Governor Perdue Appoints State Agency Heads

Atlanta - Governor Sonny Perdue announced today the following appointments to lead state agencies: Bill Hutson, appointed Executive Director of the Peace Officers Standards and Training Council (POST); Gordon Joyner, reappointed Executive Director of the Georgia Commission of Equal Opportunity; Karl Counts, reappointed Director of the Charles H. Herty Foundation; Gail Buckner, reappointed Director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC); Tom Wade, appointed Executive Director of the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA); and Dana Russell, reappointed Commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services (DOAS).

"State agencies and departments need leadership that is committed to effective and efficient government," said Governor Sonny Perdue. "I am confident that each of these appointees will serve the state of Georgia well."

POST provides the citizens of Georgia with qualified, professionally trained, ethical and competent peace officers and criminal justice professionals. The POST Council administers the regulatory process, sets the standards for training and certification, and provides essential technical assistance to the law enforcement community. For more information, please visit www.gapost.org.

The Equal Opportunity Commission enforces the Georgia Fair Employment Practices Act of 1978 and the Georgia Fair Housing Law. For more information, please visit www.gceo.state.ga.us.

The Herty Foundation is a nonprofit, contractual, research and development organization created by an act of the Georgia legislature in 1938 for the purpose of developing the forest resources of the State and the region. For more information, please visit www.herty.com.

CJCC is responsible for the administration and distribution of federal grant funds to non-profit organizations and state and local agencies. Programs affected include state and local law enforcement, homeland security, victim/witness assistance programs, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, child advocacy centers, corrections programs and a host of additional services. For more information, please visit www.state.ga.us/cjcc.

GTA manages the state's computer and telecom services and promotes the cost-effective use of technology in state and local government. For more information, please visit www.gta.georgia.gov.

DOAS manages many of the state's essential business services, which are available to state and local governments. For more information, please visit www.doas.state.ga.us.

Brief biographies are provided below:

Bill Hutson - Hutson has been sheriff of Cobb County since 1976. He is a member of the National Sheriffs' Association, where he serves on the executive board and the board of directors. He is also a member of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association and served as president in 1981. In addition, he is a member of the Peace Officers' Association of Georgia and served as president in 1986 and 1987. He has been recognized by the National Sheriffs' Association with the 1999 Ferris E. Lucas Sheriff of the Year Award, by the Georgia National Guard and Reserve with the 1999 Golden Eagle Award, and was the Marietta Daily Journal 1992 Citizen of the Year. Hutson studied Criminal Justice at Kennesaw College and Georgia State University and has attended training at the Southern Police Institute and the National Sheriffs' Institute. He is an active member of the Roswell Street Baptist Church and has served on its board of trustees.

Gordon L. Joyner - Joyner is a member of the bar in Georgia and Washington, DC and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. His law practice includes housing discrimination, employment discrimination, business and corporate litigation, personal injury, and criminal law, and he has handled several precedent-setting voting and elections law cases in the trail and appellate courts of Georgia. He has also spoken throughout the country on fair housing and equal employment law. Joyner is a graduate of Morehouse College, where he majored in Business Administration/Economics and Political Science with minors in English and Spanish. He received his juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School. He serves on the trustee board and usher board of Friendship Baptist Church, and has served on the executive board of the Atlanta NAACP and the family advisory committee of the Atlanta History Center. He has two children, Ashley and Shannon.

Karl Counts, Savannah, GA - Counts is being reappointed as the Director of the Charles H. Herty Foundation. He previously served as principal engineer for Container Corporation of America and research group leader for Sonoco Products Company. Counts is also a member of the Board of Directors of Coastal Business Education and Technical Alliance and a member of the technical advisory board of the International Nonwovens and Disposables Association. He has served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy. Counts holds an undergraduate degree from Clemson University, and a masters and doctorate degree from The Institute of Paper Chemistry in Appleton, Wisconsin. Counts is married and has four children. He is active in Grace Church of the Islands located on Wilmington Island.

L. Gale Buckner, Chatsworth, GA - Buckner is being reappointed Director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. She earned her bachelors degree in Urban Life at Georgia State University and her master degree in Public Administration from Brenau University. She also attended the FBI National Academy's 169th session. Prior to joining the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Buckner had extensive experience in law enforcement beginning as Sergeant of Communications for the Chatsworth Police Department and continuing with 19 years at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. She also serves as Adjunct Professor, teaching classes in Criminal Justice at Georgia State University. She serves on the Advisory Board of the National Criminal Justice Association and the Legislative Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. She currently serves on the Commission on Family Violence, the Child Fatality Review Panel, and the Georgia D.A.R.E. Advisory Board. Buckner is an active member of Holly Creek Baptist Church.

Thomas Wade, Austell, GA - Wade has been serving as the Acting Director of Georgia Technology Authority since December 2002. He previously served as Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of Georgia Technology Authority. He has also served as Deputy Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Resources. Wade has served on the Board of the Georgia Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technology and is a member of the American Society for Public Administration and the Georgia Society for Public Administration. He holds bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Georgia.

Dana Russell, Loganville, GA - Russell is being reappointed as Commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services. Previously, he served as Commissioner of the Merit System of Personnel Administration. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University and has served on the advisory board of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia. Russell is a member of the National Association of State Chief Administrators and served as vice president in 2002. He is a cub master and den leader for the Boys Scouts of America and is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church USA. Russell holds an undergraduate degree from Presbyterian College in South Carolina and a masters degree in Public Administration from Georgia State University.