Current position
President and CEO of Shepherd Center
Community Involvement
- American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, past president
- Georgia Hospital Association, Board of Trustees
- Georgia Hospital Association Rehab Council, past Chairman
- Head Injury Foundation, National Board
- Boy Scouts of America, Board member of Atlanta Area Council
- Board Chair Disabilty LINK
Other Hobbies
- Fishing, Camping, Woodworking
Childhood Hero
- Roberto Clemente
What most people don’t know about you?
- Played offensive lineman in football for UNC Chapel Hill.
Gary is the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in the Health-Care Heroes Awards sponsored by Atlanta Business Chronicle. Shepherd Center has also received the Edward Loveland Award for Distinguished Contributions in Healthcare by the American College of Physicians. In 22 years of service, he is the longest-tenured hospital CEO in metro Atlanta. Shepherd Center is the world’s largest spinal cord injury and brain injury hospital. During Gary’s tenure, Shepherd Center has received numerous awards and recognition. The hospital has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best rehabilitation hospitals in the nation for the past 16 years, and received the 2008 NDNQI Award for Outstanding Nursing Quality™ in the Category for Rehabilitation Hospitals from the American Nurses Association. It was also selected as the “Hospital of The Year” by the Georgia Alliance of Hospitals and chosen one of Atlanta’s best employers by Atlanta Business Chronicle and Atlanta Magazine. He will be retiring from Shepard Center on March 31st, 2017.
Gary has dedicated himself to developing a holistic treatment philosophy and family-oriented environment for Shepherd Center’s patients and their families, including helping to launch Shepherd’s SHARE Military Initiative.
