The TCSG Foundation Board is comprised of state-wide leaders from our strategic workforce industries. They are leaders in their communities, civic organizations, and businesses. The TCSG Foundation Board guides The TCSG Foundation in its mission, vision, and growth. The TCSG Foundation Board meets biannually.
In January 2020, Governor Brian Kemp appointed Greg Dozier as the sixth Commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG). As Commissioner, Dozier is responsible for the 22 technical colleges of TCSG and leads a team of more than 12,000 employees across the system. Dozier has the responsibility of managing an annual budget of more than $1.1 billion.
Prior to joining TCSG, Dozier was Chief Financial Officer for the State of Georgia from January 2019 to January 2020. Dozier also served as Commissioner of the Department of Corrections where he was responsible for overseeing the supervision of nearly 52,000 felony state offenders and leading a team of nearly 10,500 employees. In 2005, Dozier was appointed as Commissioner of the Department of Driver Services (DDS) and guided a team of approximately 900 employees. During his appointment, DDS celebrated many customer service improvements and, in 2008, Dozier was presented with the Governor’s Award for Customer Service – Leadership.
Dozier began his career in state government in 1995 as an Analyst for the Legislative Budget Office. A few years later, he transferred to the State Board of Pardons and Paroles where he held the position of Director of Accounting. In 1999, he joined the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (OPB) where he initially served as the Policy Coordinator and was later promoted to the Division Director of the General Government and Public Safety Division. Dozier has served in leadership capacities under Governors Perdue, Deal, and Kemp.
Dozier received his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and his MBA in Finance from Georgia State University. Dozier is a graduate of the Basic Law Enforcement Training Course, Regional Police Academy in Athens, and was the recipient of the Frank Thornton Academic Award for Excellence.
Commissioner Dozier resides in Covington with his wife and two daughters.
Linginfelter is the now the Senior Airworthiness Inspector for Gulfstream Aerospace. Linginfelter is currently living on St. Simons Island and enjoying his second “retirement” job. He joined Gulfstream in 2015, after retiring from Certified Aviation Services, a leading provider of MRO services for fleet operators around the world.
He served as director of Operations and was responsible for supporting CAS management and staff in both East Coast and West Coast stations as well as Los Angeles, Seattle, Ontario, California; San Diego, Las Vegas and San Francisco. He had previously retired from Delta Air Lines, where he had worked for 32 years, most recently as Atlanta Station manager, International.
As regional director for AT&T, Gary works closely with community leaders and policymakers to help meet the company’s objective of connecting people with their world.
He is also responsible for managing AT&T’s extensive philanthropic and community engagement efforts in South Georgia focused on education, economic empowerment and work force readiness.
Gary is an active member of local chambers of commerce across South Georgia, serves on the Board of Directors of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, and serves as the Chairman for the Savannah Technical College Foundation Board.
In addition, he is a member of the advisory board for the College of Business Administration for Savannah State University. Gary earned his Master of Business Administration from Mercer University and his undergraduate degree in business finance from the University of Idaho.
Dan Baker of Cedartown is founder and president of Duffey Southeast. This construction company have a portfolio that includes tenant improvements, administrative, financial, retail and industrial buildings, service operations and data centers and healthcare facilities. The company is headquartered in Cedartown.
Baker developed a love for the construction process through helping his father on projects as a child. He turned his summer job in middle school into a full-time career, earning his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama and ultimately founding Duffey Southeast, Inc. in 2002.
An active member of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), Baker has served numerous years in leadership roles at the State and National level.
Aleisa Howell, a certified public accountant (CPA) and partner at Mauldin & Jenkins was named President of the TCSG Foundation Board of Trustees. Howell specializes in not-for-profit and governmental practice at Mauldin & Jenkins. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
She serves on the Advisory Board of the Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges and on the Georgia Society of CPA’s Not-For-Profit Task Force. Howell is a graduate of Franklin University.
Jason is a Principal with OneDigital Health and Benefits. Jason joined OneDigital in 2019 through the acquisition of Northwestern Benefit where he was Partner and owner.
Since 2001, he has been instrumental in the growth of Northwestern Benefit and now OneDigital, recognized consistently as one of the top benefit producers in the country.
Jason serves on the OneDigital Georgia executive team and focuses in three areas: New Business Development, Attraction of Talent and Participation in the overall Corporate Strategy. He continues to seek differentiators in regards to both retention and new business.
Jason is active in various organizations including the Terry College of Business at University of Georgia. Jason holds his Life & Health, Series 6, Series 63 & Variable Insurance Licenses. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance.
Lindsay Bridges of Atlanta is vice president of communications and member services for Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (EMC). She has worked at the statewide trade association serving Georgia’s 41 electric cooperatives since 2013 and manages the communications and member services department which offers a full range of communications, community, public and member relations, professional training, media relations and youth programs.
Her experience beyond cooperatives and the energy industry includes serving as branding and communications lead for US operations of Argos and public relations representative for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Bridges holds a B.S. in Communications from Georgia Southern University and an M.B.A. from the University of Georgia. She currently serves on the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation Board of Directors and resides in Johns Creek, Georgia, with her husband, Blake.
Ben I. Copeland Sr. graduated from the University of Georgia in 1967 with a degree in landscape architecture and began working with the Tennessee Department of Conservation, where he became chief of design in the Planning Division. He returned to Georgia in 1971 to work for Patten Seed Company in Lakeland. He became president in 1995 and retired in 2020. Copeland is a former city councilman of Lakeland. He is past chairman of the Board of Directors for Valdosta Technical College( now Wiregrass Georgia Technical College) and was chair of the Board of trustees for the College Foundation. He currently serves on the Valdosta Lowndes County Hospital Authority and serves as chair of the Advisory Board for the SGMC Lanier Campus Hospital. He was the recipient of the 2002 Volunteer of the Year award for Technical Colleges in the State of Georgia and Lanier County’s Flatlander of the Year award. Copeland is the past president of several organizations, including the Lanier County Lions Club, the Georgia Sod Producers Association and Turfgrass Producers International.
Mr. Copeland was appointed to the TCSG State Board in 2003 by Governor Sonny Perdue as the First Congressional District Representative and served until his retirement in 2020. He served as Chairman of the State Board from July 2005 to June 2007.
Ben and his wife LaVonne now reside in Lake Park Ga near Valdosta. They have two children, nine grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Mark is a 1981 aviation maintenance technology graduate from Atlanta Technical College. At ATC, Mark obtained his Airframe and Power-plant licenses and is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) licensed technician.
Mark is currently the Director of Quality and Accountable Manager for Wencor, an aerospace Part Approval Holder and product distributor located in Peachtree City, Georgia and is also certified to release aerospace products to service through an FAA Designated Authorized Representative (DAR) privilege.
Mark joined Wencor in 2015 after a rewarding 32-year career with Delta Air Lines as the Chief Inspector and General Manager of Quality for Technical Operations. Mark and his family live in Grantville, Georgia and when not working they are usually camping.
Jesse Killings is vice president of operations for Southern Company Gas subsidiaries Atlanta Gas Light and Chattanooga Gas. In this role, he is responsible for ensuring the company’s operational excellence in delivering clean, safe, reliable, affordable natural gas to more than 616,000 customers in Georgia and Tennessee.
Killings brings more than 25 years of company experience to his role. Prior to his current position, he served as vice president of operations for Atlanta Gas Light and Florida City Gas. In previous roles, he was regional operations director for the company’s South Metro region, where he led local operations, including distribution, field service and meter reading. He also has held several management positions in sales, safety and training, regulatory compliance and field operations.
Killings takes special interest in organizations that support career development, leadership and education. He serves as chair of the Southern Company Gas Diversity & Inclusion (LEAD) Council and as a board member of the Technical College Systems of Georgia Foundation, the Georgia Chamber and the Georgia Energy & Industrial Construction Consortium. He is a former board member of 100 Black Men of Atlanta and the Georgia Chamber Diversity & Inclusion Council. In addition, he is an active member of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, and he has worked with boards and education-related committees of organizations such as Fulton Education Foundation, South Fulton Chamber of Commerce, Boys & Girls Club and United Way.
In 2015, Killings was recognized as one of Atlanta’s “Men of Influence” by the Atlanta Business League.
A native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Killings earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Tuskegee University. Killings is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Atlanta and Leadership Coweta.
Killings resides in Atlanta and is the proud father of two children.
Erin Pickens currently serves as Director of Human Resources for Georgia Power, a Southern Company. She is passionate about building innovative strategies and consulting around solutions focused on business and people challenges. Erin has over 22 years of multifaceted HR expertise in areas such as organizational effectiveness, workforce planning, leadership & employee development, performance management, benefit strategy & design, and compensation. Erin is a graduate of Texas State University with a BA in Communications/Public Relations. She is a certified Professional of Human Resources, is active in her community through work with Neighbor in Need and the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta. In her time away from work, Erin is lover of music and the outdoors. She is privileged to walk through life with her husband John, daughter Carter and pup Shiner.
Marjie Roquemore of Macon currently serves as Agricultural Water Project Manager for the Environmental Protection Division for the Department of Natural Resources. She began her career in government working for the Office of Governor Nathan Deal, where she held a variety of positions including policy and legislative affairs coordinator and agriculture policy advisor. After serving with Deal, Dickey became executive director of the REACH Georgia Program and then executive director of the REACH Georgia Foundation before transitioning into her current role.
Roquemore grew up in Crawford County and graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S.A. in Food Industry Marketing and Administration.
Larry K. Williams is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and has served in this role since October 2016. As part of Mr Williams responsibilities, he leads the NTSC (National Technology Security Coalition) and TAG Education Collaborative benefiting youth in STEM and technology development.
A recognized leader in economic development, Mr. Williams brings more than 20 years of experience in international trade, finance, public and industrial policy and marketing. Throughout his career he has guided organizations connecting local and global initiatives and most recently, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Beacon Council Inc (one of 36 accredited economic development organizations in the nation). Williams’ effort at the Beacon Council led Miami-Dade County to greater competitiveness.
Prior to joining the Beacon Council, Williams shaped the vision for the Atlanta tech industry as Vice President of Technology Development at the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Mr. Williams has held similar roles including serving on Washington State Governor’s Global Competitiveness Council, leading Washington State’s Tourism Commission and Director of Operations of International Trade for the North Carolina Department of Commerce to name a few. In these roles, Mr. Williams honed his strategic and operational expertise and led economic development emphasizing innovation, international trade and sustainable policy. Resilient and battle tested, Williams has advised and worked alongside 5 US Governors and dozens of foreign officials. Mr. Williams stays actively connected to the community serving on a range of boards, including Lt Governor Geoff Duncan’s Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, Atlanta CIO Advisory; TECNA, the Economic Development Board, City of Brookhaven, the Buckhead Club; FinTech Atlanta, Metro Atlanta Chamber and Venture of Atlanta. For many of these Mr. Williams is a founding member and establishing vision, purpose and governance for good.
Williams graduated from the Darlington School (Rome, Georgia) and holds degrees from North Carolina State University.
Cory Thompson joins the Technical College System of Georgia team as Executive Director of the TCSG Foundation after being associated with the System Office for more than two decades. Initially he hosted the statewide GOAL banquet for many years, then as a Board of Director member at Georgia Piedmont Technical College (Formerly DeKalb Tech). In 2009 he came on staff at GPTC as Public Relations Director. He’s held several positions at the College including Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, and most recently Executive Director of Institutional Advancement and the GPTC Foundation. He has long been a supporter of technical education. Prior to that he spent 25 years as a television news Anchor and Reporter, winning numerous broadcasting accolades along the way, including an Emmy Award. A native of Des Moines Iowa, where he graduated from Grand View University. Cory enjoys biking and traveling and is the father of two adult children.
