient Management Specialist. He is a member of the International Erosion Control Association. Ruzowicz earned a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University. He and his wife, Melissa, have three children and live in Carlton.

Mike Worley, Stakeholder Advisory Board 
Worley is president and CEO of the Georgia Wildlife Federation. He is a former chairman of the Douglas County Chamber of Commerce and is active with the foundation for Georgia’s Youth Challenge. Worley is a member of the Georgia Prescribed Fire Council and other conservation organizations in Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of West Georgia and graduated from the Goizueta Executive Program at Emory University. Worley and his wife, Debra, have two children and reside in Mansfield.