The Official Portal for the State of Georgia

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue

Governor's Staff

Ed Holcombe, Chief of Staff

Trey Childress, Chief Operating Officer

Nels Peterson, Executive Counsel

Ryan Teague, Deputy Executive Counsel

Kevin Clark, Deputy Executive Counsel and Deputy COO

 

Bert Brantley, Director of Communications

Miranda Klein, Director of Constituent Services

 

 

Ed Holcombe, Chief of Staff

Holcombe serves as Chief of Staff to Governor Perdue. Prior to joining the Governor’s Office, Holcombe completed a distinguished career at Georgia Power, retiring as the vice president of governmental and regulatory affairs, where he was responsible for advocating company positions with the Georgia General Assembly, Georgia’s federal delegation and the Public Service Commission.  He joined Georgia Power in 1967.  He was in region operations for 15 years, where he worked with many local governments and authorities.  In 1982, Holcombe joined the company’s economic development organization where he partnered with elected officials to attract new businesses to Georgia.  He was tapped to assume responsibility for Georgia Power’s state legislative affairs department in 1987.  Holcombe has served as chairman of the Rockdale Hospital Authority, chairman of the Rockdale Development Authority, president of the Rockdale County Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Rockdale United Way, president of the Conyers Rotary Club and member of the Allocations Committee of Atlanta United Way.  He served a 20-year term on the Rockdale County Trust Company of Georgia bank board and as a trustee for the Georgia 4-H Foundation.  He is a graduate of DeKalb College, attended Georgia State University, and is a 1992 graduate of Leadership Georgia. 

Trey Childress, Chief Operating Officer

Childress serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the State of Georgia, responsible for leadership and supervision of Georgia’s 50 state departments, agencies, and their boards and commissions. Prior to being named as COO, he served as the Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning & Budget, responsible for the State’s $35 billion budget, annual capital outlay portfolio of $1 billion and strategic planning. Childress previously served as Senior Advisor and Director of Policy for the Office of the Governor. He began his career in state government working with the former Information Technology Policy Council, the newly formed Georgia Technology Authority and the Office of Planning & Budget. He earned a Masters of Science in Public Policy, a Bachelor’s of Science in Industrial & Systems Engineering, and a Bachelors of Science in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

Nels Peterson, Executive Counsel  

As Governor Perdue’s Deputy Executive Counsel, Peterson advised Governor Perdue on a variety of matters including water, natural resources, education, and criminal justice.  Prior to joining the Governor’s Office in July 2008, Peterson practiced at King & Spalding LLP and served as a law clerk to the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Peterson received a bachelor’s degree from Kennesaw State University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and currently serves on the board of the Kennesaw State University Alumni Association and the board of the Atlanta chapter of the Federalist Society. Peterson and his wife Jennifer have one son and are members of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta.

 

Ryan Teague, Deputy Executive Counsel

Teague most recently served as General Counsel to Freedom’s Watch, Inc., an issue advocacy organization based out of Washington, DC. Teague also represented various other clients on matters relating to campaign finance, issue advocacy and government ethics. Prior to his work with Freedom’s Watch, Teague was in private practice in Atlanta with McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLP. He also served as a law clerk to Chief Judge J.L. Edmondson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. His civic involvement includes service on the board of the Atlanta Chapter of the Federalist Society. Teague received his law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Clemson University.

 

Kevin Clark, Deputy Executive Counsel and Deputy COO

Clark came to Atlanta after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 1980 and began his career as a superintendent for a major local developer in Gwinnett County. During his early days in Atlanta, he attended law school at night earning a Juris Doctorate degree in 1994.  Since that time, Kevin has risen through the ranks of the local construction industry and state government as an estimator, project manager, administrator and senior level manager contributing to a diverse portfolio of successful projects including the Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia World Congress Center Expansions, and Phillips Arena. 

Bert Brantley, Director of Communications

Bert Brantley serves as Governor Perdue’s Director of Communications. Brantley joined the Governor’s Office in December 2006 as Press Secretary. Before that, he served as the communications manager for the Georgia Department of Economic Development.  Prior to that appointment, Brantley completed six years in the communications office at the Georgia Department of Transportation, serving the last five as media relations coordinator.  A native of Valdosta, Brantley earned a bachelor's degree in journalism with a minor in political science from the University of Georgia, as well as a master’s degree in public administration from UGA. Bert lives in McDonough with his wife, Tonya, and two daughters, Kendall and Carson.

Miranda Klein, Director of Constituent Services


Miranda Klein serves as the Director of Constituent Services for Governor Perdue.  Prior to her experience in state government, she worked on local and statewide campaigns with the Georgia Republican Party in the 2004 election cycle and spent two years on the Governor’s reelection campaign.  She is a graduate of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Philosophy.  She lives in Atlanta and worships at Peachtree Presbyterian in Buckhead.