Gary W. Black, Commissioner
Commissioner Gary W. Black is the sixteenth Georgian to hold the office of Commissioner of Agriculture since the department’s inception in 1874. He began his career with the Georgia Farm Bureau leading the young farmer leadership development program.   More>>

Dr. James Sutton
Chief Administration Officer
Dr. James Sutton was born and raised in Griffin, Georgia.  He is a graduate of both Griffin High School and Gordon College.  He received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science Degrees in Agronomy from the University of Georgia in 1982 and 1984 respectively.  More>>

Dr. Robert Cobb
Division Director of Animal Industry
Recognizing the need for qualified and trained veterinary assistants, Dr. Cobb worked with the leadership at the Heart of Georgia Technical College in Dublin in 1995 to create a Veterinary Assistants program.   Students in the one-year certificate program also benefited from hands-on experience with Dr. Cobb at Dublin Animal Hospital.  More>>

Richard Lewis
Division Director of Fuel & Measures
Richard Lewis is from Jackson Georgia and is a 1984 graduate of Piedmont Academy. He attended both Gordon College in Barnesville and Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville.  More>>

Mark Norton
Division Director of Licensing
Mark Norton is a Georgia native and lives in Conyers. He came to the Georgia Department of Agriculture Food Safety Division in 1987. He is active in numerous food safety organizations including the Association of Food & Drug Officials, Association of Food and Drug Officials of the Southern States, International Association for Food Protection, Georgia Association for Food Protection and the Georgia Environmental Health Association. Commissioner Black appointed him Director of the Licensing Division on May 1, 2013.  More>>

Dr. Reuben Beverly
Division Director of Plant Industry
Dr. Reuben Beverly came to the Georgia Department of Agriculture in 1999 as State Chemist and Director of the Chemical Laboratories Division, and was appointed Director of the Plant Industry Division in 2011.  Prior to that, he served as Director of the Precision Farming Division for GoldKist Inc. More>>