Governor Perdue Announces Appointments to State Boards and Commissions

Atlanta - Governor Sonny Perdue announced today the following appointments to State Boards and Commissions:

Georgia Council for the Arts

Kathleen Thompson, 59, Blue Ridge, GA, 10th Congressional District- Thompson is currently teaching Art at Gilmer Middle School.She serves on the board of the Georgia Art Education Association and is a member of the National Art Education Association. Thompson received the Georgia Art Education Association's Middle School Art Educator of the Year Award and the Georgia Art Education Distinguished Service Award. She earned her undergraduate degree from Wayne State University and master's and doctorate degrees in Education from the University of Georgia.Thompson and her husband, T.J., have two children.

Shirley Guhl, 67, Social Circle, GA, 13th Congressional District- Guhl previously served as Chairman of the Board of the Walton County Music Guild and is currently serving on the Artistic Committee. Previously she has served as Arts Chairman for the Junior League of DeKalb County, founding board member of the Georgia Assembly of Community Arts Agencies, and Executive Director of the DeKalb Council for the Arts. Guhl and her husband, Bob, have two children.

Linda Summerlin, 61, Jonesboro, GA, 13th Congressional

District (Reappointment)- Summerlin is presently serving on the Georgia Council for the Arts, the Clayton County Tourism Authority, and the Clayton County Chamber of Commerce. She has two children.

Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority

Doug Mitchell, 63, Atlanta, GA, At Large- Mitchell is the founder and chairman of Pathway Communities. He has served on the boards of directors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). Mitchell is past President of the Flint River Council Boy Scouts of America and Southern Region Vice President of the Boy Scouts of America. He received his undergraduate degree from Auburn University.Mitchell and his wife, Anne, have four children.

Georgia Golf Hall of Fame

Merrett Alexander, 28, Hamilton, GA, At Large- Alexander is currently the Sales and Marketing Director of North Georgia Turf, Inc. Alexander is a member of the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association, Georgia Sod Producers, and Golf Course Builders of America. She is a graduate of Auburn University. She and her husband, Lon, live in Hamilton.

Sissie Gann, 58, Kathleen, GA, At Large- Gann is serving a fifth term as State Court of Houston County Clerk. She is a past State Representative of the Women's Southern Golf Association and is a member of the Superior Court Clerk's Association. Gann serves on the Executive Committee of the Georgia State Golf Association and is Chairman of the Women's Tournament Committee. She attended the University of Georgia.Gann and her husband, Stanley, have one child.

Georgia Technology Authority

Maryam Alavi, PhD, is the John and Lucy Cook Chair of Information Strategy and the former Senior Associate Dean of Faculty and Research at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University. Dr. Alavi has authored numerous scholarly papers. Her research has been supported by funds and hardware grants from the AT&T Foundation, AT&T Corporation, IBM, and Lucent Technologies. She has served on the editorial boards of several scholarly journals including MIS Quarterly , Information Systems Research , Journal of MIS , and Journal of Strategic Information Systems . Dr. Alavi was awarded the distinguished Marvin Bower Faculty Fellowship at the Harvard Business School and was elected as the recipient of the prestigious AIS (Association of Information Systems) Fellows Award.

Jeff Kuester, 37, Atlanta, GA, At Large- Kuester is a founding partner in the law firm of Thomas, Kayden, Horstemeyer & Risley, LLP. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Intellectual Property Law at Georgia State University College of Law and serves on the Advisory Board for the Bureau of National Affair's Electronic Commerce and Law Report. Kuester is a lecturer and author, as well as creator of Kuester Law -a technology law resource. He received his undergraduate degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University College of Law. Kuester and his wife, Pamela Jo, have four children.

State Board of Medical Education

Jean Sumner, 51, Wrightsville, GA, At Large- Sumner is presently the Medical Director of the Oconee Health Care Nursing Facility. She also has a private practice in internal medicine at Washington County Internal Medicine, P.C. Sumner serves on the board of the Georgia Rural Health Association, as President of the American Medical Directors Association, and as Chairman of the Continuing Medical Education Committee. She received her undergraduate degree from the Medical College of Georgia School of Nursing and an M.D. from Mercer University School of Medicine. Sumner and her husband, Joe, have two children.

Georgia Board of Architects and Interior Designers

Laurie McRae, 48, Blythe, GA, Interior Designer Seat- McRae is a licensed Interior Designer in the State of Georgia and is a Professional Member of the American Society of Interior Designers. She serves as a board member and as Secretary of the Imperial Theatre, Inc. McRae has been published in Southern Living and is a planning commission member in Blythe, Georgia.She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia.

State Board of Nursing Home Administrators

Terry Cook, 34, McRae, GA, Nursing Home Administrator Seat- Cook is the Administrator of Wrightsville Manor Nursing Home and past Administrator of McRae Manor Nursing Home. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Nursing Home Association and the board of the Johnson County Chamber of Commerce. Cook received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and a Juris Doctorate from Cumberland School of Law of Samford University.He and his wife, Heather, have three children.