Nicole Berger, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
Berger is the prevention educator for the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy. She was the director of the Victim-Witness Assistance Program at the Fulton County District Attorney’s office and worked at the Rape Crisis Center with Grady Health Systems. Berger earned a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and a master’s degree from Nova University. She and her husband, Joel, have two sons. They reside in Brookhaven.
Jiovanne Hughart, Georgia Commission on Hearing Impaired and Deaf Persons
Hughart has been a clinical audiologist for 35 years with 33 years in private practice. She is an adjunct professor at Auburn University and Salus University, chairman of the mentoring committee for the Doctors Academy of Audiology and the webmaster for the Georgia Academy of Audiology. Hughart earned two master’s degrees from Ohio University and Brenau University and a doctorate degree at the University of Florida. She and her husband, Joe, have two children. They reside in Marietta.
James Lynch, Georgia Commission on Hearing Impaired and Deaf Persons
Lynch is a management consultant with Lynchpin Associates. He has worked in a range of management positions within the Coca-Cola Co. and United Parcel Service. Lynch is on the advisory board of Doppoint North America, LLC. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Buckhead, the Emory Alumni Association and the American Marketing Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Seattle University and a master’s degree from Emory University. Lynch and his wife, Jacqueline, have two children and six grandchildren. They reside in Sandy Springs.
Catherine Torie, Georgia Commission for Hearing Impaired and Deaf Persons
Torie is the co-founder and owner of Care Apparent, LLC. She has more than 20 years of healthcare experience through her work with quality management, infection control, Medicare compliance and home care. Torie has worked with several nonprofits including Arts Now, Good Samaritan Health Center, New Hope Enterprises and the Vinings Women’s Group. She and her husband, Christopher, have three children. They reside in Atlanta.
Mary Reed, Georgia Commission for Hearing Impaired and Deaf Persons (reappointment)
Reed is employed by Reed Imaging Services in Cartersville. She was an analyst and consultant with Accenture, co-president of the Parent Teacher Club at the Katherine Hamm Center of the Atlanta Speech School and president of the Georgia Chapter of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf. Reed is a current member of the Junior League of Atlanta. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory University. Reed and her husband, Robert, have two children. They reside in Atlanta.
Paul Shailendra, McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority
Shailendra is president of SG Property Services. He is on the board of directors of the Metro Atlanta YMCA and the Georgia Board of Natural Resources. He previously served on the board of directors of the Clayton County Chamber of Commerce and Midtown Alliance, and was a member of the 2007 L.E.A.D class and the 2011 Leadership Georgia class. Shailendra earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech. He and his wife, Amanda, have two daughters. They reside in Atlanta.
William Wade, Partnership for Public Facilities and Infrastructure Act Guidelines Committee
Wade is a community banker in North Georgia. He is chairman of the Dawson County Board of Education and president-elect of the Georgia School Boards Association. Wade is a member of the Georgia Bankers Association Public Affairs Committee, Georgia Mountains Regional Commission and the Northeast Georgia Medical Center. He is involved with the local Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce. Wade earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Georgia and a graduate degree from the Georgia Bankers Association through its partnership with the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Jennifer, have one child. They reside in Dawsonville.
Jason Ward, Partnership for Public Facilities and Infrastructure Act Guidelines Committee
Ward is the managing partner of Appraisal Associates in Carrollton and vice chair of the Polk County Commission. He is an ex officio representative to the Polk County Development Authority and Chamber of Commerce. Ward earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Samford University. He and his wife, Hannah, are members of the 2015 Leadership Georgia class. They have two children and reside in Cedartown.
James (Jim) Thomas, Jr., Partnership for Public Facilities and Infrastructure Act Guidelines Committee
Thomas is Mayor of Hinesville. He is also a retired military officer. Thomas runs a consulting firm and is on the Liberty County Hospital Authority, Hinesville Metropolitan Planning Organization, Hinesville Architectural Review Board and Hinesville Military Affairs Committee. He is a member of the NAACP and 11 Black Men of Liberty County. Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Administration from Saint Leo University. He has completed graduate studies in Business Management at Central Michigan University and Public Administration at Georgia Southern University. Thomas and his wife, Claudia, have four children. They reside in Hinesville.
Keith Glass, Board of Commissioners of the Peace Officers’ Annuity and Benefit Fund
Glass is the director of Public Safety for the City of Monroe. He is a retired Georgia Army National Guard Command sergeant major and served in Tuzla, Bosnia. Glass received numerous military awards and honors including the Meritorious Service Medal and the Legion of Merit. He was the delegation head of Georgia State University’s 20th Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange with Israel. Glass is a past-president of the Peace Officers Association of Georgia, the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police and is a member of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. He and his wife, Kathy, have three daughters. They reside in Monroe.
John King, Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council
King is the chief of police for the City of Doraville. He is a brigadier general in the U.S. Army and most recently served as senior military adviser to the Afghan deputy minister of the Interior in Kabul, Afghanistan. King is the Director of the Joint Staff, Georgia National Guard. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Brenau University and a master’s degree from the U.S. Army War College. King is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar Session. He and his wife, Carole, have two children. They reside in Doraville.
Georgia McIntosh, Georgia Environmental Finance Authority
McIntosh is a semi-retired builder and developer in southwest Georgia. He is a member of the Flint River Basin Committee. McIntosh was on the Joint Comprehensive Water Plan Study Committee from 2001 through 2004 and served on the local, state and national board of directors of the National Association of Homebuilders. In 2013, he received the honor of Life Director and was named Builder Member of the Year from the Homebuilder Association of Georgia twice. McIntosh earned a bachelor’s from Valdosta State University. He and his wife, Judy, have two children. They reside in Lee County.
Keith Stone, Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board (reappointment)
Stone is the office manager at the Secretary of State’s South Georgia Office in Tifton. He is on the Southern Regional Commission Council and the Carrie Dorsey Perry Memorial Library Board. Stone and his wife, Cheryl, have two children. They reside in Nashville.
Bernie Tokarz, Board of Directors of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
Tokarz is an operations manager with Cornerstone OnDemand. He was the public policy director for the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. Tokarz is on the board of the Atlanta Beltline Tax Allocation District. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from the University of Georgia. He resides in Atlanta.
Carole Elizabeth Pacheco, Board of Architects and Interior Designers
Pacheco is a professor of Architecture at the Savannah College of Art and Design. She has participated in off-campus programs in Australia, France and Guatemala. Pacheco is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and the board of directors for the Architectural Foundation of Georgia. Pacheco earned a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of New Mexico and a master’s degree in Architecture from the University of Colorado. She has one child and resides in Savannah.
Robert Scott Osborne, Statewide Independent Living Council (reappointment)
Osborne owns Osborne Design/Drafting services, an interior design and architectural drafting business. He is a volunteer at Georgia Public Radio and Longleaf Hospice. Osborne earned a degree in Interior Design from the Art Institute of Atlanta and a bachelor’s degree from Kennesaw State University. He and his partner, Les, reside in Atlanta.
Mark Schreiber, Statewide Independent Living Council (reappointment)
Schreiber is a retired major from the U.S. Air Force. He is president of the board of directors of Living Independence for Everyone and vice president of the board for Abilities Unlimited. Schreiber is the co-founder and president of Savannah Adapted Adventures. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree from Auburn University at Montgomery. He and his wife, Tina, reside in Savannah.
Cecilia James, Statewide Independent Living Council (reappointment)
James is a tax analyst with the Stakeholder Partnerships, Education & Communication Division of the Internal Revenue Service. She is the relationship manager who oversees the initiative to coordinate and expand free tax preparation services to the deaf and hearing-impaired community through ASL Tax Day. James earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. She has two children and two grandchildren. James resides in Loganville.
Ted Noe, State Licensing Board for Residential & General Contractors
Noe is president of the Homebuilders Association of Georgia. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. Noe has volunteered with the National Exchange Club, the Rome Exchange Club, the Coosa Valley Fair Association, Leadership Rome and the Rome and Gordon Chambers of Commerce. He attended Shorter College. Noe and his wife, Ginger, have two children and three grandchildren. They reside in Rome.
Keely Fennell, State Licensing Board for Residential & General Contractors (reappointment)
Fennell works for her family construction business, NeSmith Construction Co., Inc. She was the youngest and first female president of the Homebuilders Association of Statesboro. Fennell was also president of the Statesboro Service League and chairman of Statesboro-Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce. She is a current member of Leadership Bulloch and Leadership Georgia. Fennell earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University. She and her husband, Bo, have two children. They reside in Statesboro.
Bill Duck, State Licensing Board for Residential & General Contractors (reappointment)
Duck is the building official and regional director for Charles Abbott Associates. He was a department director of inspections and code enforcement for the City of Columbus. Duck is on the International Code Council and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs State Codes Advisory Committee. Duck and his wife, Karen, have two children and three grandchildren. They reside in Midland.
Robert Cleveland, State Licensing Board for Residential & General Contractors (reappointment)
Cleveland is the senior vice president for Commercial Development and Acquisitions for Fickling & Co. He serves as a director and vice president/secretary for the Home Builders Association of Georgia and a Life Director of the National Association of Home Builders. Cleveland previously served as president of the Home Builders Association of Middle Georgia. Cleveland earned a bachelor’s from the University of Georgia and master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Denver. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have two children. They reside in Macon.
Gus Makris, Judicial, District Attorney & Circuit Public Defender Compensation Commission
Makris is tax counsel for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. He was previously an associate with King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York. Makris serves on the board of the East Cobb Civic Association. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago Law School. Makris and his wife, Danielle, have three children. They reside in Marietta.
Johnny Gresham, Judicial, District Attorney, & Circuit Public Defender Compensation Commission
Gresham has worked in commercial real estate since 1966. He was managing partner of Lincoln Property and CEO of City Group, Inc. Gresham is on the Cobb Galleria Authority and the board of the Bank of North Georgia. He is a former Georgia state House representative and Board of the Georgia Department of Transportation. Gresham earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Tech. He and his wife, Lynda, have two children and five grandchildren. They reside in Marietta.
William Daniel Strickland, Board of Corrections
Strickland retired as regional principal for the Department of Juvenile Justice. He previously served as Pierce County Schools superintendent and as a representative for the Okefenokee RESA Superintendent Association. Strickland was chairman of the Okefenokee Technical College Board and a Patterson City Council Member. He earned an associate’s degree from Gordon Military College, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, a master’s degree from Valdosta State College and a doctorate from Nova University. Strickland and his wife, Susan, have three children and four grandchildren. They reside in Patterson.
John W. Stephenson, Jr., Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission
Stephenson is president and CEO of Atlanta Hall Management, Inc. He was chief outside legal counsel to organizers of the College Football Hall of Fame and was a partner at Troutman Sanders LLP. Stephenson earned a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Megan, have two children. They reside in Sandy Springs.