Department Management Team Bios

Dr. Carladenise Armbrister Edwards is the Chief of Staff at the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH). Dr. Edwards acts as the principal advisor to the Commissioner on all major policy and management issues and initiatives.

Prior to her position with DCH, Dr. Edwards was the executive director of the South Florida Health Information Initiative, a regional health information organization aimed at improving health care quality, access, and efficiency through technology. Previously, she served as the vice president of Williams, Stern, and Associates, a firm that specializes in health and human services research and evaluation. Also, she was a member of the leadership team in the Disabled and Elderly Health Programs Group of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Edwards holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and Masters of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She also has a doctorate in medical sociology from the University of Florida.

Carrie Downing is the Director of Legislative and External Affairs. In this capacity, she serves as the Georgia Department of Community Health’s (DCH) liaison to the Georgia General Assembly and is responsible for monitoring legislation impacting the Department, as well as the direction of the Department's legislative goals and agenda.

Prior to joining DCH, Ms. Downing worked in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office of Enterprise Communications. In 2003, she served in the Office of the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) working closely with the corporate sector, the White House and the public health community. Ms. Downing also served in the White House in 2002 as Deputy Associate Director of Cabinet Affairs. Ms. Downing has also worked in the HHS Office of Legislation where she served as liaison to congressional offices.

Ms. Downing received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Georgia.

Robert Finlayson serves as the Georgia Department of Community Health’s (DCH) Inspector General.  Mr. Finlayson is the Division Chief over the Program Integrity Unit, Internal Affairs and the Audit Unit.

Prior to this position, he served within the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR).  Mr. Finlayson joined DHR in 1999 as a senior investigator in the Office of Investigative Services (formerly Office of Fraud and Abuse).  He served as investigator in charge of the Special Projects Unit, where he developed and implemented the Food Stamp Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) investigations program.  He was promoted to be the chief investigator over Internal Investigations and Program Fraud, and most recently, the deputy director over the Program Integrity Division, which investigates fraud in Food Stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Childcare.

Mr. Finlayson held the position as an investigator for the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, and served as a police officer and field training officer for the Cobb County Police Department from 1990 to December 1998.

He serves as a member of the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council and is a member of the Kennesaw State University Criminal Justice Advisory Board.

He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Shorter College.

Nancy Goldstein serves as the director of the State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP).  As director of SHBP, Ms. Goldstein is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of SHBP, which provides health insurance coverage to state employees, school system employees, retirees and their dependents.

Prior to joining DCH, Ms. Goldstein was the director of national accounts for Great-West HealthCare in Denver, Colorado.  From 1998 – 2002, Ms. Goldstein served as AT&T Broadband’s director of health and welfare benefits covering over 40,000 employees nationwide.  In 2004, she managed the employee benefits trust for the Farm Credit Council Services, which is comprised of agricultural lending institutions covering 10,000 employees nationwide.  She also has over 10 years of experience with (former) Prudential Healthcare in Atlanta.

Ms. Goldstein holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration/finance from the University of Florida.

Debbie Hall is currently the Chief Operating Officer for the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH). DCH is responsible for ensuring the availability of health care for more than two million people and administers the Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids™ programs, and State Health Benefit Plan . Issues related to agency operations, health care procurement and grants, grantee/vendor monitoring, statewide health care initiatives, interactions with providers, human resources and process improvement initiatives claim substantial portions of her workday. Ms. Hall’s responsibilities include Human Resources, Office of Health Initiative Programs, Procurement and Grants, Georgia Volunteer Physician Program, State Office of Rural Health, Non-Emergency Transportation, Grantee and Vendor Management, and Support Services.

Previously, Ms. Hall was the Regional Director for Southern Home Care Services, a division of Rescare, Inc., a periodic, in-home services organization for people with disabilities and the elderly. In her role as Regional Director, she held responsibility for all business functions (budgeting, recruitment, operations, community outreach, provider relations) for markets in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia.

Prior to that, Ms. Hall was the Director of Operations for Visiting Nurse Health System, Inc., (VNHS) a diverse provider of post-acute services, including homecare, hospice, infusion therapy, respiratory therapy, medical equipment and supplies. At VNHS, which had over 1000 employees and $70 million dollars in revenues, Ms. Hall was responsible for purchasing, contracts, inventory control, telecommunications, project management, materials management, support services and special projects.

She is a member of Leadership Dekalb; a non-profit community based training ground for future leaders in the public sector. Ms. Hall is active member of Berean Christian Church in Stone Mountain, Ga.

Ms. Hall received her Bachelors Degree from the University of Virginia and her Masters Degree in Health Care Administration from Mercer University. She is married to Lonnie Hall of Fayetteville, North Carolina and is the mother of four: Harrison (25); Carrington (21); Michelle (16); and Hamilton (7). They reside in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Sonny Munter is serving as the Chief Information Officer at the Georgia Department of Community Health. In this capacity, Mr. Munter oversees the Medicaid fiscal agent and the pharmacy benefit managers for both Medicaid the State Health Benefit Plan.

Mr. Munter has led all aspects of Information Technology including: Applications Development, Business Continuity and Recovery, IT Infrastructure, Voice and Data Telecommunications, IT Security and Help Desk throughout his 30-year career. Mr. Munter has additional health care IT experience serving as the Vice President of IT for a $2 Billion Medicaid HMO, CIO for a Medicaid Eligibility company, Vice President of IT for a Health care Analytical Services company that developed Claim Editing and Physician Profiling software for MCOs and HMOs.

Clyde L. Reese, III, is a health care regulatory and administrative law specialist, and serves as the Georgia Department of Community Health’s (DCH) General Counsel.  In this role, Mr. Reese will be the chief legal advisor to the Governor-appointed Commissioner, as well as to senior leadership charged with developing operational strategies, and implementing state and federal mandates for the agency.  As a part of his duties as General Counsel, Mr. Reese will retain daily oversight and supervision of the Georgia CON program.

Mr. Reese has previous experience as an assistant attorney general for the state of Georgia, general counsel for the State Health Planning Agency, deputy general counsel of DCH and general counsel of the DCH from 2001-2003.  Mr. Reese practiced health care regulatory law in the private sector from 2003-2007.  He returned to state government and DCH in late September of 2007 as the executive director of the Division of Health Planning.

He has an undergraduate degree in World History from Georgia State University and a Juris Doctor degree from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.

Carie Summers is the Chief Financial Officer at the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH). Ms. Summers is responsible for directing financial strategy, planning and forecasts for DCH.

Prior to her position with DCH, Ms. Summers was the Policy Coordinator for the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget and was responsible for making policy and fiscal recommendations to the Governor regarding DCH, Department of Human Resources Division of Public Health, and the Georgia Cancer Coalition. Ms. Summers has also served as the Budget Director for the Georgia Department of Medical Assistance and as a Management Analyst in the Georgia Department of Audits.

Ms. Summers has a BS in Business Administration with a major in Management from the University of Florida. She is married to Scott Summers.

Mark D. Trail is serving as the Chief of the Medical Assistance Plans, in the Georgia Department of Community Health. As Director of the State Medicaid agency, Mr. Trail is responsible for all Medicaid policy and eligibility, as well as the state SCHIP program, PeachCare for Kids™. The combined programs provide health care coverage to over 1.7 million Georgians, with expenditures exceeding $7 billion dollars. He has worked for over 30 years in a variety of health care fields, serving in both the public and private sectors.

Mr. Trail attended Georgia State University, Atlanta, Ga. receiving a Masters degree in Community Counseling. He serves as an Adjunct Faculty member for the College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia

Mr. Trail served on the Institute of Medicine’s, Committee on Crossing the Quality Chasm: Adaptation to Mental Health and Additive Disorders. He has served in the following capacities: Georgia Public Health Association – President; National Association of County Behavioral Health Directors – Board of Directors; the State Board of Nursing Home Administrators; and most recently on the Executive Committee of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors.

Mr. Trail is married to Carol and has three children. He is active in his church and community and enjoys riding motorcycles.