Board of Advisors

“A former professional baseball player and successful entrepreneur, Geoff Duncan was elected Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor in November of 2018.

Geoff graduated from Chattahoochee High School in Alpharetta where he met his wife, Brooke. Geoff and Brooke both attended the Georgia Institute of Technology where Geoff was a scholarship pitcher. After a successful career at Georgia Tech, Geoff was drafted by the Florida Marlins’ organization. Geoff spent six seasons playing baseball in the minor leagues, advancing as high as AAA before a shoulder injury forced his retirement in the early 2000s.

After retiring from baseball, Geoff and his wife Brooke started a small marketing firm in their living room. The company experienced tremendous success which allowed Geoff and Brooke to sell the business and move on to multiple other entrepreneurial ventures. Geoff most recently served as the CEO of a health technology startup.

Geoff’s faith inspired him to a life of leadership and prompted his upstart run for political office. He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2012. During his time in office he authored several important pieces of legislation. These include HB 749-The Cargo Theft Act, HB152-Michael’s Law and most recently SB258- the Rural Hospital Tax Credit.

Geoff and Brooke are married and have three sons: Parker (17), Bayler (13), and Ryder (9). Geoff has coached 23 different youth sports teams, and also leads a weekly bible study with his wife Brooke. The Duncans attend Browns Bridge Community Church, an affiliate of North Point Community Church.”

As TUFF’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Kevin has achieved national recognition as a creative problem solver for institutions facing the traditional dilemma of insufficient capital resources.
He has pioneered TUFF’s non-traditional approach to public-private partnerships, real estate financing structures, and economic development initiatives for university research parks and innovation districts. His strength is the ability to translate complex real estate solutions into true resource-saving solutions for institutional executives and boards.
Kevin graduated with Honors from Furman University in 1991, where he currently sits on the Board of Trustees and chairs the Finance Committee. Upon graduation, he received the Wall Street Journal Student Achievement award, the highest honor given by faculty to a student in school’s Economics and Business Administration department. He later earned his MBA, with Honors, from the Wharton School of Business.
In 2012 and 2014, Kevin served as President of the Association of University Research Parks (AURP). He was appointed by Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor to the Georgia Public Private Partnership Guidelines Commission. He also serves on two Brookings Institution advisory committees – the Innovation District Initiative and the Bass Placemaking Initiative.
Kevin is Chairman of the Board of Young Life for Metro Atlanta, an Eagle Scout, and a member of the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Whitefield Academy and chairs the Capital Campaign Steering Committee and Board Finance Committee. He is an avid golfer and little league baseball coach.

Pat Wilson was appointed Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) in November 2016. As Commissioner, he leads the state agency responsible for creating jobs and investment opportunities in Georgia through business recruitment and expansion, small business growth, international trade and tourism, as well as the arts, film and music industries. Pat is responsible for leading the GDEcD team in planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. Under Governor Brian P. Kemp and Commissioner Wilson’s leadership, Georgia was named the No. 1 state in the nation in which to do business for the seventh consecutive year in a row by Site Selection and sixth year in a row by Area Development. GDEcD was also rated as the nation’s best state-level economic development organization by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) in 2017.
Mr. Wilson previously served as Chief Operating Officer of GDEcD from January 2011 until his appointment as Commissioner by former Governor Nathan Deal. As COO, he managed the daily operations of the agency, directed long-term strategy, managed the agency’s legislative priorities and served as the department’s liaison with the Georgia Congressional delegation and federal government partners. In addition, Pat served as Executive Director of the Georgia Allies.
Mr. Wilson joined GDEcD as Deputy Commissioner for Global Commerce in 2010. Prior to that, he served on the staff of Governor Sonny Perdue as the director of government affairs. In that position, he led efforts to promote Governor Perdue’s legislative agenda at the State Capitol and managed federal affairs for the state of Georgia. He previously served as director of federal affairs for the state, opening the Washington, D.C., office in 2005. There he worked to promote the state’s agenda with the U.S. Congress and federal agencies as the Governor’s representative to the Georgia congressional delegation.
Prior to his work in state government, Mr. Wilson was director of governmental affairs for Greenberg Traurig, LLP, in Washington. He served under the late Sen. Paul Coverdell and under then-Rep. Nathan Deal.
He is a Franklin Springs, Georgia, native, and holds an undergraduate degree in political science with a focus on international relations from the University of Georgia. He and his wife Melissa and their two children, Padgett and Carter, reside in Sandy Springs.

Larry K. Williams | President and Chief Executive Officer Larry K. Williams is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and has served in this role since October 2016. As part of Mr Williams responsibilities, he leads the NTSC (National Technology Security Coalition) and TAG Education Collaborative benefiting youth in STEM and technology development. A recognized leader in economic development, Mr. Williams brings more than 20 years of experience in international trade, finance, public and industrial policy and marketing. Throughout his career he has guided organizations connecting local and global initiatives and most recently, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Beacon Council Inc (one of 36 accredited economic development organizations in the nation). Williams’ effort at the Beacon Council led Miami-Dade County to greater competitiveness. Prior to joining the Beacon Group, Williams shaped the vision for the Atlanta tech industry as Vice President of Technology Development at the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Mr. Williams has held similar roles including serving on Washington State Governor’s Global Competitiveness Council, leading Washington State’s Tourism Commission and Director of Operations of International Trade for the North Carolina Department of Commerce to name a few. In these roles, Mr. Williams honed his strategic and operational expertise and led economic development emphasizing innovation, international trade and sustainable policy. Resilient and battle tested, Williams has advised and worked alongside 5 US Governors and dozens of foreign officials. Mr. Williams stays actively connected to the community serving on a range of boards, including Lt Governor Geoff Duncan’s Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, Atlanta CIO Advisory; TECNA, the Economic Development Board, City of Brookhaven, the Buckhead Club; FinTech Atlanta, Metro Atlanta Chamber and Venture of Atlanta. For many of these Mr. Williams is a founding member and establishing vision, purpose and governance for good. Williams graduated from the Darlington School (Rome, Georgia) and holds degrees from North Carolina State University.