Georgia Gov. Perdue Makes Executive Appointments to the Board of Behavioral Health and Develomental Disabilities

Submitted by the Governor's Office
Published: July 31, 2009 05:34 pm

ATLANTA – Gov. Sonny Perdue announces the following executive appointments to the Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities:

• Mary Burns, M.D., 46, Atlanta – Burns is engaged in private practice and serves as a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at Emory University. She is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association and Atlanta Women’s Medical Alliance. She served as chairman of the Board of Human Resources and as a member of the Mental Health Ombudsman Nominating Committee. Burns earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of the South and a medical degree from the Mercer University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in psychiatry at Duke University and a fellowship in child psychiatry at Harvard University School of Medicine. She and her husband, Eric, have two children.
• Don Cole, 55, Cordele- Cole is president and chief executive officer of RTT Associates, Inc., a management and information technology consulting firm. He has also served as pastor of Southern Baptist Churches in Georgia and in the former Panama Canal Zone. Cole serves on the Board of Directors of the Cordele/Crisp Chamber of Commerce and served on the Georgia Board of Human Resources from 2003 to 2008 as secretary and chairman of the Division of Family and Children Services Committee. Cole received the Annette Bowling Advocacy Award from the South Georgia Easter Seals in 2004 and the National Easter Seals Outstanding Advocate of the Year Award in 2006 for his work to add 3,000 waiver slots to provide critical services for Georgians with developmental disabilities. Cole earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Georgia and a Master of Divinity Degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Leslie, have one son.
• Justin D. Neal, 29, Roswell – Justin is a financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. He serves as a board member for TeenPact Leadership School and as a college unit director for Northwestern Mutual’s internship program in Atlanta. He also volunteers as a speech and debate coach for high school students and previously served on the Board of Human Resources. Justin graduated summa cum laude from Berry College with a bachelor’s degree in Economics. He is married to Lindsey Neal.
• Deirdre K. O’Brien, 48, Waycross – O’Brien is executive director of The Arc of Georgia and is also a licensed nurse practitioner. She is a member of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and the Olmstead Planning Committee and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and Kiwanis. O’Brien earned a bachelor’s degree from Dalhousie University and a master’s degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She and her husband, Randall, have two children.
• Susan K. Radovich, 66, Statesboro – Radovich is a retired guidance counselor. She is a member of the Friends of Statesboro, Bulloch County Library Board, and the “Sprig-n-Dig” garden club. She has served as a member of the Pineland Community Service Board for ten years and most recently served as chairman. Radovich earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Indiana University, and Master Level School Counseling Certificate from Georgia Southern University. She and her husband, Frank, have two children.

Published by The Daily Citizen, 308 South Thornton Avenue, Dalton, GA 30720

Publisher: William H. Bronson III

Email: williambronson@daltoncitizen.com