Governor Deal Appoints 21 to Boards

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Tuesday, July 5th, 2016

Rick Muggridge, Board of Community Affairs (reappointment)
Muggridge is the principal agent of DWB Insurance Agency, Inc. He is the chairman of the Lee County Board of Commissioners and a member of the ACCG Board of Managers. Muggridge volunteers with the Palladium Foundation, Inc., Easter Seals Southern Georgia, Inc. and Rivers Alive. He attended the University of Georgia. Muggridge and his wife, Terry, have three children and reside in Leesburg. 

Paul “Pete” Wellborn, Board of Directors of the Georgia Technology Authority (reappointment)
Wellborn is the founding member and managing attorney of Wellborn, Wallace & Woodard, LLC. He was named one of 10 national "Attorneys of the Year" by Lawyers Weekly, was inducted as a 2012 Fellow by the Litigation Counsel of America and was awarded an "AV" Rating by Martindale Hubbell, the highest possible mark for legal ability and ethics. Wellborn earned a bachelor’s degree in Information and Computer Science from Georgia Tech and a law degree from Mercer University. He and his wife, Susan, have one child and live in Atlanta.

Russell Smith, Board of Directors of the Georgia Technology Authority
Smith is the CEO of RTS Associates. He is involved with Leadership Georgia, the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and the Young Presidents’ Organization. Smith is a graduate of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization/Massachusetts Institute of Technology Entrepreneurial Master’s program. He and his wife, Frances, have three children and reside in Dacula.

Brian Daniel, Board of Governors of the George L. Smith II Georgia World Congress Center Authority (reappointment)
Daniel is the president of Carroll Daniel Construction Co. He sits on the Georgia State Licensing Boards for Residential and General Contractors. Daniel is a member of the Associated General Contractors of Georgia, a director of the Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia and a trustee of Riverside Military Academy. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and a master’s degree from Southern Polytechnic State University. He and his wife, Kirstin, have two children and live in Gainesville.

William “Bill” Russell, Board of Governors of the George L. Smith II Georgia World Congress Center Authority (reappointment)
Russell is president and CEO of Russell Landscape Group Inc. He sits on the board of directors for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the board of directors for the Council for Quality Growth and the Georgia Gwinnett College Board of Trustees. Russell is a past chairman of the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce and a past president of the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University, a master’s degree from the University of Illinois and a doctoral degree from Ohio State University. He and his wife, Sherry, have two children and four grandchildren. They reside in Duluth.

Willie Bolton, Board of Juvenile Justice (reappointment)
Bolton retired as the warden and director of the Athens-Clarke County Department of Corrections after 20 years of service. He is a member of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Association of Chiefs of Police, the Georgia Prison Warden’s Association and the Peace Officers Association of Georgia. Bolton is a member of the Athens Regional Medical Center Hospital Authority, the Georgia Public Safety Training Center Advisory Board and the Boy Scouts of America Northeast Georgia Council. Bolton earned a bachelor’s degree from Brenau University and a master’s degree from Clark Atlanta University. He and his wife have two children and two grandchildren. They reside in Athens.

Thomas Coleman, Board of Juvenile Justice (reappointment)
Coleman is a retired Air Force officer and Vietnam veteran with more than 25 years of military service. He was previously the director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and the deputy commissioner of the Department of Juvenile Justice. Coleman is a volunteer commissioner with the DeKalb County Housing Authority. He received a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia State University, a master’s degree in Public Administration from Central Michigan University and doctoral degree in Higher Education Administration from Clark Atlanta University. Coleman and his wife, Beverly, have two children and three grandchildren. They live in Lithonia.

Angie Holt, Board of Juvenile Justice (reappointment)
Holt is the director of the Office of Professional Standards at the Georgia Department of Public Safety. She was previously the special agent in charge for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Holt is the president of the Georgia Internal Affairs Investigators Association and sits on the board of trustees for the International Association of Women Police. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Master’s degree in Public Administration from Georgia Southern University. Holt and her husband, Charles, have one child and reside in Warner Robins.

Kelly Stewart, Board of Juvenile Justice (reappointment)
Stewart is a former vice president of human resources for the Lucas Group. She was previously a member of the Johns Creek City Council and served as Mayor Pro-Tem. Stewart sits on the boards of directors for Israel Bonds and Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. She is a member of the Georgia leadership councils for Birthright Israel and Christians United for Israel. Stewart earned an associate’s degree from Gainesville State University, a bachelor’s degree from Brenau University and a master’s degree from Georgia Tech. She and her husband, Tom, live in Johns Creek. 

Dick Yarbrough, Board of Juvenile Justice (reappointment)
Yarbrough is a retired vice president of BellSouth Corp. and was a managing director of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. He is currently a syndicated newspaper columnist. Yarbrough is a graduate of the University of Georgia and a past president of the UGA Alumni Association. He and his wife, Jane, have two children, three grandchildren and one great-grandson. They reside in Atlanta. 

James Curran, M.D., Board of Public Health (reappointment)
Curran is a professor of Epidemiology and the dean of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. He is also a co-director for the Emory Center for AIDS Research. Curran previously worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for more than 20 years and helped lead the CDC’s HIV research and prevention efforts. While at the CDC, he attained the rank of assistant surgeon general. Curran earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, a master’s degree in Public Health from Harvard University and a medical degree from the University of Michigan. He and his wife, Juanita, have two children and live in Atlanta.

Robert Harshman, M.D., Board of Public Health (reappointment)
Harshman is the medical director of Georgia Power/Southern Company and Trojan Battery Company. He is a certified medical review officer. Harshman is a member of the American Medical Association, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), the Georgia Chapter of ACOEM and the Medical Association of Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and a medical degree from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara Medical School. He resides in Atlanta.

Mitch Rodriguez, M.D., Board of Public Health (reappointment)
Rodriguez is a neonatologist with Coliseum Health System. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a member of the Medical Association of Georgia and a clinical associate professor of Pediatrics at the Mercer University School of Medicine. Rodriguez is the chairman of the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Infant Mortality Task Force. He earned a master’s in Business Administration from Kennesaw State University and a medical degree from Universidad Nordestana in the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez and his wife, Olga, have two children and live in Macon.

Ronald Mullins, Board of Trustees of the Judicial Retirement System of Georgia (reappointment)
Mullins is a superior court judge in the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and the Columbus American Inn of Court. Mullins is a past president of the Columbus Bar Association and the Columbus Rotary Club. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the University of Georgia. Mullins and his wife, Mary, have two children and reside in Midland.

Joseph B. Jones, Council on American Indian Concerns (reappointment)
Jones retired as sole commissioner of Lumpkin County after 24 years. He owns and operates a farm and provides consulting and marketing services to engineering firms and developers. Jones sits on the boards of directors for the Georgia Mountain Regional Council, the Economic Development Council Small Business Administration and Loan Board and the Lumpkin County Development Authority. He is a tribal member of the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokees and a member of the Dahlonega Sunrise Rotary Club. Jones earned an associate’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Truett-McConnell College. He and his wife, Leslie, have four children, 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. They live in Dahlonega.

David Petite, Council on American Indian Concerns (reappointment)
Petite is one of the inventors of the wireless ad hoc network. He is a member of the Fond du Lac Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa tribe. Petite is a founder of the Native American Intellectual Property Enterprise Council, a nonprofit organization that assists Native American inventors and communities. He began patenting ad hoc networks in 1995 and currently has more than 30 patents pending. Petite and his wife, Candida, have one child and reside in Atlanta.

Steve Nicklas, Council on American Indian Concerns (reappointment)
Nicklas is an associate professor of Anthropology at Gainesville State College. He has excavated extensively in the United States, the Middle East and the United Kingdom. Nicklas earned a bachelor’s degree from Lycoming College, a master’s degree from Drew University and a doctoral degree from the University College London Institute of Archaeology. He has two children and lives in Cumming.

George Turner, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (reappointment)
Turner is the chief of police for the City of Atlanta. He is the president of the Atlanta Police Athletic League and a past chairman of Atlanta METROPOL. Turner is the chairman of the board for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program and sits on the board of the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange. He is a member of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the Police Executive Research Forum and the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police. Turner earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Saint Leo University and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbus State University. He and his wife, Cathy, have four children and reside in Conyers.

Tricia Pridemore, Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission
Pridemore is a businesswoman with a background in technology and consulting. She and her husband founded Accucast in 2006 and she was previously the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development. Pridemore previously sat on the board of governors of the George L. Smith II Georgia World Congress Center Authority. She sits on the board of the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority and the Political Science advisory board at Kennesaw State University. Pridemore earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Kennesaw State University. She and her husband, Michael, live in Marietta.

Scott Carter, Georgia State Indemnification Commission
Carter is the fire chief for the City of Cartersville and has more than 33 years of experience in fire service. He sits on the Georgia Emergency Management Agency Area 1 All-Hazard Council and is a past president of the Georgia State Firefighters Association. Carter and his wife, Carla, have five children and 10 grandchildren. They reside in Rockmart. 

Hugh “Trip” Tollison, Jekyll Island State Park Authority
Tollison is the president and CEO of the Savannah Economic Development Authority and the World Trade Center Savannah. He is the chairman of the Second Harvest Food Bank board of directors and sits on the boards of directors for the Georgia International and Maritime Trade Center Authority, the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force and the United Way of the Coastal Empire. He was previously the vice chairman of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs/Georgia Housing and Finance Authority. He is a trustee for the Leadership Georgia Foundation and a graduate of Leadership Savannah and Leadership Georgia. Tollison earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Tracey, have two children and live in Savannah.