Governor Nathan Deal recently announced the appointments of Gretchen Corbin, Braxton Cotton, Jacqueline Bunn, Blake Ashbee, Clyde Reese and Keith Horton to state agency and department leadership positions.
Deal appointed Gretchen Corbin as commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, effective August 1, 2013. In her new role, Corbin will lead statewide development programs that help the state’s local communities realize their growth. Prior to this appointment, she served as deputy commissioner for global commerce and director of international operations at the Department of Economic Development.
Deal named Braxton Cotton as the executive director of the newly created Governor’s Office of Transition, Support and Re-entry. In this role, Cotton will lead key legislative criminal justice reform initiatives to reduce the recidivism rate of offenders and the financial burden currently placed on the state. Prior to this appointment, Cotton served as executive director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, in the Georgia State Patrol and as a deputy sheriff and detective in the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department.
Jacqueline Bunn succeeds Cotton as executive director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, where she will lead statewide efforts to find solutions and build consensus on issues impacting the criminal justice system. Bunn most recently served as the deputy director of legal services for the Georgia Department of Public Safety.
Deal appointed Blake Ashbee as the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development, where Ashbee previously served as general counsel. As executive director, Ashbee will oversee workforce investment activities and the state’s “Go Build Georgia” skilled trade initiative. Prior to his tenure at Workforce Development, Ashbee served as Governor Deal’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer.
Clyde Reese moves into the position of Commissioner of the Department of Community Health, where he will oversee the state Medicaid Program, State Health Benefit Plan, health information technology and healthcare facility regulation. Upon DCH Board approval, Reese will return to DCH – where he previously served in the same capacity as agency head in 2010. Reese has also served as the commissioner of the Department of Human Services since January 2011.
Keith Horton succeeds Reese as commissioner of the Department of Human Services, where he will oversee the provision of aging, child welfare and child support, and public assistance programs and services throughout Georgia. Prior to this appointment, Horton served as deputy director of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency and held several former leadership positions at DHS. Horton is a retired Lieutenant Colonel after serving 20 years in the U.S. Army.
