Board of Curators
Officers
David P. Abney
Chair
- Former Executive Chairman of the UPS Board of Directors and Former CEO of UPS
- Inducted by the Georgia Historical Society and Governor Brian Kemp as a Georgia Trustee in 2021
- Serves as a Trustee of the UPS Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation
- 2019 Horatio Alger Award Recipient
- Previously served as Chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and on the boards of Target Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and Freeport-McMoRan
Clyde C. Tuggle
Vice-Chair
- Co-founder and partner of Pine Island Capital Partners
- Former Senior Public Affairs Adviser to the CEO, The Coca-Cola Company
- Serves on the board of directors of the Georgia Power Company, Oxford Industries, Inc., TRIFORM, LLC, the Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse, and the U.S. Russia Business Council
- Is a trustee of the Georgia Research Alliance and is chairman of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta
- Was elected a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow in 2013
Reed Dulany III
Secretary
- Chairman and CEO of Dulany Industries, Inc.
- Owner of Local 11 Ten, Public Kitchen and Bar, and Soho South Café restaurants
- Graduate of the University of Georgia
- Has served as board member for the Nature Conservancy’s Georgia corporate council, the Telfair Museums, and the Davenport House
- Selected as one of Georgia Trend’s “40 under 40” in 2002
Larry D. Thompson
Treasurer
- Counsel to the Atlanta law firm of Finch McCranie, LLP
- Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for PepsiCo, Inc. from 2012-2014
- Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, General Counsel and Secretary for PepsiCo, Inc. from 2004 to 2011
- Served as a Senior Fellow with The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
- Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General under George W. Bush (2001-2003)
- Previously a partner in the Atlanta, Georgia law firm of King & Spalding
Curators
Kevin S. Blair
- President, Chairman and CEO, Synovus
- Previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, at Synovus
- Serves on the board of directors for the Georgia Research Alliance, Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Metro Atlanta Chamber, Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, and the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley
Frank S. Blake
- Retired Chairman and CEO of The Home Depot
- Served as deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy, and prior to that, in a variety of executive roles at General Electric
- Served as general counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, deputy counsel to Vice President George Bush and law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
- Serves on the board of directors for the Georgia Aquarium, Proctor & Gamble, Macy’s, and is currently serving as Chairman of the Delta Air Lines board
- Inducted as a Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society and the Office of Governor in 2019
James H. Blanchard
Ex-officio
- Retired Chairman of the Board and CEO of Synovus
- Serves as Chairman of The Advisory Board of JBA Capital, LLC
- Created the Jim Blanchard Leadership Forum in partnership with the Leadership Institute at Columbus University
- Honors include the Alumni Merit Award for distinguished and loyal service (University of Georgia, 2015), Ken Blanchard Servant Leadership Award, FinTech Lifetime Achievement Award (Technology Association of Georgia, 2010), “Georgian of the Year” (Georgia Trend magazine, 2003), and induction as a Georgia Trustee (Georgia Historical Society / Office of the Governor, 2016)
Stephanie V. Blank
- Founding chair of the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students
- Co-founder of Mothers and Others for Clean Air
- Currently a member of First Lady Marty Kemp’s GRACE commission (Georgians for Refuge, Action, Compassion, and Education)
- Has served as president of the Atlanta Rotary Club, chair of the capital campaign to build the Children’s Museum of Atlanta, Trustee chair for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, and on Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s transition team
Ellen B. Bolch
- President and CEO of THA Group
- Has been a health care educator at Penn State and Armstrong State Universities, and the Medical College of Georgia.
- Received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2018.
- Recipient of Honeywell HomMed’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Telehealth and the AWWIN Monica LaRue Award.
- Serves on the Boards of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC), Co-Chair of the National Medicaid Action Council affiliated with NAHC, the Advisory Board of the Home Care Technology Association of America, Rotary Club of Savannah, Union Society of Bethesda, The Chatham Club, Board of Visitors Savannah Country Day School, and the immediate past Chair of the South Carolina Home and Hospice Care Association.
Mark Burns
- President of Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
- Vice president of General Dynamics, Gulfstream’s parent company
- 2018 recipient of the National Aeronautic Association’s Wesley L. McDonald Distinguished Statesman of Aviation Award
- Former Chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association in 2019
- Serves on the board of directors for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), Georgia Power, and the Corporate Angel Network
Dan T. Cathy
- Chairman of Chick-fil-A, Inc.
- Inducted as a Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society and Governor Brian Kemp in 2022
- Recipient of the Zig Ziglar Servant Leadership Award
- Inducted in the Junior Achievement Atlanta Business Hall of Fame
- Serves on the boards of the Georgia Aquarium, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the Atlanta Committee for Progress, Eagle Ranch, and Heritage Preparatory School
Kimberly S. Greene
- Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Georgia Power
- Previously served as Chairman, President and CEO of Southern Company Gas
- Currently serves on the Board of Directors for Valero Energy Corporation and Metro Atlanta Chamber and on the Board of Trustees for the Georgia Research Alliance and Morehouse School of Medicine
- Named as one of Atlanta’s Most Admired CEOs by the Atlanta Business Chronicle
- Member of the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame, a recipient of the University of Tennessee’s Distinguished Alumna Award, and the University of Tennessee’s Nathan W. Dougherty Award
Venessa Harrison
- President of AT&T’s Southeast Coastal Region
- Serves as member of North Carolina A&T State University Board of Trustees
- Honored by Georgia Trend as one of the Georgia 500 Most Influential Leaders and one of the 100 Most Influential Georgians
- Received Atlanta Business Chronicle‘s 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Civic Award
- Recognized by Atlanta Magazine on the 2021, 2020 and 2019 Most Influential Atlantans lists
- Serves as member of the Georgia Research Alliance Board of Directors, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Atlanta Committee for Progress Board of Directors, the Atlanta Police Foundation Board of Directors, the Agnes Scott College Advisory Board of Visitors, and the Rotary Club of Atlanta
Jeff Kole
- President of Kole Investment Co.
- Board Chairman of East Savannah United
- Board member of the Savannah Music Festival and Parent University
- Past Board Chairman of United Way of the Coastal Empire, Senior Citizens Inc., the Jewish Educational Alliance (JEA), Savannah Apartment Association and Georgia Apartment Association
William T. Moore
Ex-officio
- Former Provost of the University of South Carolina
- Professor Emeritus, University of South Carolina
- Chairman of the Board of Governors of Bethesda Academy
- Has served on the Ossabaw Island Foundation Board of Trustees and the Telfair Museums Board of Trustees
- Supports the Dr. William T. Moore Distinguished Editor of the Georgia Historical Quarterly endowed position
Sam Nunn
Honorary
- Co-chairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative
- Served as a United States Senator from Georgia for 24 years (1972-1996)
- Has continued his service in public policy as a distinguished professor in The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech and as chairman of the board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
- Has served as a board member of Chevron Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, Dell Inc., and General Electric Company
- Inducted as a Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society and the Office of the Governor in 2011
Beatriz R. Perez
- Senior Vice President and Chief Communications, Sustainability and Strategic Partnerships Officer for The Coca-Cola Company
- Recognized as a “Conservation Trailblazer” by The Trust for Public Land
- Featured as one of the “25 Most Powerful Latinas” on CNN and People en Espanol
- Member of the American Advertising Hall of Fame, the Sports Business Journal’s Hall of Fame, and the PR Week Hall of Fame
- Serves in leadership positions for several not-for-profit organizations, including the board of trustees of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund
H. Jerome Russell, Jr.
- President of H. J. Russell & Company and Russell New Urban Development, LLC, with clients including the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Tuskegee University, and the Center for Civil and Human Rights
- Serves on the board of H. J. Russell & Company, Endeavor Atlanta, Concessions International, Metro Atlanta YMCA, and Central Atlanta Progress. Chairman of the Loan Committee at Citizens Trust Bank
- Member of the Urban Land Institute, Atlanta Rotary, Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Young President Organization, and 100 Black Men of Atlanta
- Started the Russell Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RCIE), devoted to empowering African American entrepreneurs and small business owners
Carol Tomé
- Chief Executive Officer of UPS
- Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Home Depot, Inc.
- Inducted as a Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society and Governor Brian Kemp in 2024
- Serves as board member for Verizon Communications, Inc., board of councilors for the Carter Center and is a board trustee for Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation and the Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Member of The Committee of 200, The Buckhead Coalition, and The Business Council
Chairmen Emeriti
Robert L. Brown, Jr.
Shan Cooper
Walter M. “Sonny” Deriso, Jr.
Kay T. Hightower
Thomas M. Holder
Robert S. Jepson, Jr.
Bill Jones III
Don Kole
Grace Greer Phillips
Lisa L. White