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The Georgia Council on Aging and the Coalition of Advocates for Georgia’s Elderly are excited to welcome the new GCOA Executive Director, Ms. Debra Stokes! As newly named Executive Director of the Georgia Council on Aging, Debra Stokes brings more than four decades of professional, non-profit, and government relations experience to the role. While the positions have changed, her value to each organization has been defined by her ability to coalesce the many resources necessary to achieve defined goals. To achieve the mission of the Council effectively and efficiently, bringing together multiple stakeholders is critical.

Among other positions, Ms. Stokes spent eight years “Under the Gold Dome” supporting the members of the Georgia General Assembly as they traverse the Legislative process to provide for the needs of all the citizens of our State. More recently, she served as Executive Director of the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC) at Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon. GHRIC was created to specifically address the healthcare needs of citizens living in Georgia’s rural communities.

Ms. Kay H. Hind, former Area Agency on Aging Director of the SOWEGA Council on Aging, was presented with a commendation for her exemplary work and advocacy for seniors in the community. Department of Human Services Commissioner, Gerlda Hines, presented the award recognition in Ms. Hinds’s hometown of Albany, Georgia. Ms. Hind was one of the founding members of the Georgia Council on Aging and appointed to the Council under then Governor, George Busbee in 1977.

Ms. Hind has served in leadership roles for many professional and civic organizations, including the Southeastern Association of Area Agencies on Aging; National Association of Area Agencies on Aging; Southern Gerontological Society; and the Albany Hospice Board, among others. She is also a member of First United Methodist Church and Kiwanis Club, to name a few.

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