Leader College 2024

Adam Oglesbee is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Kennesaw State University (2011). He majored in American History & Cultures. Adam has a passion for working and teaching others. His hobbies include traveling, reading, learning, and spending time with family. Adam started his career with the Georgia Department of Drivers Services as a Driver’s License Examiner. From here, he joined the GA DDS CDL Compliance Unit as a CDL Safety & Compliance Specialist. His duties included working with his team to train and routinely monitor CDL Examiners. In addition, conducted audits on Commercial Schools around metro Atlanta to ensure compliance standards were met. Currently, Adam serves the GTPC family as a CDL Technical Instructor & Examiner where he trains and test students for their Commercial Driver’s License.

Bio forthcoming

Clint Buggle began his journey in law enforcement in 2011. While working in his passion field of law enforcement, Clint successfully obtained his Bachelors Degree in 2018 from Columbia Southern University. Clint served most of his time in law enforcement working patrol and has held the ranks of Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Sergeant, and Lieutenant. Clint was also the Team Leader for the Milledgeville Police Department’s Special Response Team from 2016 until he ultimately left to begin his journey as a Law Enforcement Instructor at Georgia Piedmont Technical College (GPTC). There, Clint served as Lead Instructor and assisted with running the Basic POST Program before being promoted to Director. As Director, Clint Oversees the Basic POST Program as well as several continuing education classes the Academy offers to Law Enforcement Officers throughout the state. In his free time, Clint enjoys spending time with his family, his wife, and six-year-old daughter. They also have a little boy on the way.

Jewell Williams graduated from Southern New Hampshire University in 2023. She loves writing, making educational content on social media, and taking fun bicycle rides. She has worked in the transportation and logistics industry for over 30 years. Her commercial motor vehicle operator career includes long-haul and local driving positions, thus giving her extensive experience in the trucking industry. She is a CDL instructor at the RTTC and Newton GPTC campuses.

Katie Day is an experienced and innovative leader in the field of education and services to children and their families. She has spent the last 22 years focused on how to improve and support quality technical education in her community. She has experience shaping students’ minds, mentoring and sharing knowledge on the value of quality education. She believes that everyone should be given the tools and hands on experience to support their career goals. Mrs. Day has a Master of Science Degree in Education with a concentration in Child Development from Jackson State University, Jackson Mississippi, Bachelor of Science Degree in Child and Family Studies from The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg Mississippi and an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Childcare Supervision Technology from East Central Community College, Decatur Mississippi. Because Mrs. Day is an active member of the Order of Eastern Star, she is heavily involved in community outreach projects. Mrs. Day works with non-profit organizations to support their community service goals. Mrs. Day is also a board member of the Atlanta Barber Institute and The Community Unification Initiative ATL. Mrs. Day and family members support their community by hosting an annual family empowerment event where they link families with employment, utilities resources, military and education opportunities or Mrs. Day and family members host back to school bashes where students in, elementary, middle and high school receive school supplies. Mrs. Day is employed at Georgia Piedmont Technical College as an instructor and advisor in the Early Childhood Care and Education Department in the Division of Education and Business.

Keith Johnson graduated from Tech school with a universal certification in refrigeration, heating and cooling technology.
Once out of school, he began working on Commercial HVAC equipment with a company that had contracts with department stores such as: Kohl's, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Babies R Us and more. He was required to travel to Alabama, Georgia and Maryland to perform maintenance and installations of the HVAC systems. After a few years of that, he was offered a job in Georgia as a Temporary worker for Georgia Piermont Technical College. Within 2 years, he was offered a permanent full-time job in the maintenance department as the lead HVAC Technician for the Clarkston campus. Three years later, he was promoted to Maintenance Supervisor of the Newton campus where he has been for the last five years.

His hobbies include DIY projects, puzzles and training for 5K and 10K races.

Mackenzie Calhoun attended and graduated from The UNSINKABLE Albany State University in Albany, Georgia. Later, she pursued and earned her Master of Arts in English and certification in The Teaching of Writing from the University of Toledo in Ohio. Mackenzie began teaching, while matriculating through her program as a graduate assistant, where she taught First Year Composition to undergraduate students and subsequently worked in the university’s writing center.  Additionally, she has taught internationally in South Korea, Norway, and Belgium.

It is her privilege to teach students and her honor to have the opportunity to share her favorite subject, English. Mackenzie’s teaching philosophy is based on student-centered learning, through class engagement and student collaboration. She currently serves as an English instructor in the Division of Education and Business.

Personally, Mackenzie enjoys reading, traveling, and walking. Some of her favorite past times include cheering on all of the Atlanta sports teams with her family and friends.

Matilda A. Peeples, known as Lisa, currently serves as the Registrar for Georgia Piedmont Technical College.

Her journey with Georgia Piedmont Technical College began in 1990 when she joined as a student assistant, ultimately earning her degree in Applied Science in Business Office Technology. Subsequently, she pursued her education at Waldorf University, obtaining a Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Administration, and she is pursuing her MBA at the same institution. With a career spanning 34 years, Ms. Peeples has dedicated herself to the Office of the Registrar at GPTC and its students. Her personal and professional mantra revolves around being dedicated, determined, and dependable. She is a staunch advocate for the technical college system, consistently seizing opportunities to champion technical education.

Outside of her professional commitments, Ms. Peeples is a devoted full-time mother to three children and a grandmother to one. Lisa's interests include reading and indulging in her love for jazz music. She also continues her father's work with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and serves as the youth director for her church.

Michelle Tiller embarked on her GPTC journey as a legacy student. During her time as a student, she achieved State and National victories in SkillsUSA and FBLA Collegiate. Additionally, she served on the Executive Boards of various GPTC clubs and organizations. Shifting from a Business Management graduate to an Admissions Assistant in 2022, Michelle is presently pursuing her Bachelors at Western Governors University.

In addition to her academic endeavors, Michelle, an off-key lyricist, finds joy in classic rock karaoke and seamlessly dominates the stage as a stand-up comedian, eliciting laughter with tales from her life. When not in the spotlight, she devotes time to mentoring young girls through her engagement with not-for-profits and actively pursues professional development.

Quinesha Thomas-Rice is currently the Division Chair with the School of Allied Health. Ms. Thomas-Rice also serve as the Lead Instructor for Health Information Management Program. Currently Ms. Thomas-Rice is pursuing her Doctor of Health Science degree at Purdue Global. Ms. Thomas-Rice has over 20 years of healthcare professional skills in revenue cycle, reimbursement, and medical coding. Ms. Thomas-Rice is a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT). In November 2021, she accepted a position at GPTC to be a Full-time Instructor of the Health Information Management Program.

Quinesha is the proud mother of two boys. When not working Quinesha enjoys shopping, traveling and spending time with family and friends.

SeanCroix Watson is familiar to the Greater Atlanta area. He graduated from the University of West Georgia in 2022, receiving his BSBM degree. Mr. Watson enjoys watching and playing sports as it’s something he’s done since he was a child. He is eager to gain knowledge and experience from this Leader College class of 2024. Mr. Watson serves as a Dual Enrollment Coordinator at GPTC and has been part of the College for about a year now.

Tasia earned her B.S in Forensic Science from Albany State University. She was a law enforcement officer for a little over seven years. As a law enforcement officer, she worked on the Uniform Patrol Division and then was appointed to a Detective in the Criminal Investigations Division- Crime Scene Unit. Additionally, she obtained her Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice with a Forensic Science Specialization from Saint Leo University in 2019. Tasia began her career in teaching when she started working at Georgia Piedmont in September 2022 as a Criminal Justice Instructor. In her role, she instructs dual-enrollment courses at Newton College and Career Academy for students who are on the criminal justice pathway. Additionally, she instructs online and face-to-face courses at the Clarkston campus.

In her free time, Tasia likes to read, write/ journal, listen to music, and travel.

Dr. Vanessa Cox is a proud graduate of J. Mack Robinson School of Business at Georgia State University, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concertation in Management. Dr. Cox continued her education at Sorrell School of Business at Troy University where she received a MBA. She completed her Ph. D. in Leadership & Organizational Change at Walden University. Dr. Cox her has over 20 years of experience in Human Resources, Finance, and Management. She has worked for private and public sector industries in the state of Georgia and Florida. Dr. Cox was initially hired at Georgia Piedmont Technical College in 2017 for the dual enrollment program; however, she currently teaches adult education. While teaching dual enrollment, she continues to mentor and inspire students to continue their education in higher learning and achieve their educational goals. Dr. Cox enjoys reading and traveling.

Weygand Grant holds a Master of Science in Public Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Technical Management from DeVry University, and a Welding and Joining Technology diploma from Georgia Piedmont Technical College.

Weygand has been an NCCER Craft Instructor for the past thirteen years. He has also accredited two welding programs within TCSG by adopting and teaching the NCCER Curriculum.

In 2023, Weygand founded Service Pro-Guyana LLC, which is an online platform that advertise and provides top notch professional service to clients in thirteen languages. As CEO, he has built the first platform of its kind for Guyana and the Caribbean that has given new businesses, and service professionals an opportunity to advertise online in 13 languages at a low cost.

Weyand is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success (Sigma Alpha Pi). Also, an annual volunteer of Hosea Feed the Hungry in Atlanta and Linden Technical Institute (LTI) in Guyana South America.

He is an avid reader, that enjoys learning and teaching, domestic and international travels, farming, and meeting new people with different cultures and customs.

Willie Perry is a proud graduate of Temple University & Academy of the Art University, where he obtained his Master’s in Fine Arts. Willie has over 20 years of experience in the Film and Recording Arts Industry. Throughout his career he has worked with many notable individuals within the entertainment industry. Mr. Perry is currently the Program Director of Recording Arts here at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, where he strives to advance and elevate Georgia Piedmont Technical College Multimedia Programs.

Willie is currently developing an initiative to partner graduate GPTC students with Media Executives of major recording streaming platforms such as Spotify, Tidal and Pandora, which will connect students to viable and prosperous industry opportunities.