Members

Becky Blalock

Becky Blalock is a Partner with Advisory Capital where she provides strategic consulting and is a board member of companies involved in energy, information technology and medicine. She formerly served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Information officer of Southern Company for 9 years. In this role she directed IT strategy and operations across the 120,000 square miles and nine subsidiaries of Southern Company. She led more than 1,100 employees in information technology delivery to one of America's most respected companies.

Under her leadership, Southern Company delivered over a billion dollars in new technology initiatives and was recognized as one of the 100 Most Innovative Companies by CIO Magazine and one of the 100 Best Places to Work in IT by Computerworld Magazine. She is nationally and regionally recognized as an expert in corporate information technology.

Blalock began her career at Georgia Power in 1978 and spent 33 years within the Southern Company system. In addition to her work in information technology she provided broad leadership in many positions including accounting, finance, marketing, corporate communication, external affairs, the office of the CEO, and customer service.

Blalock serves on the boards of Computers for Youth, Emory Healthcare, the Georgia Health Sciences University, CSI Laboratories, Verdecco and the business School of Mercer University.  A graduate of Leadership Atlanta and Leadership Georgia, she was named a Fellow of the International Women's Forum Leadership Foundation in 2001.

Blalock has received a host of honors including 2011 Legacy award from the Women in Technology and Honorary Lifetime Achievement award from the Georgia CIO Leadership Association. In 2009 she was named CIO of the Year in the electric utility industry by Energy Biz Magazine. She is listed among the Who's Who in Science and Engineering and has been named one of Computerworld Magazine's Premier IT Leaders. She is an advocate for women and children and has been recognized as Power Woman by Atlanta Woman Magazine and the Shining Star Award recipient from the Atlanta Women's Foundation. In 2005, she was inducted into the Atlanta YWCA Academy of Women Achievers.

Blalock successfully completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard University. She holds a master's degree with honors in finance from Mercer University and an undergraduate degree in business administration from State University of West Georgia.

Ann Boardman

Ann is a longtime supporter of Georgia Health Sciences University, particularly the Clinical Nurse Leadership program and the Wounded Warrior Program in the College of Nursing. She has been a volunteer with the local Augusta Golden Harvest Food Bank and is a supporter of the Kroc Center, Augusta Preparatory Day School, Episcopal Day School, Sacred Heart Cultural Center, Savannah Riverkeepers and many other Augusta organizations. Most recently, the Christ Community Health Services dedicated the Widows Home on Telfair Street as the Ann Boardman Widows Home. The Christian nonprofit will provide affordable primary health care to the poor, homeless and uninsured. Also, Mrs. Boardman’s husband, Clayton P. Boardman, Jr., was the driving force behind a family of companies that included the Smile Gas convenience store chain, whose trademark smiley-face logo made it an Augusta institution.

Mark Braunstein, MD

Mark teaches health informatics at Georgia Institute of Technology and is involved in research aimed at wider and deeper adoption of health information technology to improve the quality and efficiency of care delivery. He was co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Patient Care Technologies, Inc. (PtCT), an ATDC Graduate company, a 1998 Inc 500 company, and a leading provider of electronic patient record and care management systems to the home care industry. Mr. Braunstein also co-founded PROHECA, an early developer of clinical pharmacy systems. PROHECA was acquired by National Data Corporation (NDC) in 1981 and was the seed for NDCHealth. At NDC he ran what was then the NDC Healthcare Division for five years and was the company’s President and COO for three years until he left in 1990 to co-found PtCT. Currently, Dr. Braunstein is also Senior Adviser for health information technology to Focus, LLC, an investment banking firm that provides a range of services tailored to the needs of emerging growth and middle market businesses from offices across the country. He is the immediate past Chairman of the Board of the Georgia Advanced Technology Ventures (GATV). Dr. Braunstein received his BS degree from MIT in 1969 and his MD degree from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in 1974.

Don Chapman

Don is the CEO of Tug Investment Corporation, the founder and former CEO of Tug Manufacturing Corporation and Opti-World, as well as the founder and past President of Peachtree Report. He was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2003 to represent the Fifth Congressional District on the State Board of Technical and Adult Education where he currently chairs the Academic Standards and Programs Committee. He also serves on the Business Operations, Technology and Administration Committee. Mr. Chapman was recognized as Business Atlanta’s 1989 Entrepreneur of the Year and received the 2002 Georgia Institute of Technology Outstanding Alumnus Award, where he graduated with a degree in Industrial Management. He is former chairman of Leadership Atlanta and has worked with various civic and community organizations, including the Georgia Society to Prevent Blindness, the Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber, United Way, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, the Governor’s School Improvement Panel and the Atlanta Association for Retarded Citizens. He is current vice chair of the Georgia Tech Foundation, and chair of The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Inc.and the Tech High Foundation.

Trey Childress

Trey, a founding partner in Perdue Partners, LLC, served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the State of Georgia for two Governors where he was 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. Mr. Childress previously served as Senior Advisor and Director of Policy for the Office of the Governor. He began his career in public service working with the former Information Technology Policy Council, the newly formed Georgia Technology Authority and the Office of Planning & Budget. Mr. Childress is a finance committee member of the Medical College of Georgia Health System, Inc. He has served as Director for the Georgia Ports Authority, Chairman of the Hands On Georgia Board of Directors, Vice-Chairman for the State Road & Tollway Authority Board, and Secretary and Director on the OneGeorgia Authority Board. Mr. Childress earned a Masters of Science in Public Policy, a Bachelors of Science in Industrial & Systems Engineering and a Bachelors of Science in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Mr.

Peggy Heard Galis

Peggy is a resident of Athens, Georgia, and is married to Denny Galis, who works as an attorney in Athens. Her father Robert Heard, was a longtime judge in Elberton and their family is direct descendents of Stephen Heard, Revolutionary Governor of Georgia. Peggy and her husband are involved with the Georgia Museum of Art. In addition Mrs. Galis has been actively involved in community organizations, including: Georgia Press Advisory Council Member, Athens Clarke Heritage Foundation, Southern Historical Association and Georgia Museum of Art and Southern Foodways Alliance. Mrs. Galis is an alumnus of the University of Georgia.

Todd Greene

Todd is Vice President in the research department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Greene’s responsibilities include providing leadership, strategic direction, and oversight for the community and economic development division and for the Americas Center. He is also the co-director of the Atlanta Fed’s Center for Human Capital Studies. Currently, Mr. Greene is on the board of directors of the International Economic Development Council and the Georgia Academy for Economic Development and is a member of the Southern Economic Development Council. He is a past President of the Georgia Economic Developers Association. His previous board and advisory council experience includes the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, and the SouthEast Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. Mr. Greene is a graduate of the 2011 Leadership Atlanta, 2009 Leadership Georgia, and 2003 Buckhead Business Association programs. Mr. Greene earned a bachelor’s degree in English and American literature and language from Harvard University and master’s degrees in human resources management from Washington University and public administration from Georgia State University.

Jim Hull

Jim Hull, a lifelong resident of Augusta, has a high level of energy, enthusiasm and civic interest in and for Augusta. He has served on the boards of many local organizations including the Augusta State University Foundation, the Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA), First Tee of Augusta, the Morris Museum of Art, and Episcopal Day School. Hull is a founding member and President of the Augusta Wounded Warrior Care Project. He is an active supporter of Augusta State University where he endowed the Hull Scholars Program in the Hull College of Business, Paine College where he endowed the Hull Scholars Program, and Vanderbilt University where he endowed the Caroline and Coles Hull Scholarship. He is a recipient of the Augusta Bar Association’s prestigious Liberty Bell Award, the President’s Award from Augusta State University, and the Augusta Chapter of the Society of Fundraising Professionals’ Philanthropist of the Year award. The James M. Hull College of Business at Augusta State University and the Hull Fine Arts Center at Augusta Preparatory Day School were so named because of his substantial involvement with those institutions in keeping with the Hull family’s long tradition of civic and philanthropic involvement in the CSRA.

Wyck Knox, Jr.

Wyck practices in the Augusta and Atlanta law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton. He has tried numerous cases in state and federal courts and the handling of appeals in the 4th, 5th and 11th Circuits, plus the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Georgia. Mr. Knox started his career with the Augusta law firm Hull, Towill, Norman & Barrett in 1964. In 1976, he and David Zacks founded Knox & Zacks in Augusta and later opened operations in Atlanta. Knox & Zacks merged with Kilpatrick & Cody on January 1, 1994. He served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the firm for four years. Mr. Knox received both his law degree and BBA in Finance from the University of Georgia.

Ross Mason

Chairman of the Board

Ross created HINRI (the Healthcare Institute for Neuro- Recovery and Innovation) Ventures, HINRI Labs, and the HINRI Foundation in August 2007, after a bicycle accident left him paralyzed from the collarbone down. He is the Vice-Chairman of the Georgia Department of Community Health Board ($13 billion annual budget), and Chairman of the Georgia Free Clinic Network, which provided free medical care to 150,000 homeless, indigent, and uninsured Georgians in 2008, and saved the state almost $500 million. Ross is a healthcare entrepreneur, investor, and former strategic advisor to Volkswagen’s Healthcare Venture Accelerator Fund, which invested 280 million Euros in 90 companies, including 30 early stage healthcare companies. He was a former Associate in Private Banking at Morgan Stanley (New York, London, Zurich, Moscow and Atlanta) and created a real estate investment/ development company in Moscow, Russia that he owned and operated for 12 years. He first became interested in healthcare after working in an AIDS hospital in Zambia. Ross graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Industrial Engineering and the Wharton School, with an MBA in Finance.

Nancy Quan-Sellers

Nancy is the Vice President at Galaxy Partners Real Estate. Ms. Sellers has more than 22 years experience representing tenants and landlords in the commercial real estate field of industrial properties and brings 18 years of commercial real estate brokerage experience to Galaxy Partners. She has also worked with land, office, retail and hospitality properties. A graduate of Georgia State University, Ms. Sellers serves on numerous civic and community boards, including the State of Georgia Space Management Task Force and DeKalb County Convention Center Authority. She currently serves on the board of: DeKalb County Strategic Planning Committee, Grady Health System Board of Visitors, Gwinnett Global Business Forum/Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and Gwinnett Technical College Charter Board Member/Past Vice Chairman (2005) and Chairman (2007). Ms. Sellers also served on the Asian American Commission for a New Georgia and the Space Management Task Force appointed by former Governor Sonny Perdue.

Fred Wehba, Sr.

Mr. Wehba’s commercial real estate career began while he was in Oklahoma City in the early to mid 1970s. At the age of 26, he designed and built a 53,000-square-foot Superstore, which received the “Store of the Year 1976” award from Progressive Grocer Magazine. Mr. Wehba took the position of President and General Manager of a 20-store supermarket chain in 1977 in Denver. His interest in real estate investment led him to Dallas, where he continued buying and selling properties. In 1983, Mr. Wehba turned his full focus to real estate and since that time has bought, sold, and/or financed more than $3 billion worth of property. In 1993 he founded the company that is today known as BentleyForbes. BentleyForbes invests in multi-tenant commercial properties, with a focus on acquiring signature, trophy assets that have a high residual real estate value due to their locations in major markets and top submarkets nationally. The company is also highly regarded for its expertise in the acquisition and management of single-tenant, sale-leaseback and net lease properties. Class-A properties currently owned by BentleyForbes include the largest Four Seasons in the world, the Dallas Four Seasons Golf Resort and Club, Chicago’s Prudential Plaza and Washington DC’s Watergate complex.

Neely Young

Neely graduated from the University of Georgia and served as editor, and publisher for various Georgia newspapers. In 1986 he became CEO of Morris Newspaper Corp., which owns 40 newspapers in six states. In 1989 he formed Southern Publishing Co. and for nine years built a newspaper chain of 13 Georgia newspapers. Southern Publishing was sold in 1998 to Community Newspaper Holdings. In January, 1999, Young purchased Georgia Trend Magazine, a 50,000-circulation business and political magazine published and circulated in all 159 counties in Georgia. Georgia Trend recently celebrated its 26th anniversary and in 2011 was named one of the top three business magazines in the country by the Alliance of Area Business Publications (AABP). Professionally, he is an award-winning columnist, and he has served as President of the Georgia Press Association, Associated Press of Georgia, and Chairman of the Georgia Press Education Foundation as well as served on the Board of the School of Urban Affairs at Georgia State University. He has been President of the Clayton County Rotary Club and chaired the Clayton Co. Chamber of Commerce.