Board of Directors

Jamie Knight was born and raised in Leesburg, GA and is a 2001 alumni of Lee Co High School. Jamie has 13 years of experience in the banking industry, working in both consumer and commercial lending as well as branch management. He and his wife, Lacey, have been married for 17 years and have two children, Ivey and Colby. Jamie has been active in various community organizations and takes his role as community advocate very seriously. Jamie is a Board member of the Kiwanis Club of Lee County, Chairman of the Lee County Education Foundation, appointed multi-term board member of the Lee County Parks & Recreation Authority, Treasurer of the Lee County Little League, a 2017 Leadership Albany Graduate, Leadership Lee Graduate, Albany's 40 Under Under award recipient, and most recently the recipient of Lee County's Man of the Year award. In his spare time, he enjoys trips with family and friends, coaching baseball, hunting, saltwater fishing, and golf. Knight holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Georgia Southern University with an emphasis in bank management.

Kelly Roberson has served as the Director of Communications for the South Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church since 2001. In her role and in partnership with valued team members, Kelly helps set the strategy, content, and methods for all communications, website and public relations messages to consistently guide and articulate the vision of the South Georgia Annual Conference through leadership and example. In addition to serving on the Lee County Education Foundation, Kelly also serves on the YMCA Board and the School Council at Lee County Middle School East as well as various leadership roles at Leesburg United Methodist Church where she and her family are active members.

Kelly is a product of the excellent education provided by the Lee County School System, graduating from Lee County High School in 1997. Just over five years ago Kelly and her husband, Brian, moved their family back to Lee County so that Brian could teach in Lee County and their boys – Will (12) and Nate (10) – could receive the same top-notch education she received. Brian is now serving as the Assistant Principal at the Ninth Grade Campus and the CTAE Director for Lee County Schools.

Kelly is honored to be a part of the formation of the Lee County Education Foundation where she can pour back into the system that poured into her as the Foundation focuses on providing resources and support to teachers and students.

Courtney Greenway is the CTAE Marketing Management and Teaching As A Profession instructor at Lee County High School Ninth Grade Campus. Courtney is a classroom teacher, DECA advisor, and serves as the school-based enterprise coordinator for the ninth grade school store. Prior to becoming an educator, she worked in industry serving in the area of marketing. Courtney was awarded the Lee County School System Teacher of the Year for the 2017-2018 school year. She is passionate about building the type of relationships with students that inspire them to work harder and live up to their full potential. She is the wife of Greg Greenway who is a department manager for MetroPower, Inc. and a proud mother to Addison Kate Greenway. Courtney enjoys spending time with her family, spending time in the Word, and occasionally spending money at TJ Maxx or Target. Having been a graduate of the Lee County School System herself, being employed by the system, and choosing this system to educate her own child, Courtney is honored to be on the Lee County Education Foundation board. She believes this foundation will be a great addition to our system by giving our teachers access to additional resources which will allow for more engaging instruction and opportunities for our students.

Patsy Shirley has served as the Executive Director of Lee County Family Connection, Inc. since 2009. Family Connection is a state-wide initiative, with a Family Connection Collaborative in all 159 counties with the focus on improving lives for the families and children in each community. The vision of Lee County Family Connection, Inc. is that all children are healthy, primed for school, and succeed when they get there. And where strong families contribute to a vibrant robust community that thrives. Lee County Family Connection, Inc. works collaboratively with community partners and some projects include Backpack Blessings, Literate Lee, Books for Kids Book Club, Students Against Destructive Decisions, just to and a few. Patsy also serves on the Lee County Library Board, Southwest Georgia Community Action Council Board, and the Kiwanis Club of Lee County Board. Patsy is most proud of her three adult daughters, Courtney Shirley Edmunds, Chelsey Nicole Shirley and Candace Emree Shirley - all three were honor graduates of Lee County High School. Because of the excellent education her daughters received in Lee County, all three have successfully completed their undergraduate degrees at Georgia Tech, University of Georgia and Berry College, respectively. Patsy truly values the education system in Lee County and knows that the development of the Lee County Education Foundation will only help to provide another layer of support to our already outstanding educators, as they explore innovative approaches to education in their classrooms.

Sandra P. Parker is the Retired Career Tech Ag Director for the Lee County School System. Mrs. Parker also served as Assistant Principal of Lee County High School. Her career as an educator was for more than 25 years also working in Terrell and Richmond Counties. Before entering Education, Mrs. Parker was a Branch Manager and Banking Officer for C&S Bank in Augusta Georgia. She is a Native of Orangeburg SC. She serves on several Boards and volunteers with several organizations including Literate Lee and Whiz Kids. She is also a Founding Member and President of The Lee County Female Minority Mentoring Program. She and her husband Dr. Anthony Parker are the parents of three adult children and one granddaughter. They are active members of Bethel AME Church.

Before her retirement, Sylvia Vann taught algebra and geometry at Lee County High School. She has served on the Lee County Board of Education since 2001 as chair for 16 years and now as vice-chair. Mrs. Vann received her undergraduate degree from Auburn University, a Masters from Georgia Southwestern University, and a 6th year specialist degree from Valdosta State University. She has served as a District 2 director of the Georgia School Boards Association and on Governor Deal’s Education Advisory Council. She is a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church where she has served as Elder, presently serves as a member of the finance committee, and teaches Sunday School. She has three sons, George, Carlton, and James, all of whom were valedictorians of their classes at Lee County High School. Thanks to a good education from the Lee County schools, they went on to major colleges and now have successful careers. Serving on the Lee County Education Foundation is an honor, and Mrs. Vann hopes that through the foundation we can empower teachers to provide first class learning.

Dr. Walters is currently retired. He served as Lee County School Superintendent for 12 years. Prior to that, he served as Superintendent in Decatur, Alabama. He was an Assistant Superintendent and Principal for 14 years. After retirement, he served as Interim Superintendent in Sumter and Worth County. He was appointed by Governors Perdue and Deal to Georgia Professional Standards Commission. He was active in various professional organizations throughout his career. While in Alabama, he was recognized as Alabama’s PTA Superintendent of the Year. In 2015, he was recognized as Lee County’s Man of the Year. He attends Covenant Presbyterian Church and he and his wife Linda have four children and six grandchildren. Larry is honored to serve on the Lee County Education Foundation.