Gov. Kemp Announces 44 Appointments to Boards, Authorities, and Commissions

Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced 44 appointments and reappointments to various state boards, authorities, and commissions.

Board of Corrections

William H. Whaley is a physician with Georgia Cancer Specialists, a subsidiary of Northside Hospital Cancer Institute, where he has practiced hematology and oncology in the Atlanta and Blue Ridge communities since 2004. Over a career spanning nearly six decades, he has served as medical director for a number of Atlanta-area cancer and treatment programs, including the Cancer Program at West Paces Medical Center and RAPHA’s outpatient substance abuse program, and spent more than a decade as Medical Review Officer for Delta Air Lines’ drug abatement program. A Vietnam veteran, he served as a Navy medical officer from 1967 to 1969 and later retired from the Naval Reserve as a Commander in the Medical Corps. He graduated from Dartmouth College and earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia, going on to complete his residency and a hematology/oncology fellowship in Atlanta at Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University. He currently serves on the Blue Ridge City Council and the Fannin County Board of Public Health. He and his wife live in Blue Ridge, Georgia.

Georgia Joint Defense Commission

Michael Gazarik is the Director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and a Georgia Tech Senior Vice President. Over a career spanning more than three decades, he has led major research and engineering organizations across government, industry, and academia. He spent eight years as Vice President of Engineering at Ball Aerospace, where he helped grow the company from a specialized science contractor into a major national security asset that doubled in size, and before that spent years at NASA, including as director of engineering at Langley Research Center and as the first associate administrator to lead the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. He most recently taught as faculty director of the Engineering Management Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering and went on to earn both a master’s and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech. He is a Fellow of the AIAA and was elected to its Board of Trustees in 2025.

State Employee Benefit Council

Angie Surface and Monirah T. Womack were reappointed.

Gerlda B. Hines is Georgia’s State Accounting Officer, overseeing the state’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, statewide accounting standards, financial and human capital management systems, and payroll operations. A Certified Public Accountant, Hines previously served as Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Services after serving as Chief of Staff, Deputy Commissioner, Chief Financial Officer, and Interim Commissioner. She also served as Deputy Chief Financial Officer for the Georgia Department of Community Health and held financial leadership roles with the Georgia Student Finance Commission, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget. Hines earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Loyola University New Orleans. She serves on the National Association of State Comptrollers Executive Committee and the boards of the State Properties Commission, Georgia Building Authority, and State Depository Board.

Private Colleges and Universities Authority

Tyler S. McCracken is President and Founder of Gray Dog Investments, Inc., a private asset-based lending and accounts receivable financing firm serving businesses and real estate investors throughout Georgia and North Carolina. He has more than 30 years of experience in commercial credit, real estate finance, investing, and business leadership. McCracken also serves as President of Maxem Enterprises, Inc., which operates TheInsoleStore.com, a national e-commerce retailer. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Management from Albion College. McCracken resides in Savannah with his wife and daughter.

Georgia Mountain Regional Commission Council

Kimberly Waters and Angela Whidby were reappointed.

Coastal Regional Commission Council

Jason F. Coley and Thomas J. Ratcliffe, Jr. were reappointed.

Jay Torbert, Jr. is the President and CEO of Southeastern Bank, having joined the bank in 2011 as Chief Financial Officer before being promoted to president in 2021 and to his current role in 2022. He has spent 23 years in the banking industry, and before that worked at the Albany-based CPA firm Mauldin & Jenkins. He graduated from Valdosta State University in 1994 with a degree in accounting and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1996, later going on to complete graduate banking programs at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of South Carolina, and the University of Virginia. He is active with the Georgia Bankers Association, currently serving on its Community Bankers Committee and Tax Advisory Committee.

Bona Fide Coin Operated Amusement Machine Operator Advisory Board

Trey Allen, John Irby, and Greg Woolard were reappointed.

State Ethics Commission

Joe Cusack was reappointed.

Georgia Commission on Women

Kaaren Johnson Street is President of K Street Associates, a management consulting firm that advises small and medium-sized businesses on government engagement and business development. Street was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as Associate Deputy Administrator for Entrepreneurial Development at the U.S. Small Business Administration, where she oversaw national programs supporting small business development, including SCORE, Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, the Office of Native American Affairs, and the E-Business Institute. Previously, she served as Vice President of Small Business Development for Enterprise Florida, Vice President of Global Diversity for Burger King Corporation, and President and CEO of the Private Industry Council of Dade County. Street has served on the boards of AssuranceAmerica Corporation, Matria Corporation, and Norrell Corporation, chairing audit, compensation, governance, and executive search committees. Her public service includes leadership roles with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Miami Branch, the Florida Lottery Commission, Florida’s 2020 Energy Commission, Leadership Miami, and the International Women’s Forum Florida Chapter. She completed the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Senior Executive Service executive training program and earned a corporate director certification from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Georgia Firefighters’ Pension Fund

Dave Wade is the Fire Chief for Carroll County Fire Rescue, and has been since July 1, 2025, capping more than 25 years of experience in the fire service. He began his career as a volunteer firefighter with the Haralson County Fire Department in 1999, rising to Lieutenant with responsibility for training and fire investigations, before joining the City of Carrollton Fire Department in 2001, where he reached the rank of Engineer and worked in training, investigations, and public education. He joined Carroll County Fire Rescue as Deputy Chief of Operations in 2021, overseeing daily department operations, budget management, personnel supervision, and equipment readiness before being named Chief. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Management and an associate degree in Fire Science, and is trained to the level of Fire Officer 4 and Paramedic. He is an active member of the Georgia Firefighters Association, the Georgia Fire Chiefs Association, the International Association of Arson Investigators, and the Georgia Fire Investigators Association.

State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers

Jimmy Van Boxel is the owner of Uberzoot Hair Co. on St. Simons Island, where he has grown the business into one of the largest salons in the Golden Isles. A master cosmetologist with more than 24 years of industry experience, Van Boxel has served in salon ownership and management for much of his career. He is a five-time member of Team USA for the OMC Hairworld World Championships and has earned competitive hairstyling awards in the United States and internationally. Van Boxel is also an educator and speaker for salons and cosmetology schools, serves his community through organizations supporting at-risk youth, and has helped develop vocational training programs in Ghana. He and his wife, Paula, have three children.

Jekyll Island-State Park Authority Chairman

William Gross is the President of W.H. Gross Construction, a Kingsland-based commercial and residential contracting and development firm he founded in 1983. The third generation of his family to grow up in Camden County, he built his company into a leading developer of tax-credit-financed senior and affordable housing across southeast Georgia, and his firm has become a regional leader in restoring historic structures, including the Ware Hotel in Waycross and the Romana Riley Lofts in Savannah. He is a graduate of Leadership Georgia’s class of 2009, and in 2022 received the program’s Frederick B. Kerr Service Award for his active support of the organization. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Southeast Georgia Health System Foundation and Cooperative Healthcare Services, Inc., and previously chaired the Health System’s Camden Advisory Committee for 11 years. He also received the Coastal Pines Technical College Foundation’s 2019 Distinguished Service Award. He and his wife, Renee, have two children and live in Kingsland.

Georgia Public Defender Council

Christopher Cohilas is is a partner at the Albany-based law firm Watson Spence LLP, where his practice focuses on catastrophic injury and wrongful death litigation, complex commercial and fiduciary disputes, RICO claims, and white-collar criminal defense. Before entering private practice, he served as Chief Assistant District Attorney for Dougherty County, prosecuting cases ranging from murder to public corruption and leading the office’s division for crimes against women and children. He was twice elected to serve as Chairman of the Dougherty County Commission, holding that role for eight years, during which he led the county through four presidentially declared natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. He was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal to the Georgia Public Defender Council and was named to Georgia Trend’s “100 Most Influential Georgians.” He is a founding member of the Lily Pad, a nonprofit supporting victims of sexual assault and child abuse, and received the Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in criminal justice from the University of Georgia and a law degree from Georgia State University College of Law. He is married to Karen Cohilas, and the couple have four children.

Georgia Ports Authority

William D. McKnight, Philip Wilheit, Jr., and Joel Wooten were reappointed.

Lauren Curry is Chief of Staff in the Governor’s Office, the first woman in the state’s history to be appointed permanently to that role. Over more than two decades in Georgia state government, she has served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Chief Operating Officer, and Director of Government Affairs and Policy for Governor Brian P. Kemp, and previously held leadership posts at the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. She began her career as a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of Transportation before returning to Georgia in 2003 to join Governor Sonny Perdue’s administration as a press assistant. A native of Chapin, South Carolina, she graduated from Wofford College with a double major in government and business economics and earned a master’s in public administration from the University of Georgia. She is married to Eugene Lowry Curry Jr., and the couple have two daughters. They live in Marietta.

Trey Kilpatrick is Senior Vice President of External Affairs for Georgia Power, where he leads the company’s strategy on economic development, corporate communication, governmental and regulatory affairs, and region external affairs. He joined Georgia Power in 2024 after serving as Chief of Staff for Governor Brian Kemp, a role he took on in 2020 after 10 years working for U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson in various capacities, including deputy chief of staff, senior advisor, political director, state director, and campaign manager. Before entering government, he was a Vice President at the Atlanta-based investment firm Morgan Keegan & Co. He currently serves on the boards of the Georgia Ports Authority, the Atlanta Sports Council, the Bobby Jones Golf Course Foundation, Camp Twin Lakes, and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and is a graduate of Leadership Georgia’s Class of 2020. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and lives in Atlanta with his wife and three children.

State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

Julianne Busbee, L. Dan Davis, and James Frank Mattison IV were reappointed.

State Board of Dispensing Opticians 

Gloria Jean Ethridge, Angelique Moore, and Amy Stowers were reappointed.

Jeffrey Knowlin is a Licensed Dispensing Optician with 28 years of experience across the optical industry. He currently practices at Drevagee Optical Boutique in Hiram, Georgia, a role he has held since 2015, where he assists customers in selecting frames, lenses, and other optical products, performs precise measurements including pupillary distance and optical centers, and adjusts and repairs eyewear to customer specifications. He previously spent four years as a Licensed Dispensing Optician at Target Optical in Hiram. He holds certifications from the American Board of Opticianry (ABOC) and the National Contact Lens Examiners (NCLEC), and is licensed as a Dispensing Optician (LDO). He resides in Powder Springs, Georgia.

Chimoa Michaelson is the Opticianry Program Chair at Georgia Piedmont Technical College in Clarkston, one of only three schools in the Technical College System of Georgia to offer an opticianry program and the only one in Metro Atlanta. She holds credentials as a Licensed Dispensing Optician (LDO) and Advanced Contact Lens certification (NCLE-AC), an OD, and an MBA. In 2023, she was recognized by Vision Monday’s Optical Women’s Association as one of Optical’s Most Influential Women. Under her leadership, the program offers students pathways to an associate degree, diploma, and technical certificates of credit, preparing them for state licensure and national certification exams. She has three children and currently resides in Lawrenceville.

State Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, and Hearing Aid Dispensing

Jacqueline Darby Hightower was reappointed.

Gwen Cantrell is the founder of Hearing Aid Factory Outlet, one of Georgia’s largest hearing aid dispenser groups, and has been a licensed hearing aid dispenser in the state for over a decade. She has served as a board member for the Georgia Society of Hearing Professionals for Governmental Relations and is a powerful advocate for Georgia’s deaf and hard-of-hearing community, drawing on personal experience as both she and her daughter live with hearing loss. She has also worked as a special needs teacher. Cantrell was overwhelmingly elected to three terms as the Republican Representative for Walton County Board of Education District 6, gaining extensive training and experience in proper board governance before resigning in 2018 to care for a family member. She lives in Loganville with her husband, Lt. Joseph Cantrell, a School Resource Officer, and their seven children.

Trey Gorman is the Founder and CEO of American Hearing Care, LLC, which operates as an independent Beltone provider with more than 40 clinic locations across Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina. He began his career as a Licensed Hearing Instrument Specialist at Beltone, providing hearing evaluations, fittings, and patient consultations, before going on to own and lead Beltone USA in Douglasville and later serving as Partner and Director of Georgia Operations for Beltone Audiology. Under his leadership, American Hearing Care has grown into one of the largest independent hearing aid dispenser groups in the Southeast, and the company partners with the Beltone Hearing Care Foundation to provide hearing aids to those who can’t afford them. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from the University of North Alabama. He is based in Roswell, Georgia.

Board of Trustees of the Public School Employees Retirement System

Michael Lowe was reappointed.

Board of Trustees of the Georgia Judicial Retirement System

Anne B. Harris was reappointed. 

State Board of Podiatry Examiners

Seanie Zappendorf is the former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Discovery Parts, where she helped the company grow from a startup into a multimillion-dollar business. She currently serves as Second Vice Chair of the Georgia Republican Party, where she leads statewide grassroots training, candidate recruitment, and organizational development. Zappendorf has held numerous leadership roles in her community, including service on the Georgia State University Alumni Board of Directors, the Northeast Georgia Council Boy Scouts Executive Board, the Rotary Club of Dawson County, and the Dawsonville Downtown Development Authority. She earned a bachelor’s degree in management and pre-law from Georgia State University and is a graduate of Leadership Dawson and Republican Leadership for Georgia. Zappendorf will serve as the consumer member on the State Board of Podiatry Examiners.

Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority

Dena Adams, Trevor Addison, and James Weidnerwere reappointed.