Cobb County Board of Education

Lindsey Tippins  ▪  Post 1
Lindsey.Tippins@cobbk12.org

Serving northwest Cobb citizens of Post 1, Lindsey Tippins has been a board member since 1997. Mr. Tippins is also a product of the Cobb County School System. He graduated from McEachern High School in 1967, and two years later started the Tippins Contracting Company. In 1971, Mr. Tippins earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgia State University and in 1978 a Juris Doctorate from the Woodrow Wilson College of Law. He is involved in many community organizations throughout Cobb and the metro Atlanta area. In 2003, Mr. Tippins was chosen to serve on the Georgia Student Finance Commission representing the 11th Congressional District. He serves on the boards of Northwest Bank & Trust and the Calvary Children’s Home in Marietta. Additionally, he is president of the North Georgia State Fair and is an elder at Midway Presbyterian Church. Mr. Tippins is the former president and member of the Georgia Utility Contractors Association and the National Utility Contractors Association. Supporting the efforts of the Cobb County Educational Foundation, Mr. Tippins donates his board member salary to the non-profit organization which offers college scholarships to graduating seniors and teaching grants to Cobb educators.

He and his wife, Ann have two children, Nathan and Rebekah, who both graduated from Harrison High School. They are also the proud grandparents of William, their new grandson.

Term ends December 31, 2008

Holli Cash  ▪  Post 2
Holli.Cash@cobbk12.org

Holli Cash began her first term on the Board in January 2007.  Mrs. Cash earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Marketing from the University of Texas. A resident of southeast Cobb for nearly two decades, she is co-owner of Smyrna retail shop Planet Me and is a host for an international student exchange program. Cash began volunteering in schools in 1990, working with students at Fitzhugh Lee when it was an elementary school. She has served the Jessye Coleman PTA Council as president and treasurer, as well as acting as legislative chair for Fitzhugh Lee, Nickajack Elementary and the Jessye Coleman Council.

Mrs. Cash has spent time working with a variety of nonprofit and charitable organizations, including Cobb County Children and Youth, the March of Dimes, and the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta. She is also an avid supporter of local sports programs, serving as Coordinator for the Smyrna Swim Team and Board member for the Smyrna West Soccer Association.

Holli Cash lives in Smyrna with her husband Eric Cash and their four children, ages 14-6.
Term ends December 31, 2010

Betty Gray  ▪  Post 3
Chairman of the Board
Betty.Gray@cobbk12.org

Betty Gray is in her fourth four-year term as a Board member. A career educator, she is associated with Regional Institute for School Enhancement (RISE), the Teacher Induction Program (TIP Project) at Kennesaw State University, the Georgia Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and the South Cobb Arts Alliance. Ms. Gray is a retired Cobb County elementary school principal. Born in Carroll County, GA., she earned a B.S. degree in history and English, along with masters and specialist degrees from Auburn University. She received the Horace Sturgis Award for excellence in Education in 1990 from the Marietta Kiwanis Club and was a 1991 nominee for the YWCA Tribute to Women of Achievement in Business and Industry.
Term ends December 31, 2008

Dr. John Abraham  ▪  Post 4
John.Abraham@cobbk12.org

Dr. John E. Abraham, CAPT, USPHS (ret) began his first term on the Board in January 2007. A former executive for the United States Public Health Service, Dr. Abraham has served in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and also served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. He is currently a management and technical training consultant for Unicore Health in Atlanta.

Dr Abraham earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Health from the University of Iowa in 1981. In addition, he has a BA from the University of Denver, MA from the University of Hartford, MPH from Tulane University, and an MBA from Georgia State University.

Dr. Abraham has been married to Corrine (Corky) Abraham for over 25 years. She is on the nursing faculty at Emory University. They have three children. David, a Lassiter High School graduate and a junior at Emory University; Rachel, a senior, and Michael, a freshman both attend Kell High School.

Dr. and Mrs. Abraham have been active parents in their northeast Cobb schools and attend Transfiguration Catholic Church. He is a member of the Marietta Kiwanis Club, the Madison Forum, and has coached and worked with the Shaw Park Baseball program for close to 15 years. Dr. Abraham lives in Marietta.
Term ends December 31, 2010

Johnny M. Johnson  ▪  Post 5
Johnny.Johnson@cobbk12.org

Johnny Johnson began his first term on the Board in January 1997, he is a professional jewelry designer and owner of Edward-Johns Jewelers in East Cobb, having earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgia State University. Mr. Johnson is a charter member of the East Cobb Kiwanis Club, where he has served as President and Secretary. Mr. Johnson has been recognized for his service as a Kiwanian at the Club, State and International level, including Kiwanian of the Year for East Cobb, Distinguished Club President, Past Lt. Governor, first recipient of the “Workhorse of the Year” for the state. He was also awarded the Kiwanis International “Larry Hapgood Lifetime Achievement Award”. Mr. Johnson served as Governor of the Georgia District of Kiwnais in 2006-07. He was also elected to the Kiwanis International Board of Trustees. Among his many community activities, Mr. Johnson has served as Chairman of the East Cobb Division of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, President of the Cobb County YMCA, PTSA President, President of Citizens Advisory Council, selected as “The East Cobb Citizen of the Year”, winner of the United Way “Golden Rule Award “ for Education, served as President of The Georgia Jewelers Association, and chosen “Jeweler of the Year “ in 2001. Mr. Johnson is a native Georgian, he and his wife Anna are 32 year residents of Cobb County. Their daughter Jana, and son Jerad, are both graduates of Pope High School.
Term ends December 31, 2008

Dr. John Crooks  ▪  Post 6
Vice Chairman of the Board
John.Crooks@cobbk12.org

Dr. John Crooks began his first term on the Board in January 2007. A longtime Cobb resident and Marietta High School graduate, Dr. Crooks is a minister at Roswell Street Baptist Church, serving as Church Administrator. He earned his doctoral and master’s degrees from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, in addition to a bachelor’s degree from the Baptist College at Charleston, South Carolina.

Dr. Crooks has been married for 21 years to Dr. Cheryl Crooks, Science department chair and teacher in the Magnet Program at Wheeler High School. He and his wife have been active PTSA members and volunteers at Wheeler, East Cobb Middle and Sope Creek Elementary.

Dr. Crooks is founder and president of the Institute for Young Leaders, a private foundation to instruct students in the art of leadership. The program has been in place at Wheeler High since 1993 and has expanded into other Cobb high schools. Dr. Crooks also serves on the Board of the Reading for Life Achievement Foundation, which teaches Hispanic students to read English.

Dr. Crooks and his family reside in Marietta. His son Patrick is a 2006 Wheeler graduate now attending Kennesaw State University and his daughter Bethany is an 8th grader at East Cobb Middle.
Term ends December 31, 2010

Dr. Teresa Plenge  ▪  Post 7
Teresa.Plenge@cobbk12.org

Dr. Teresa Plenge began her first term as school board member in January 1997. She is currently serving her third term. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Tennessee in Speech-Language Pathology. She received her Doctorate in Learning Disabilities from Georgia State University. She was a speech-language pathologist and special educator, primarily in Post 7 schools, in Cobb County from 1980 until January 1997 when she resigned to serve as board member. She has lived in Cobb County since 1980 where she was active in the PTA and legislative contact activities related to issues of education and health affecting children. From 1997 to 2003, she was in private practice as a speech-language pathologist and learning disabilities specialist with an office in Smyrna. She is currently a Speech Pathologist for the Cherokee County School System. She is a member of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, is past president of the Cobb County Learning Disabilities Association, and a past executive board member for the Cobb County Association of Educators. She received The Cheryl C. Rice Friends of Education Award from the Cobb County Association of Educators in 2000. She was nominated for the Georgia State University Distinguished Alumni Award in 1996. She is a member of the Cobb County Republican Women's Club and the Osborne High School Cardinal Foundation. Dr. Plenge is also a 2006 YWCA Tribute to Women of Achievement honoree. She has one son who is a graduate of Cobb County Schools. He is currently a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Term ends December 31, 2008