Dr. Drew Van Horn is president of Young Harris College. He has over 30 years of experience in higher education, including nine years as president of Brevard College in North Carolina, a private, residential liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church.

P.K. Martin is a former state senator from Georgia’s 9th District. During his time in the General Assembly, Martin was the chairman of the Education and Youth Committee and served as an Administration Floor Leader from 2017-2021.

Patterson is the first appointed Director of the newly created Watkinsville Downtown Development Authority. Additionally, she is on the Board of Bethel Haven, a non-profit Christian Counseling Agency in the Athens area, volunteers with the Presbyterian Homes of Georgia, and serves in her Church. Her experience in non-profit leadership and real estate and her passion to serve her community support her interest in seeing her community of Watkinsville thrive.

Hinton is the vice president of financial services at Brenau University. He is a member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Blythe is the founder of the Georgia Trade School. He was previously a member of the Go Build Georgia Advisory Council and sat on the boards of the Kennesaw Business Association and the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia.

Pranay Udutha is QuantumScape's Director of Strategic Initiatives / Corporate Development. Previously, he invested in early stage startups driving sustainability across every sector of our economy at ARPA-E, the federal government's venture capital agency. He led the agency’s corporate development team and was operationally engaged with a broad range of startups, from agtech to aerospace.

Doug Roper is the Mayor of Vidalia and the Branch Manager at Vidalia Federal Savings Bank. An active member of his community, Roper has served on the Toombs-Montgomery Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, is on the fundraising committees for the Mercy Medical Clinic and Meadows Regional Medical Cancer Center, and is a mentor with Toombs County Family Connection.

Shailendra is the local partner manager for Google Fiber in Atlanta. She previously worked in economic development for the City of Atlanta and the State of Georgia, where she supported projects for Mercedes-Benz, KIA Motors, athenahealth and AT&T Mobility.

Kirbo is an attorney. She previously worked as associate general counsel for Flowers Foods. Kirbo is a published author and a member of the State Bar of Georgia. She is also a member of the committee overseeing her local YMCA gymnastics team.

Nunez-Cortes is the Title I Federal Program Director for the Appling County Board of Education. She is a former president and current vice chair of the Baxley-Appling County Chamber of Commerce.

Jim Squire, Certified Franchise Executive, serves as president and CEO of Franchise Marketing Advisors, LLC, a broad-based franchise development consulting practice. Prior to FMA Squire was a senior executive with such well-known franchise brands as Firestorm, HoneyBaked Ham, Great American Cookies, Arby’s, Day’s Inns, and Howard Johnson.