The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG) today elected Regent Harold Reynolds to a second one-year term as the Board’s chair and Regent Erin Hames to a second one-year term as the Board’s vice chair. 

Reynolds will serve as Board chair from Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2023. Representing the 10th district on the Board since 2020, Reynolds is the Chief Executive Officer of the privately held BankSouth Holding Company headquartered in Greene County, Georgia. The company owns and operates BankSouth, BankSouth Mortgage headquartered in Atlanta, Coldwell Banker Lake Oconee Realty and other subsidiaries. 

A graduate of Georgia Tech, Reynolds earned his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Systems Engineering and has been inducted into the Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni. 

“It has been my privilege to serve alongside my fellow Regents and Vice Chair Hames, and I am honored to have the opportunity to continue working with them as we serve the more than 334,000 students across USG,” Reynolds said. “I look forward to building upon the great work of Chancellor Sonny Perdue, his staff and our campuses as we strive to be the best public higher education system in the nation.” 

Reynolds is past chairman of the State Board of Technical and Adult Education, now known as the Technical College System of Georgia, having served 13 years on that board after an appointment by Gov. Zell Miller. He and his wife, Lesley, reside in Greene County. They have an adult daughter, Chandler, and a son, Jackson, who is a recent college graduate.

Regent Erin Hames will serve as the Board’s vice chair from Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2023. Having joined the Board in 2018 as an at-large member, Hames is the Headmaster at Heritage Preparatory School, a classical Christian school in Atlanta. She previously served as the President of ReformEd, a law and consulting firm focused on improving educational opportunities and outcomes for children and students. 

Hames received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia College of Education and a law degree from Georgia State University College of Law. 

“I am grateful to Chairman Reynolds and my colleagues on the Board and look forward to continuing to work with Chancellor Perdue and leaders across the system to further student success,” Hames said. “We’re making a positive impact across the state, and I’m honored to be a part of that hard work on behalf of all Georgians.” 

Prior to launching ReformEd, Hames served as Gov. Nathan Deal’s Deputy Chief of Staff and was also Gov. Sonny Perdue’s Policy Director and Chief of Staff at the Georgia Department of Education. She started her career as a public school classroom teacher and was named a First Year Teacher of the Year.

Hames is a member of the 2023 class of Leadership Georgia. She received the 2016 Professional Achievement Award from UGA’s College of Education. She was also a member of the 2013 40 Under 40 Class by the UGA’s Alumni Association and was selected as a 2010 Henry Toll Fellow by the Council of State Governments. She and her husband, Ben, natives of Clarkesville, Georgia, live in Atlanta with their two children, Isaac and Rachel.