Governor Kemp Names 27 Georgia Board and Committee Appointments – On Frequent Floor Information

Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission

Mark Parkman was hired in August 2015 as head of the multimedia start-up platform of the International Olympic Committee. Parkman developed a strategic implementation plan that culminated in the launch of the Olympic Channel following the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Parkman led the digital strategy and transformation of the Olympic movement ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, combining legacy platforms into a single consumer-facing digital entity that integrates the Olympic Channel, IOC institutional features and the Olympic host city’s digital platforms into Olympics.com . These efforts led to record-breaking viewership of 178 million unique users, five billion social engagements and made Olympics.com the most visited sports site in the world in July 2021. Parkman was named an Olympic Power Player by the Sports Business Journal in April 2020. He also created the critically acclaimed documentary series Five Rings Films and selected legendary Hollywood producers Frank Marshall and Mandalay Sports Media to co-produce the films. In July 2017, a traditional television version of the Olympic Channel, in partnership with NBC and the Olympic and Paralympic Committee of the United States, premiered in 35 million households on cable systems in the United States. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the beIN HD 10 Olympic Channel was founded in November 2017 and is distributed in 23 countries. In autumn 2017, the Olympic Channel was named the best thematic sports channel and Parkman was nominated as Media Executive of the Year by the prestigious TV Sports Awards. Prior to running the Olympic Channel, Parkman was Operations Executive for Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and Vice President of International Sports Broadcasting (ISB). Parkman was awarded an EMMY award by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for his work on the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and was also on the cusp of emerging technology, both in traditional television and digital media . Prior to his leadership in the global television market, Parkman worked in public relations, marketing and international television coordination at Turner Broadcasting System and Cohn & Wolfe, where he directed media work for the NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR, PGA golf and two Goodwill Games. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he spent four years as a student assistant in the university’s sports information office.

J. Alvin Wilbanks was named CEO and Superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools in March 1996. Under his leadership, the school district has built a reputation for being one of the most successful in the country. The Broad Foundation selected GCPS as a finalist for the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education three times – 2009, 2010 and 2014 – and awarded Gwinnett the Broad Prize in 2010 and 2014. As superintendent, Wilbanks was served by three Georgia governors and two United States secretaries of education to help draft major state and federal education reform laws. He served as chair of the board of trustees for the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia for seven years. In 2017, Governor Nathan Deal appointed Wilbanks to chair the Joint Studies Committee charged with establishing a statewide academy for school principals in Georgia. He is a leader in state and national public education organizations including the Georgia Education Coalition and the national Large Countywide and Suburban District Consortium. Wilbanks is the founding president of Gwinnett Technical College, which opened in 1984. Over the course of his career, he has received numerous awards for professional achievement and civic contribution, including being named Georgia Superintendent of the Year 2005 and one of four finalists for national titles. Other notable honors include the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce “Citizen of the Year”; the Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizen Award; Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful’s “Environmental Legacy Award”; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Georgia College of Education; and the 2016 Professional Association of Georgia Educators Award winner at their A PAGE Turning Event, which recognizes outstanding business and citizen leaders for their contributions to public education in Georgia. In 2018, Wilbanks and the Gwinnett County Board of Education were named the state’s first Governance Team of the Year by the Georgia School Boards Association. Wilbanks received the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education in 2019. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from the University of Georgia and his education specialist degree from Georgia State University.