Georgia Forestry Commission Deputy Director Gary White has been appointed to the post of Interim Director for the agency. Governor Brian Kemp requested White assume the role of State Forester, following the departure of the ag
ency’s former director. A search committee has been established by the GFC Board of Directors (BOD) to identify the best candidate to lead the Commission into the future. The committee is chaired by Georgia Forestry Association Vice President Tom Beyer and consists of three GFC employees and members of the GFC Board. The panel is currently conducting research and interviews and the top three candidates will be presented to GFC’s BOD, which will recommend one finalist to the Governor for appointment before the end of 2020.
Gary White graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Management. After serving with the Peace Corps in Durking Faso, he returned to the US where he began a career with the Georgia Forestry Commission. White has held posts including chief ranger, manager of a pilot wildland urban interface program in White County (which would eventually become Georgia’s Firewise program), Sustainable Community Forestry Manager, Forest Management Chief and GFC Deputy Director.
White is an outdoor enthusiast and Assistant Scout Master. He and his wife, Katrina, live in Elbert County and have one adult son.