The Alex Gregory Distinguished Fellowship brings highly experienced leaders to Georgia College for an extended period to share their expertise in leadership with the student and faculty community.
Jane Kidd
Jane Kidd is the Alex Gregory Distinguished Fellow and serves as Leader in Residence at Georgia College & State University.
Kidd’s career spans more than thirty years in public service and higher education. Elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2004, she represented the 115th district in the General Assembly. She served as chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia from 2007 until 2011. Additionally, she served three terms on the City Council of Lavonia, Georgia and as campaign manager and district director for U.S. Congressman Don Johnson.
An experienced communicator and public relations professional, Kidd served in executive leadership roles at Clemson University, the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, and Piedmont University. She served as vice president for the public relations firm Gehrung Associates and as director of development for the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.
Learn More about Jane Kidd
Kidd began her education at Queens College (now Queens University) in Charlotte, North Carolina. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia, where she graduated with honors. Additionally, she holds a master’s degree in instructional technology from Piedmont College (now Piedmont University).
Kidd has been an officer or served on the boards of the Athens-Clarke County Clean and Beautiful Commission, Georgia Clean and Beautiful Citizens’ Advisory Committee, the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation, the Junior League of Athens, Clarke County Mentor Program, Rotary Club of Athens, Athens Symphony, Bethlehem Ministry (Haiti), as well as the University of Georgia’s National Alumni Association and UGA’s Grady College (Journalism) Alumni Association. She also serves as a trustee and member of the board of the Georgia College & State University Foundation.
Kidd is the daughter of S. Ernest Vandiver, Jr., 73rd Governor of Georgia, and grand-niece of Richard B. Russell, Jr. who represented Georgia in the U.S. Senate for nearly forty years. Her great-grandfather, Richard B. Russell, Sr., authored the original bill in the Georgia General Assembly to establish Georgia College. He later served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia and remained president of the college’s board of directors for nearly two decades. Russell Auditorium is named in his honor, and Georgia College’s library is named for her great-grandmother, Ina Dillard Russell.
Kidd and her husband, David, live in Crawford, Georgia and have two children and two grandchildren.
Alex Gregory Distinguished Fellow and Leader in Residence
2023-
Profile
Jane Kidd is the Alex Gregory Distinguished Fellow and serves as Leader in Residence at Georgia College. Kidd’s career spans more than thirty years in public service and higher education. Elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2004, she represented the 115th district in the General Assembly. She served as chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia from 2007 until 2011. Additionally, she served three terms on the City Council of Lavonia, Georgia and as campaign manager and district director for U.S. Congressman Don Johnson.
Education
M.A.
Instructional Technology
Piedmont College
ABJ
Journalism
University of Georgia
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Genie Snyder Chamberlin '82
Founder and Principal, SnyderRemarks | The Genieus Team
2021-23
Profile
Dr. Genie Snyder Chamberlin is founder and principal of the Genieus Team and of SnyderRemarks, Inc. She has more than twenty years’ experience as an executive coach and consultant, across the United States and around the world. She is a specialist in strategic customer service, organizational change management, and executive leadership. Dr. Chamberlin is member of the Georgia College Foundation Board of Trustees. She previously served as chair of the Foundation Board and as president of the Georgia College Alumni Association Board of Directors. She holds of Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgia College (1982), where she studied political science and French. Additionally, she holds Master of Education and Doctor of Education degrees, both from the University of Georgia. Dr. Chamberlin is a member of the National Board of Directors of the Jeannette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund; a national member and member of the Georgia Board of Directors of the National Speakers Association; a long-time volunteer and annual giving chair for Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center; and a graduate of Leadership Georgia (1994-95).
Education
Ed.D.
Higher Education and Organizational Change Management
University of Georgia
M.Ed.
Adult Education
University of Georgia
B.A.
Political Science and French
Georgia College
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Pamela Y. Booker '97
Assistant Vice President (ret.), AT&T
2019-21
Profile
An established leader with an undeniable mark on the communications industry, retired Human Resources Assistant Vice President, Pamela Booker, led one of the award-winning Talent Acquisition functions at AT&T, Inc. In her role, she had responsibility for hiring talent for AT&T Retail Stores, Cricket Wireless Stores, Installation Technicians, and Call Centers across the nation. She also represented Talent Acquisition on several merger integration teams. As a senior leader, she developed a reputation for excellence and industry-leading performance across operations and talent acquisition. As a result, she was recognized nationally by the Career Community Group as a 2015 Woman of Color STEM—Leader in Technology award recipient. In 2016, she was one of twenty leaders selected for the esteemed Executive Women’s Leadership Experience.
BBA
Business and Marketing
University of West Georgia
AS
Business
Macon State College
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E. Alexander Gregory, Jr. '78, '79
Chairman and CEO (ret.), YKK Corporation of America
2018-19
Profile
Alex Gregory is an internationally recognized trailblazer in organizational leadership, manufacturing, and international trade. Mr. Gregory joined the YKK Corporation in 1973, serving for nearly forty-five years and retiring in 2018 as chairman, chief executive officer, and president of YKK Corporation of America. In 2004, he was named the first non-Japanese Group Officer for YKK Corporation in Japan. Mr. Gregory holds two graduate degrees from Georgia College, as well as a bachelor’s degree in textile engineering from Georgia Tech. He has served on the Carter Center Board of Counselors, the Cowan-Turner Servant Leadership Program advisory board at Georgia Tech, the University of North Georgia’s Mike Cottrell College of Business advisory board, and Kennesaw State University’s Asian Studies advisory board.
Education
MSA
Administration
Georgia College
MBA
Georgia College
BTE
Textile Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
E. Alexander Gregory, Jr.
The Alex Gregory Distinguished Fellowship is named for E. Alexander Gregory, Jr., an internationally recognized trailblazer in organizational leadership, manufacturing, and international trade. Mr. Gregory joined the YKK Corporation in 1973, serving for nearly forty-five years and retiring in 2018 as chairman, chief executive officer, and president of YKK Corporation of America. In 2004, he was named the first non-Japanese Group Officer for YKK Corporation in Japan. Mr. Gregory holds two graduate degrees from Georgia College, as well as a bachelor’s degree in textile engineering from Georgia Tech. He has served on the Carter Center Board of Counselors, the Cowan-Turner Servant Leadership Program advisory board at Georgia Tech, the University of North Georgia’s Mike Cottrell College of Business advisory board, and Kennesaw State University’s Asian Studies advisory board.
In 2018, Mr. Gregory was honored by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, conferred with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in the Autumn Imperial Decorations. Among numerous other honors, he received the inaugural George Busbee Award, the Japan-America Society of Georgia Mike Mansfield Award, the Foreign Minister of Japan’s Commendation, and the Leadership Character Award in the CEO/President/Managing Partner category (large company) from the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership and Turknett Leadership Group. In 2017, he was named Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Most Admired CEO. He has been inducted into the Georgia College J. Whitney Bunting College of Business Hall of Fame and the Georgia Tech Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni.
As a leader on the Georgia College Foundation Board of Directors for more than twenty years, Mr. Gregory has presided over a period of unprecedented growth and prosperity. Through the Georgia Education Mentorship Program and other initiatives, he has mentored more than fifty college students and has demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to preparing the next generation of leaders for fulfilling lives of civic engagement and public service.
About the Fellowship
The Alex Gregory Distinguished Fellowship
The Alex Gregory Leader in Residence program brings highly experienced leaders to Georgia College for an extended period to share their expertise in leadership with the student and faculty community.
The fellowship is designed to be flexible in order to allow the leader in residence to participate in a broad range of university life according to his or her own choosing. The program anticipates approximately three to four days per month on campus for classroom visits, guest teaching and facilitation, consultation with students, and other community events. The leader in residence will deliver a public presentation as part of the university’s Inspire! series.
Fellowship terms typically last for six to twelve months but can be extended through mutual agreement. The Georgia College Office of Leadership Programs will provide office space and administrative support.
Criteria for Selection
Potential leaders in residence should have made distinguished and broad contributions to society. Such contributions may be in business and industry, public and civic affairs, scholarship and education, or other learned professions. The prime and controlling consideration should be excellence in organizational or public leadership. It is desirable, but not required, that the incumbent have had some affiliation with the State of Georgia or Georgia College. It is also desirable, but not required, that the incumbent be widely known to the general public.
Current elected or appointed national office holders or officials of the State of Georgia to whom the University System of Georgia and/or its universities and colleges are directly answerable, as well as persons who are announced candidates for national or state elected offices, are not eligible for consideration. Current Regents, administrative officers of the universities or colleges of the University System of Georgia, members of the faculty, and other System employees also are not eligible.
Process for Selection
A committee of five persons is charged with the responsibility of soliciting and screening nominations for Leader in Residence. Membership will include:
the Director of Leadership Programs.
two members of the Georgia College faculty, appointed by the Provost.
two members of the Leadership Advisory Board.
The Leader in Residence Committee will screen nominees and recommend, with supporting rationale, a finalist to the President. The President, based on the committee’s supporting rationale and any additional consultation, will select the Leader in Residence. The Office of Leadership Programs will prepare a letter for the President’s signature, inviting the incumbent to serve as Georgia College’s Alex Gregory Leader in Residence.
