Deal appoints five to Board of Regents

Gov. Nathan Deal today announced the reappointments of Don L. Waters and Dr. C. Thomas Hopkins Jr. to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. Deal also appointed Bárbara Rivera Holmes, W. Allen Gudenrath and Erin Hames to the board. These appointments will be effective Jan. 1, 2018.​​

Don L. Waters, First Congressional District, Board of Regents (reappointment)
Waters is the CEO of Waters Capital Partners, LLC. He was previously the chairman, president and CEO of Brasseler USA, Inc. Waters sits on the boards of directors for the Augusta University Health System and the Savannah Classical Academy. He also sits on the Chatham County Hospital Authority board of trustees and on the Board of Curators of the Georgia Historical Society. Waters earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Armstrong State University and a law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law. He and his wife, Cindy, have two daughters and four grandchildren. They reside in Savannah.​

Bárbara Rivera Holmes, Second Congressional District, Board of Regents
Holmes is the president and CEO of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce. She was previously the vice president of the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission. Holmes has experience as a journalist and earned four awards for excellence in journalism from the Georgia Associated Press. Holmes sits on the boards of directors for Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy in Albany and Leadership Georgia. She is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Albany and the Georgia Academy for Economic Development. Holmes was recognized as one of Southwest Georgia’s “40 Under 40” by the Albany Herald and the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce. She earned bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and Spanish from Florida Southern College and continued her studies at Estudio Sampere Internacional in Madrid and Alicante, Spain. Holmes and her husband, David, have one child and live in Albany.

C. Thomas Hopkins Jr., M.D., Third Congressional District, Board of Regents (reappointment)
Dr. Hopkins is a partner at OrthoGeorgia, an orthopaedic medical practice. He is board-certified in orthopaedic surgery and orthopaedic sports medicine. Dr. Hopkins served in the United States Air Force as a fighter squadron flight surgeon and as an orthopaedic surgeon. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Arthroscopy Association of North America. Dr. Hopkins is also a former president of the Rotary Club of Griffin, the Georgia Orthopaedic Society and the medical staff of Spalding Regional Hospital. He sits on the boards of the United Bank Corporation, the United Bank of Griffin and MagMutual Insurance Company. Dr. Hopkins previously sat on the boards of the Medical Association of Georgia, the Augusta University Health System, the Georgia Health Strategies Council, Southern Crescent Technical College, the Salvation Army and Griffin First United Methodist Church. He attended the University of Georgia, earned a bachelor’s degree from Valdosta State University and completed his medical degree and residency at Emory University. Dr. Hopkins and his wife, Sara, have two children and reside in Griffin.​

W. Allen Gudenrath, Eighth Congressional District, Board of Regents
Gudenrath is a senior vice president with Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management Division. He is a founding board member of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation and a trustee for the Georgia Forestry Foundation. Gudenrath is a former member of the steering committee for the Georgia Competitive Initiative and previously sat on the board of directors for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. He is a member of the Reinhardt University Alumni Board of Governors and the Macon Civic Club. Gudenrath is a J.W. Fanning Fellow Designee and a co-recipient of the Frederick B. Kerr Award from Leadership Georgia. He earned an associate degree from Reinhardt University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. Gudenrath and his wife, Lynda, have one child and four grandchildren. They live in Macon.

Erin Hames, At-Large representative, Board of Regents
Hames is the president of ReformEd, a firm focused on improving educational opportunities and outcomes for children and students. She started her career as a public school classroom teacher and served as the deputy chief of staff for policy for Gov. Nathan Deal. Hames also served as the policy director and chief of staff for the Georgia Department of Education. Hames is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the State Charter Schools Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute’s Enterprise Club. She sits on the Southern Regional Education Board and the GeorgiaCAN advisory board. Hames is also a commissioner for the Education Commission of the States. She received the 2016 Professional Achievement Award from the University of Georgia College of Education, was named to the University of Georgia Alumni Association’s 2013 “40 Under 40” list and was selected as a 2010 Henry Toll Fellow by the Council of State Governments. Hames earned a bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Georgia and a law degree from the Georgia State University College of Law. She and her husband, Ben, have two children and reside in Atlanta.